The phrase “number one overall pick” has been inundated in sports headlines over the past week. Last Thursday, star college basketball player AJ Dybantsa declared for the 2026 NBA Draft, where he’s a favorite to be selected first overall. Then, later Thursday night, the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft was held, where Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza was the top overall pick by the Las Vegas Raiders.
Now, baseball has its turn with this phrase. On Tuesday, Travis Bazzana, the number one overall pick of the 2024 MLB Draft, was called up from the minors by the Cleveland Guardians. He made his major league debut later that night against the Tampa Bay Rays, slotted seventh in the order and manning second base. Bazzana went hitless in his debut, going 0 for 2, but he did draw a pair of walks as Cleveland fell to Tampa, 1-0. There will be more hitless games and close defeats for Bazzana in the majors, but Cleveland has lots to be excited about regarding the Aussie’s potential.
