Cleveland selects Australian second baseman With the No. 1 pick in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft on Sunday night, Wake Forest has three players selected in the top 10.
A former cricket, rugby and football player who came to the United States to play baseball for Oregon State, the 21-year-old hit .407 with 28 homers and 66 RBI this season. He became the first Australian and first second baseman to be ranked No. 1.
“An opportunity to make an impact on a lot of baseball players in Australia and a lot of people in our country, and hopefully change the narrative for baseball there,” Bazana said.
Bazana hit .360 with 45 homers, 165 RBI, 180 walks and 66 steals in three seasons at Oregon State.
Cleveland president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said the team made its decision Sunday.
“He recognizes pitches very well,” Antonetti said. “He knows the strike zone, makes good swing decisions, makes specific levels of contact when he chooses to swing. “And I think the thing that has really evolved in Travis’ game over the past year is his ability to make an impact and drive the ball.”
Bazana watched the Oregon State draft in the rooms where he was recruited, including his parents, brother and aunt, as well as coaches and advisors.
“There are people who have flown all the way from Australia, which is not cheap, nor is it an easy flight,” he said.
He was inspired by Australians Ryan Rowland-Smith and Trent Oeltzen, who reached MLB.
“They really helped me believe and see this path and get the opportunity at Oregon State, and helped me set no limits on myself,” he said.
Once in college, there was no pressure to produce.
“Nobody really had any expectations from an Australian kid,” he said.
Under the bonus pool system introduced in 2012, baseball’s No. 1 pick this year has a slot value of $10,570,600. Cleveland had the top pick for the first time since the draft began in 1965.
The 30 first-round selections included only 10 high school players.
Wake Forest right-hander Chase Burns finished second to Cincinnati, while Demon Deacons first baseman Nick Kurtz finished fourth for Oakland and third baseman/outfielder Seaver King finished 10th for Washington. They became the eighth trio of teammates selected in the first round, the first in the top 10 since Rice’s right-handers Philip Humber, Jeff Neiman and Wade Townsend in 2004.
The 21-year-old Burns was 10-1 with a 2.70 ERA and 191 strikeouts and 30 walks in 100 innings in 16 starts. The Reds took the right-hander Rat Loader from the Demon Deacons with the seventh overall pick last year.
Kurtz hit .306 with 22 homers, 57 RBI and 78 walks, and King hit .308 with 16 homers and 64 RBI.
Colorado used the third pick on Georgia third baseman Charlie Condon, who started college as a walk-on. Projected by some as the first, the 6-foot-6 Condon led the NCAA with a .433 average and 37 homers this year. The 21-year-old player played eight consecutive games from April 26 to May 9, one game short of the NCAA record, and won the Golden Spikes Award as the top amateur baseball player.
Arkansas left-hander Hagan Smith, who had Tommy John surgery in 2019 at age 16, was selected fifth overall by the Chicago White Sox. He went 9–2 with a 2.04 ERA in 16 starts, and struck out 161 in 84 innings.
Kansas City moved up and took two-way player Jack Caglianone from Florida. A first baseman and left-handed pitcher, he hit .419 with 35 homers and 72 RBI for the Gators this year, while going 5-2 with a 4.76 ERA in 16 starts, striking out 83 and 73 2/3 innings. Scored 50 runs in.
West Virginia infielder JJ Wetherholt finished seventh in St. Louis. The 21-year-old hit .331 with eight homers and 30 RBI in 36 games, missing 24 games between February 19 and April 5 due to a hamstring injury. He won the Division I batting title as a sophomore in 2023, hitting .449 with 16 homers and 60 RBIs and 36 stolen bases.
Weatherholt attended the draft wearing a black cowboy hat and bolo tie. He immediately donned a Cardinals jersey and hat. Tennessee second baseman Christian Moore was also on site, taken eighth by the Los Angeles Angels.
Connor Griffin was the first high school player selected, taken ninth overall by Pittsburgh. The 18-year-old is a shortstop and outfielder for Jackson Prep in Mississippi.
Florida State outfielder James Tibbs III was taken 13th overall by San Francisco and moved next to Seminoles teammate Cam Smith, a third baseman, to the Chicago Cubs.
mississippi state Switch pitcher Jurangelo Szentje selected 15th overall by Seattle, Cijntje was born in the Netherlands, grew up in Curaçao, and played in the 2016 Little League World Series. He was drafted by Milwaukee in the 18th round two years ago but went to college.
Cam Caminiti, cousin of 1996 NL MVP Ken Caminiti, was selected 24th overall by Atlanta. The 17-year-old left-hander hails from Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Teams made the first 74 selections, with the remaining 20 rounds taking place on Monday and Tuesday. Cleveland also picked 36th and 48th.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred was booed by approximately 2,000 fans at Cowtown Coliseum when he emerged on stage through the set’s salon door and returned each time to announce the selection. The crowd booed especially loudly for the Houston Astros and New York Yankees selections.
Using potential promotion selections earned when Corbin Carroll and Gunnar Henderson won Rookie of the Year awards, Arizona selected outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt with the 31st overall pick, and Baltimore then selected Virginia shortstop Griff O’Ferrall.
Wyatt Sanford, son of former Pittsburgh and Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Chance Sanford, was taken 47th overall by the Pirates.
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This story has been corrected to show that Ken Caminiti was the NL MVP in 1996, not 1986.
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AP Sports Writers Schuyler Dixon and Stephen Hawking contributed to this report.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
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