Cleveland Guardians Select This Infielder In Latest Mock Draft

Keith Law of The Athletic predicts the Cleveland Guardians to select Travis Bazzana as the first overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft.

Jun 9, 2024; Lexington, KY, USA; Oregon State Beavers infielder Travis Bazzana (37) throws the ball during the second inning against the Kentucky Wildcats at Kentucky Proud Park. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports / Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

The MLB Draft is just a few days away, and there’s still uncertainty surrounding who the Cleveland Guardians will select with the first overall pick.

However, one player is starting to separate themselves from the pack.

Keith Law, MLB Insider for the Atheltic, predicted who the Guardians will take based on what he’s heard from around the league and his sources. His latest mock draft has Cleveland selecting Oregon State 2B Travis Bazzana with the first pick.

Here’s why Law predicts that the Guardians will head in this direction.

“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 rumor 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.”

This is a shift from one of Law’s previous mock drafts, in which he anticipated that the Guardians would take Georgia OF Charlie Condon. 

However, other outlets such as MLB Pipeline and USA Today have predicted Bazzana to end up a Guardian, so this latest projection isn’t unprecedented. 

Jun 9, 2024; Lexington, KY, USA; Oregon State Beavers infielder Travis Bazzana (37) hits a foul ball during the first inning against the Kentucky Wildcats at Kentucky Proud Park. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports / Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

Much of the uncertainty surrounding Cleveland’s intentions comes down to the slot money and how the Guardians will best utilize their pool to draft the best total class. Chris Antonetti, President of Baseball Operations, spoke about this a week ago when discussing the draft.

It won’t be long before we find out who Cleveland’s top player is. But until then, it’ll continue to be a guessing game on who the Guardians ultimately take.