Charlie Condon, who started as a walk-on at Georgia and later became the national player of the year, along with Travis Bazzana, a former cricket player from Australia who now plays at Oregon State, are expected to be the top two picks in this year’s amateur baseball draft on Sunday night.
Cleveland has secured the top pick after winning the draft lottery last December, while Cincinnati will pick second.
According to Brian Barber, assistant general manager of amateur scouting for the Philadelphia Phillies, the consensus is that this year’s draft is considered average overall. He noted that college position players are likely to dominate the top half of the draft.
Condon, a 6-foot-6 player who can play third base and outfield, had an outstanding season leading the NCAA with a .433 batting average and hitting 37 home runs. He made headlines by homering in eight consecutive games from April 26 to May 9, just one shy of the NCAA record, and earned the prestigious Golden Spikes Award.
Bazzana, who plays second base, also had an impressive season, batting .407 with 28 home runs and 66 RBIs.
While most draft picks typically spend years in the minor leagues before reaching the majors, there are exceptions. For instance, third baseman Nolan Schanuel debuted in the major leagues just 40 days after being drafted 11th overall by the Los Angeles Angels last August 18. Wyatt Langford, an outfielder for Texas, was on this year’s opening-day roster.
Paul Skenes, the top pick in a previous draft, debuted for Pittsburgh on May 11 and has achieved a 6-0 record with a 1.90 ERA in 11 starts. He is scheduled to start in this Tuesday night’s All-Star Game, setting a record for the fewest big league appearances for an All-Star.
Players eligible for the draft include those residing in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Those with remaining college eligibility can sign until August 1 at 5 p.m. EDT, while others have until a week before the 2025 draft to make their decisions.
Skenes agreed to a $9.2 million bonus last summer, the highest amount since players began receiving minor league contracts as part of the draft pools system in 2012.
Under the old 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 next summer.
“When you look and see what today’s best high school and college players are making, they’re still making much less than that, and yet the values of team worth since then 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 smallest pools.
No team has ever gone over its signing bonus pool by more than 5%, which would have meant losing a first-round pick in the next year’s draft.
Arizona received an extra pick (31st) because Corbin Carroll won NL Rookie of the Year as part of the prospect promotion incentive in the 2022 collective bargaining agreement. Baltimore got No. 32 because Gunnar Henderson won AL Rookie of the Year.
Minnesota got the 33rd pick as compensation for losing Sonny Gray to St. Louis in free agency, and the Los Angeles Angels received the 74th selection for losing Shohei Ohtani to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
San Diego acquired picks Nos. 134 and 135 for losing Josh Hader and Blake Snell, respectively, and Toronto got No. 136 for the departure of Matt Chapman.
The Mets, Padres, and Yankees had their top picks moved down 10 spots because their 2023 luxury tax payrolls exceeded $273 million, which is $40 million above the initial threshold.
Houston, the Dodgers, St. Louis, and San Francisco forfeited their second-round picks for signing qualified free agents. San Francisco also lost a third-round choice, and the Dodgers lost a fifth-round selection.
