Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana is set to make Australian sporting history on Monday morning as the country’s first player to be taken in the opening round of the Major League Baseball draft.
While it is obviously a momentous achievement, it is only the start of what Bazzana is hoping to achieve after telling foxsports.com.au late last year that he is “a long way from where I want to take it in terms of the impact back home”.
With that in mind, for those familiar with the sport and those less familiar who are looking to follow Bazzana’s journey from this point, here is everything you need to know ahead of the draft!
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Aussie star to be No.1 MLB draft pick? | 00:16
WHO IS TRAVIS BAZZANA?
Well, foxsports.com.au has you covered there with a two-part series on the Sydney native’s rapid rise at Oregon State.
But if you would prefer a brief summary instead, the 21-year-old grew up playing baseball and cricket — and he was pretty good at both.
In the end, he decided to continue down the baseball path because that was the sport he was most passionate about and it showed in the way Bazzana, even in his teenage years, consistently looked for ways to improve his game and make a name for himself in Australia.
Bazzana was eventually recruited by Oregon State after an impressive performance at the Arizona Fall Classic and broke all kinds of records in his Beavers career.
He is now potentially going to be selected first overall in Monday’s draft but at this stage appears to be a lock to go inside the top four picks.
WHERE WILL HE BE DRAFTED?
At this stage, it looks like Bazzana will either go first overall to the Cleveland Guardians or drop to fourth and be taken by the Oakland Athletics.
That is at least what most mock drafts are projecting.
If the teams were selecting the best player available, most experts seem to agree Georgia’s Charlie Condon would be the pick of the bunch as the best power hitter in the class.
It doesn’t always work that way though, as there is not a mandatory figure that must be paid by each team to the respective prospect they take in the draft.
Instead, at times, there is a negotiation process involved as teams explore both ability and signability.
In case you weren’t aware, each pick inside the first 10 rounds of the MLB Draft is assigned a slot value, which is the recommended signing bonus for that selection.
All of those slot values for each pick in the first 10 rounds is added up to determine every team’s bonus pool.
In the case of the Guardians, they have a record bonus pool of $18,334,000 ($A27.4m), with the first overall pick coming with a slot value of $10,570,600 ($A15.8m), which is up 8.7 per cent from last season.
So, Cleveland has been doing due diligence on a wide range of scenarios, including one which could involve taking West Virginia’s JJ Wetherholt at an underslot deal.
TRAVIS BAZZANA TWO-PART SERIES
PART ONE: The start of a dream… and critics that fuelled his fire
PART TWO: The ‘rare’ call that helped take Bazzana to another level
The perception, meanwhile, is that Condon, who won college baseball’s prestigious Golden Spikes award, does not want to sign for anything less than the maximum slot value.
Wetherholt looks to be the other leading contender alongside Bazzana for the first overall pick and don’t be mistaken into thinking he isn’t that talented either.
He was at the front of the conversation for the No.1 pick back in spring before a recurring hamstring injury hurt his draft stock.
Wetherholt rivals Bazzana as the best pure hitter in the draft, although he offers less power.
If Bazzana does not end up going first overall and it is instead Wetherholt who has his name called, Condon is expected to be taken second by Cincinnati while pitcher Chase Burns has routinely been mocked to the Rockies at third overall.
That would leave the Athletics to take Bazzana, who could be the face of the franchise by the time they make their move to Las Vegas.
HOW MUCH MONEY DOES HE STAND TO EARN?
Bazzana could theoretically sign on for less than the $10,570,600 ($A15.6m) Cleveland has allotted to the first overall pick, although if he slides to the Athletics at No.4 he is going to be signing at the $8,370,800 ($A12.4m) slot value assigned to Oakland.
Given Bazzana is not expected to go beyond fourth overall, here are the signing bonuses he is looking at with each respective team at the top of the draft:
1. Guardians: $10,570,600 ($A15.6m)
2. Reds: $9,785,000 ($A14.5m)
3. Rockies: $9,070,800 ($A13.4m)
4. Athletics: $8,370,800 ($A12.4m)
WHAT ARE THE EXPERTS SAYING?
Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline wrote in his latest mock draft, which had Bazzana going No.1: “Since we’ve gotten in the habit of assigning percentages to the possible outcomes with this pick, I’ll update mine: Bazzana 34 percent, Condon 33 percent, Wetherholt 32 percent, the field 1 percent. As mentioned above, those are just educated guesses.”
Keith Law of The Athletic wrote in his latest mock draft, which had Bazzana going No.1: “The last I heard about Cleveland had them still considering a very long — too long? — list of options for this pick, north of a half-dozen names, although I think Bazzana, Charlie Condon, and JJ Wetherholt may be the top tier, possibly including Jac Caglianone as well. The Wetherholt rumour has been flying this week with a $2 million discount attached. If you believe his hamstring injuries are not a harbinger of future durability issues, it’s a smart play.”
Carlos Collazo of Baseball America wrote in his latest mock draft, which had Bazzana going No.4: “There have been a lot of college names linked with the A’s. Whichever bats don’t go before should be in play here, with Bazzana being the best available in this scenario.”
WHEN WILL HE PLAY IN THE MLB?
This is another way that MLB differs from the NBA and NFL.
The top overall pick in an NBA or NFL draft, or even a player taken in the first round, is likely to see playing time right away, depending what position they are playing of course.
In baseball though, players have to work their way up through the minor leagues before potentially getting a start in the majors.
In the case of Bazzana, the fact he is going to be taken so high in this year’s draft obviously increases the likelihood that he will make it to the majors.
For example, Paul Skenes, who was the first overall pick in last year’s draft, had to wait 308 days since he was drafted by Pittsburgh to make his debut — and that was the third fastest jump a No.1 pick had made to the majors.
All of this is to say Australians will have to be patient to see Bazzana playing in the big time, although the Sydney native has the kind of high floor and pro mindset that should make the transition a relatively smooth one and he is widely expected to potentially be ready by mid-2025.
MORE TRAVIS BAZZANA COVERAGE
EXPERT VIEW: How three US experts view Bazzana’s stock ahead of the draft
COACH’S FAREWELL: Coach says Bazzana is ‘changing’ Australian baseball
WHAT DID HIS OREGON STATE CAREER LOOK LIKE IN NUMBERS?
Seriously good — like record-breaking good. Here are the program records he set in his time as a Beaver:
Career hits: 251
Home runs: 45
Doubles: 52
Walks: 180
Runs: 220
Stolen bases: 66
Total bases: 460
TOP 10 PROSPECTS
1. Travis Bazzanna, 2B, Oregon State
2. Charlie Condon, OF/3B, Georgia
3. Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP, Florida
4. JJ Wetherholt, SS/2B, West Virginia
5. Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas
6. Chase Burns, RHP, Wake Forest
7. Nick Kurtz, 1B, Wake Forest
8. Braden Montgomery, OF, Texas A&M
9. Konnor Griffin, SS/OF, Jackson Prep (Miss.)
10. Bryce Rainer, SS, Harvard-Westlake (Calif.)
DRAFT ORDER
1. Cleveland Guardians
2. Cincinnati Reds
3. Colorado Rockies
4. Oakland Athletics
5. Chicago White Sox
6. Kansas City Royals
7. St. Louis Cardinals
8. Los Angeles Angels
9. Pittsburgh Pirates
10. Washington Nationals
11. Detroit Tigers
12. Boston Red Sox
13. San Francisco Giants
14. Chicago Cubs
15. Seattle Mariners
16. Miami Marlins
17. Milwaukee Brewers
18. Tampa Bay Rays
19. New York Mets
20. Toronto Blue Jays
21. Minnesota Twins
22. Baltimore Orioles
23. Los Angeles Dodgers
24. Atlanta Braves
25. San Diego Padres
26. New York Yankees
27. Philadelphia Phillies
28. Houston Astros
29. Arizona Diamondbacks
30. Texas Rangers
Source Agencies
