What I’m hearing as Guardians approach MLB Draft – Terry Pluto

CLEVELAND, Ohio – What I’m hearing about the 2024 college draft:

1. I’m starting with I don’t know … as in, I don’t know what the Guardians will do with No. 1 pick. Cleveland has done a great job of keeping the lid on there is a lot of guessing about their intention with the draft’s first pick.

2. Cleveland hasn’t had the No. 1 pick … ever. In this century, they’ve had only four picks in the top 10. The highest was No. 5. That was Clint Frazier (2013) and Drew Pomeranz (2010). Frazier was used in a deal with the Yankees to bring Andrew Miller to Cleveland in 2016. Pomeranz was in a deal with Colorado to add Ubaldo Jimenez to the rotation in 2011.

3. The other top 10 picks were Francisco Lindor (#8 in 2011) and Jeremy Sowers (#6 in 2004). Trying to look for clues is hard. Guardians President Chris Antonetti was involved in the 2013 (Frazier) and 2011 (Lindor) drafts.

4. So what about this year? Some are projecting the Guardians to grab Travis Bazzana, a second baseman from Oregon State. That’s the baseball factory that produced Cleveland’s Steven Kwan and many other MLB players. . If Bazzana is the top pick, he will be the first second baseman ever picked No. 1 in the draft. But some scouts project him to be moved to the outfield. It’s possible that could be in the plans if he goes to Cleveland.

5. Bazzana hit .407 (1.479 OPS) with a school record 28 HR. He grew up in Australia. He is absolutely obsessed with being great and loves analytics and video. The guy studies everything. I heard to be guarded when looking at some of the stats from this college season. Some scouts believe the balls have been juiced up as lots of players are setting home run records.

6. The reason I’m intrigued by Bazzana is his performance in the summer wood-bat Cape Cod League. He hit .375 (1.037 OPS) and was the league’s MVP. That league has many of the top college players. I heard one scout say he “has the best bat-to-ball skills I’ve ever seen.” He consistently has had twice as many walks as strikeouts. I keep thinking he’s Cleveland’s guy, but I have no news-reporting reason to believe that’s true.

7. My favorite player since I heard of Cleveland had the top pick is Georgia’s Charlie Condon. I dream of the Guardians putting a right-handed power hitter in the middle of the lineup. He can play the outfield, first and third base.

8. Playing in the best college baseball conference in the country, Condon batted .433 (1.009 OPS) with 37 HR and 78 RBI in 60 games. In 304 plate appearances, he fanned only 41 times and walked 57. He’s 6-foot-6, 216 pounds. Often, guys that tall strike out a lot. He could have more upside than Bazzana. Condon was a walk-on at Georgia and this was only his second full season.

9. A warning sign? In the same Cape Cod League where Bazzana impressed, Condon hit .261 (.648 OPS). He was 12 for 46 with one homer. He fanned only four times, walked three times, He didn’t show much power. Was it the wooden bats, or just a small sample size? He also could have improved since the summer of 2023.

10. Some scouts believe JJ Wetherholt could be the “surprise pick” for the Guardians. A middle infielder at West Virginia, he is considered much like Bazzana, a guy with “excellent bat-to-ball skills.” He hit .331 (1.068 OPS) with 8 HR in 164 plate appearances. He battled hamstring problems much of the season.

11. Wetherholt is a 5-foot-10, 190-pound lefty hitting. Healthy in 2023, he had a monster season batting .449 (1.304 OPS) with 16 HR in 268 plate appearances. He also batted .321 (.978 OPS) in the Cape Cod League, which scouts like very much.

12. Some fans absolutely love Jac Caglianone, who is supposed to be the Shohei Ohtani of this draft. That’s because Caglianone hits for power and also throws hard. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound lefty had a 5-2 record and a 4.76 ERA. In 73 innings, he fanned 83 but walked 50. When it comes to pitching, he is more of a middle-round project than a top prospect. But if a team drafts him, they can always try him as a pitcher in case he doesn’t hit.

13. While Condon impressed with 38 HR in the SEC, Caglianone was right behind him with 35 HR. He had more homers (35) than strikeouts (24). He batted .419 (1.415 OPS). He is mostly a first baseman. Some scouts I heard believe he can be strikeout prone as a pro. He cut his strikeouts dramatically in 2024.

14. The overwhelming stats piled up by these top rated picks are mind-numbing. Odds are one of them will be Spencer Torkelson, the top pick in the 2020 draft by Detroit. Torkelson broke Barry Bonds freshman home run record at Arizona State. He appeared to b a sure thing at the top of the draft. He’s stuck at Class AAA Toledo, having struggled in several trials in the Majors.

15. One could be Bryce Harper, the top pick in the 2010 draft by Washington. He was a high school player and is one of the top power hitters in the Majors. There are a lot of misses with the top pick. I’m not going to list them, but it’s scary for any team hoping to make a franchise-changing pick. Some pitchers such as Hagen Smith (Arkansas) and Chase Burns (Wake Forest) are projected as top 10 picks. I don’t see Cleveland going for a pitcher.