Charlie Condon and Parks Harber of the Georgia Bulldogs high-five after scoring a run against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Hawkins Field on April 1, 2023 in Nashville, Tenn. Condon could be the first overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. (Photo by Carly Mackler/Getty Images)
Five of the projected top 10 picks in the 2024 MLB draft will be playing in the NCAA Baseball Championship’s Super Regionals this weekend.
The Super Regionals are played in a best two-of-three format with the higher seeded team hosting, and the winner of each series advancing to Omaha, Neb. for the College World Series.
The biggest standouts are Georgia outfielder/third baseman Charlie Condon and Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana. Florida left-handed pitcher/first baseman Jac Caglianone isn’t far behind them. All four are ranked in the Top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s Top 200 Draft Rankings for the upcoming MLB Draft.
These three players are in the top three picks of most experts’ mock drafts. There is very heated debate as to whether Condon or Bazzana will go with the first overall pick to the Cleveland Guardians.
If Georgia and Oregon State win in their Super Regional matchups, Condon and Bazzana will face off in Omaha at the College World Series. If Florida wins, Caglianone would also be on their side of the bracket in Omaha.
Georgia 3B/OF Charlie Condon – Charlie Condon went from a walk-on to a superstar in less than two years. The Georgia third baseman walked on in 2022 and had to redshirt his freshman year. Condon played in the Northwoods League in 2022, which is a wooden bat summer league.
He showed enough to make Georgia’s roster for the 2023 season, and Condon had a historic freshman season for the Bulldogs, going on to be named National Freshman of the Year. He hit 25 home runs with an OPS of 1.284.
This season, Condon took an even greater leap, hitting 36 home runs and an OPS of 1.602 in 220 at-bats.
Condon is a versatile defender playing 30 games at third base, 24 in the outfield, and 10 at first base. He could profile as a corner outfielder in MLB, due to a lack of speed. His bat is now drawing comparisons to New York Yankees sluggers Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge per MLB Pipeline’s scouting report.
Condon will look to lead No. 7 Georgia past No. 10 N.C. State in the Super Regional at home in Athens. This is NC State’s sixth appearance in the Super Regionals and Georgia’s seventh appearance in school history. Game one starts on Saturday, June 8 at 12 noon EST on ESPNU/ESPN+.
Condon has been nominated for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, which goes to the best player in Division I Baseball. Arkansas left-handed pitcher Hagan Smith and Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana have also been nominated for the award.
Oregon 2B Travis Bazzana – Bazzana will become the first Australian-born player to be drafted in the first round of the MLB Draft in 2024.
ABazzana didn’t play baseball in the U.S. until after high school, when he moved out of Australia to attend Oregon State.
In a press conference on May 30 at Oregon State, Bazzana told to MLB.com’s Sonja Chen, “I want to make Australia a powerhouse in baseball. It’s not going to come from me but I want to start that trend.”
Australian Baseball took a big step forward in the 2023 WBC, going 3-1 in Pool B at the Tokyo Dome in Japan. They advanced to the quarterfinals and lost 4-3 to Cuba. Australia is currently ranked 11th in the WBSC rankings, and any future rise will likely involve Bazzana.
Bazzana is not only a trailblazer for Australian baseball, but he has also rewritten the record books at Oregon State. His 28 home runs, and 193 total bases this season are among single-season records he set. He also has the most home runs (45) hits (250) and total bases (459) in the program’s history. Another element of Bazzana’s game is his speed and he set a single-season record with 36 steals in 2023. He also stole the most bases in a game with five in 2023. He has 66 stolen bases in his three-year career at Oregon State.
His plate discipline and strikeout-to-walk ratio are also impressive at 34/74. He hit over .400 with a .416 average and an OPS of 1.512 in 207 at-bats. A slight concern with Bazzana is how his defense will translate at the MLB level, per MLB Pipeline’s scouting report.
Bazzana will look to keep his incredible season going and guide No. 15 Oregon State to an upset over No. 2 Kentucky in the Lexington Super Regional. This is Oregon State’s ninth appearance in the Super Regionals. Kentucky was also in the Super Regionals last year, and this is their third appearance.
They will play game one on Saturday, June 8 in Lexington, Ky. at 6 p.m. EST on ESPNU/ESPN+
Florida LHP/1B Jac Caglianone – Caglianone has been a two-way player for many years; he was the number one-ranked first baseman and fourth-ranked left-handed pitcher coming out of high school in 2021. In most years Caglianone could be the consensus number one pick, but he currently finds himself as the third-ranked Prospect on MLB pipeline’s Top 200 Draft Rankings.
Caglianone had huge expectations heaped upon him coming to Florida and has delivered every step of the way. While he didn’t pitch his freshman season for Florida, he started 28 games mainly as their designated hitter. Last season he broke Florida’s single season record with 33 home runs, 90 RBI, and 207 total bases.