Cleveland has top MLB draft pick, with Georgia’s Condon and Oregon State’s Bazzana top prospects
AP Baseball Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Charlie Condon, a walk-on at Georgia who became national player of the year, and Travis Bazzana, a former cricket player who left Australia for Oregon State, could be the top two picks in baseball’s amateur draft on Sunday night.
Cleveland has the top choice for the first time after winning the draft lottery in December and Cincinnati selects second.
“The general consensus is that it’s probably close to an average draft year,” Philadelphia Phillies assistant general manager of amateur scouting Brian Barber said. “I don’t think it’s a secret, you’re going to see the top half of the draft dominated by college position players.”
Condon, a 6-foot-6 third baseman and outfielder, led the NCAA this year with a .433 average and 37 homers. The 21-year-old homered in eight straight games from April 26 to May 9, one shy of the NCAA record, and won the Golden Spikes Award.
Bazzana, a 21-year-old second baseman, batted .407 with 28 homers and 66 RBIs.
While most draft picks spend years in the minors, there are exceptions. Third baseman Nolan Schanuel made his major league debut last Aug. 18, 40 days after the Los Angeles Angels drafted him 11th overall, and Texas outfielder Wyatt Langford was on this year’s opening-day roster.
Top pick Paul Skenes made his debut for Pittsburgh on May 11 and is 6-0 with a 1.90 ERA in 11 starts. He is set to start Tuesday night’s All-Star Game with the fewest big league appearances for an All-Star.
Players who reside in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico are subject to the draft. Those with remaining college eligibility may sign until Aug. 1 at 5 p.m. EDT, with the remainder having until a week before the 2025 draft.
Skenes agreed to a $9.2 million bonus last summer, the highest since players were limited to initial minor league contracts as part of the draft pools system started in 2012. Under the prior rules, Washington signed pitcher Stephen Strasburg to a $15.1 million, four-year contract in 2009 and Bryce Harper to a $9.9 million, five-year deal the following summer.
“When you look and see what today’s elite high school and college players are making, they’re still making far less than that, and yet the valuations of franchise appreciation since have doubled if not quadrupled,” said Scott Boras, the agent for Strasburg and Harper,
Only one player chosen in the first 10 rounds failed to reach an agreement last year: UC Irvine outfielder Caden Kendle returned for his senior year after he was selected by St. Louis in the 10th round with the 305th pick.
Bonus pools total $334.38 million, up 8.8% from $307.34 million in 2023. Spending on drafted players came to $350.1 million plus an additional $8.2 million on passed over players for a total of $358.3 million. Pools cover picks in the first 10 rounds, and the first $150,000 of any bonus after the 10th round doesn’t count against the total.
Cleveland, which also picks 36th and 48th, has the largest pool at $18,334,000. Colorado is next at $17.2 million, followed by Cincinnati ($15.8 million), Kansas City ($15.4 million) and Oakland ($15.3 million).
Houston ($5.9 million), the Los Angeles Dodgers ($6.1 million) and Texas (just under $7 million) have the lowest pools.
No team has ever exceeded its signing bonus pool by more than 5%, which would have caused the loss of a first-round pick in following year’s draft.
Arizona gets an extra pick (31st) for Corbin Carroll winning NL Rookie of the Year under the prospect promotion incentive in the 2022 collective bargaining agreement. Baltimore received No. 32 for Gunnar Henderson winning AL Rookie of the Year.
Minnesota gained the 33rd pick as compensation for losing Sonny Gray as a free agent to St. Louis and the Los Angeles Angels got the 74th selection for losing Shohei Ohtani to the Los Angeles Dodgers. San Diego gained Nos. 134 and 135 for losing Josh Hader and Blake Snell, and Toronto No,. 136 for the departure of Matt Chapman,
The Mets, Padres and Yankees had their top picks drop 10 spots because their 2023 luxury tax payrolls exceeded $273 million, or $40 million over the initial threshold.
Houston, the Dodgers, St. Louis and San Francisco gave up their second-round picks for signing qualified free agents, San Francisco lost a third-round choice and the Dodgers a fifth-round selection.
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