Former West Coast League MVP Travis Bazzana of Oregon State was selected as the No. 1 overall pick of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Cleveland Guardians. The former Corvallis Knights slugger is the second WCL alumnus to be taken as the first overall pick in the MLB Draft, following in the footsteps of Adley Rutschman in 2019.
Prior to his freshman year at Oregon State, Bazzana was the WCL’s MVP in 2021 and won the Top Prospect Award after batting a sizzling .429 to capture the league title, in the process setting a WCL single-season record. Bazzana also led the league in runs (46), hits (81), total bases (112), triples (5) and slugging percentage (.593) and propelled the Knights to their fifth straight league championship.
In addition to Bazzana, former Bellingham Bells catcher Malcolm Moore of Stanford was taken in the first round of the MLB Draft, going No. 30 overall to the Texas Rangers.
These selections continue the trend of former WCL standouts becoming high picks in the MLB Draft. In seven of the last eight years, a player with WCL experience has been taken in the first round.
The MLB Draft continues Monday with rounds 3 through 10, before concluding Tuesday with rounds 11 through 20. Please continue to check westcoastleague.com for an updated list of former WCL players selected in this year’s draft.
Round / Player / School / WCL Club(s) / MLB Org
– 1st round, Travis Bazzana, Oregon State, Corvallis, Cleveland Guardians
– 1st round, Malcolm Moore, Stanford, Bellingham, Texas Rangers
The post Bazzana Selected First Overall in 2024 MLB Draft appeared first on West Coast League.