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The Guardians have selected Bazzana with the first overall pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft.
A lefty-hitting second baseman from Australia who has lit up multiple stateside leagues during his collegiate career, Bazzana is a hyper-productive bat-first prospect. It's rare that a college second baseman goes this high in the draft, and that's for good reason. It's often a player type that has no projection remaining, and if the bat isn't as good as hoped, there's no way for the player to still provide big-league value. Even so, it's worth noting Bazzana's recent exploits. He has added over 200 points of OPS to his ledger each year at Oregon State, culminating in a .407/.568/.911 slash line with 28 home runs, 16 steals on 21 attempts and a 12.5 percent strikeout rate in 60 games as a junior. Bazzana was also the best hitter in the Cape Cod League last summer (1.037 OPS in 33 games), showing that he can do plenty of damage with a wood bat. The quality of pitching in the Pac-12 wasn't great, but he did what he could to convince evaluators that his bat will play at the highest level. Despite the fact he is a plus runner, reviews on his defense are mixed, and it will be critical that he clears the Tyler Black line in the field and doesn't slide to first base/designated hitter.
