Guardians select Travis Bazzana first overall in 2024 MLB Draft

After months upon months of speculation regarding who the Cleveland Guardians will take with the first overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, the choice was finally made on Sunday night. Cleveland decided to pick Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana as their number one selection. 

The Guardians landed the number one spot in the draft for the first time in franchise history despite having just a 2% chance of doing so via the newly implemented draft system. Cleveland clearly believes that Bazzana is worthy of being the organization’s first number-one selection, and their decision to make him 2024’s first pick is clear evidence of that. 

What Bazzana brings to the table for the Guardians

The 21-year-old Bazzana has been very impressive in his third collegiate season, slashing .407/.568/.911 with 28 home runs, 16 doubles, 66 runs batted in, and 16 stolen bases in 60 games for the Beavers in 2024. 

In his three years at Oregon State, Bazzana has primarily played the second base position, with 182 of his 184 games played taking place at second. With Bazzana playing the overwhelming majority of his games in a Beavers uniform at second base, this could be an indicator that a future positional change could be on the table for current Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez. 

A positional change coming soon in Cleveland?

The Platinum Glove-winning Gimenez is an elite defender at second, but the near-universal issues Cleveland has experienced at shortstop since trading Francisco Lindor may possibly necessitate a change in position. Up to this point, there has not been a valid reason to move Gimenez off second due to not having anyone being an offensive or defensive upgrade over what they have at short. With Bazzana now in the mix, this could finally come to fruition as Cleveland could very well have their double-play combo for the foreseeable future in Gimenez and Bazzana. All of this is assuming that the Guardians intend to keep Bazzana and not trade him away for a proven commodity, but this is a discussion for a different day.