MLB Draft: Top 15 International-Born Prospects

MLB Draft Top 15 International-Born Prospects 

The college baseball season ended with Tennessee beating Texas A&M in the College World Series, and all the focus was shifted to the MLB Draft in Fort Worth, Texas, on July 14-16. This pool of highly talented players has a mix of players born outside of the U.S. who stand out.

Here are the top 15 international-born prospects ahead of the MLB draft.

1. Oregon State 2B Travis Bazzana- Travis Bazzana will become the first Australian-born player to be drafted in the first round of the MLB Draft in 2024. The left-handed hitting Bazzana didn’t play baseball in the U.S. until after high school when he moved out of Australia to attend Oregon State. Bazzana, 21, is the best international player of this draft class.

His 28 home runs and 195 total bases this season are among the single-season records he now holds. He also has the most home runs (45), hits (251), and total bases (460) in the program’s history.

Another element of Bazzana’s game is his speed. In 2023, he set a single-season record with 36 steals.

His plate discipline and strikeout-to-walk ratio are also impressive at 37/76. He hit over .400 with a .407 average and an OPS of 1.479 this season. Bazzana could go first overall to the Cleveland Guardians.

2024 stats: 28 home runs, 66 RBI, 16 stolen bases, and his slash line was .407/.568/.911 in 214 at-bats.

Career stats 2022-2024: 45 home runs, 165 RBI, 66 stolen bases, and his slash line was .360/.497/.600 in 697 at-bats in three seasons.

How else would Travis Bazzana break the record? With a leadoff bomb of course!#GoBeavs pic.twitter.com/AqpLgHEadv

— Oregon State Baseball (@BeaverBaseball) May 5, 2024

2. Wake Forest RHP Chase Burns- Right-handed pitcher Chase Burns led Division I Baseball with 191 strikeouts in 100 innings this season. His standout performance came against North Carolina in the ACC tournament, with six scoreless innings and 15 strikeouts. Burns can hit 100 with ease and has a wipeout slider backed up with a curveball and changeup.

Burns, 21, was born in Italy and is the best pitcher in this class born outside of the U.S. Burns could be selected anywhere between two and five in the MLB Draft.

2024 stats: 100 innings, 191 strikeouts, 2.70 ERA, 0.92 WHIP

Career stats 2022-2024: 252.1 innings, 408 strikeouts, 3.21 ERA, 1.04 WHIP

Chase Burns, 14th K in 6 innings.

Career high. pic.twitter.com/4sYHpQsoU2

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 10, 2024

3. Mississippi State RHP/LHP Jurrangelo Cijante- Jurrangelo Cijante was born in the Netherlands and started to switch pitching when he was six. Cijante, 21,  also switch-pitched with the Curacao team in 2016 in the Little League World Series. Cijante is much better from the right side and throws much harder, topping out at around 98 MPH. From the left side, he tops out at around 91 MPH. Cijante is a unique prospect with first-round potential in the 20-30 range.

2024 stats: 90.2 innings, 113 strikeouts, 3.67 ERA, 1.10 WHIP

Career stats 2023-2024: 140.2 innings, 176 strikeouts, 5.25 ERA, 1.26 WHIP

Jurrangelo Cijntje, 97mph Fastball (right handed) & 92mph Fastball (left handed), Overlay. pic.twitter.com/1S7CuHtJKs

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) February 23, 2023

4. P27 Academy, South Carolina (High School) SS/3B Brendan Lawson- Brendan Lawson committed to Florida and was born in Canada. He moved to the States to put himself on the radar of more MLB scouts. He was rated the top player on the Canadian Baseball Network’s Canadian Draft Prospects list for this draft. Lawson has a good eye for the plate and barrels of a lot of baseballs. Due to average speed, he will probably find a permanent home at third base at the next level.

 

5. Kentucky 2B Emilien Pitre-  Pitre was one of the best hitters on Kentucky and helped lead them to the College World Series. Pitre had a home run and went 2-for-4 in his final game against Florida. Pitre, 21, was born in Canada and is the second-best Canadian player in this draft class. Pitre led Kentucky with 26 stolen bases this season and was second with 58 RBI and fourth with a .301 batting average.

2024 stats: 10 home runs, 58 RBI, 26 stolen bases, and his slash line was .301/.420/.519 in 239 at-bats.

Career stats 2022-2024: 11 home runs, 109 RBI, 46 stolen bases, and his slash line was .307/.429/.464 in 466 at-bats in three seasons.

6. Canada C Nathan Flewelling- Flewlling, 17,  had the top exit velocity of 112.4 MPH on day two of the MLB Draft Combine. The left-handed hitter was born in Alberta, Canada, and played at Ecole Secondaire Notre Dame High School in Alberta, Canada. Flewelling committed to Gonzaga. Flewelling is strong behind the plate with a pop time that ranges from 1.78–1.98 seconds and throws the ball 80 MPH. He’s a prospect that has flown the MLB Draft boards.

 

7. Puerto Rico INF Adrian Areizaga- Areizaga, 18,  went to High School at the Leadership Christian Academy in Puerto Rico. The right-handed hitter hits the ball to all fields and ran the 60-yard dash in 6.55 seconds. Areziaga committed to the University of Miami in Florida.  Areizaga also played in the Prospects Development Pipeline League in 2023. Areizaga also participated in the MLB Draft Combine.

Areizaga will look to join San Francisco Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos, who was the last player drafted from the Christian Academy in 2017.

8. Puerto Rico C Ivan Luciano- Luciano, 17,  went to Dr Carlos Gonzalez High School in Puerto Rico. The left-handed hitter makes hard contact and doesn’t have tremendous power. He committed to Miami University in Ohio. He has a pop time of 1.85 seconds and throws 80 MPH. He has worked with fellow Puerto Rican and MLB legend Yadier Molina. Luciano also played in the Prospects Development Pipeline League in 2023. Luciano was the third international player at the MLB Draft Combine.
9. Indiana State 1B Luis Hernandez- Luis Hernandez, 22, was born in Puerto Rico and was second in home runs (23), RBI (76), and OPS (1.114) this season for Indiana State. The switch-hitter took off this season after hitting five home runs with 28 RBI in 2023. Hernandez was named to the 2024 ABCA/Rawlings All-Midwest Region Second Team. He was also named First Team All-Conference in the Missouri Valley Conference and the MVC All-Defensive Team.

2024 stats: 23 home runs, 76 RBI, five stolen bases, and a slash line of .359/.421/.694 in 248 at-bats.

Career stats 2022-2024: 32 home runs, 120 RBI, nine stolen bases, and a slash line of .314/.389/.363 in three seasons.

10. Indiana State INF Randal Diaz- Randal Diaz, 21, was born in Puerto Rico and led Indiana State with a batting average of .360 this season. The righty Diaz is a well-rounded player who has walked 31 times and had 35 strikeouts. Diaz was third on the team with an OPS of 1.069. Randal Diaz was selected to the NCAA Lexington Regional Tournament Team. He was also on the First-Team in the MVC like Hernandez. Diaz also went to high school at Leadership Christian Academy in Puerto Rico.

2024 stats: 18 home runs, 55 RBI, seven stolen bases, and a slash line of .360/.437/.632 in 253 at-bats.

Career stats 2022-2024: 35 home runs, 128 RBI, 13 stolen bases, and a slash line of .322/.393/.556 in 683 at-bats in three seasons.

11. 11. Talladega 1B Miguel Oropeza- The right-handed hitter Miguel Oropeza was born in Venezuela. Talladega is a Division II Baseball program in Alabama. Oropeza led them with a .497 batting average, a .605 on-base percentage, and an OPS of 1.432 in 185 at-bats this season. Oropeza hit 10 home runs, doubling his previous career high of five in 2022.

2024 stats: 10 home runs, 70 RBI, and 26 stolen bases in 130 at-bats.

Career stats 2022-2024: 19 home runs, 150 RBI, 40 stolen bases, and a batting average of .448 in 470 at-bats in three seasons.

12. Canisius 1B/OF Carlin Dick- Carlin Dick, 22, was born in Canada and is a lefty. Dick stole 22 bases and had an OPS of .972 this season. The senior set career highs with 10 home runs and 31 RBI for Canisius this season. Canisius is a Division I Baseball school in Buffalo, N.Y.  He was named to the All-MAAC Rookie Team in 2021 and helped them win the MACC Championship in 2022. Dick had a career-high three hits in 2023 against Morehead State.

2024 stats: 10 home runs, 31 RBI, 21 stolen bases, and his slash line was .287/.438/.535 in 171 at-bats this season.

Career stats 2021-2024: 19 home runs, 93 RBI, 29 stolen bases, and his slashline was .265/.397/.459 in 499 at-bats in four seasons.

13. Indiana State 2B Josue Urdanta- Josue Urdanta was born in Venezuela and is a righty. He went to high school at Avant Garde Academic in Venezuela. The redshirt Senior had two home runs and 17 RBI last season. His best season was in 2022, when he had five home runs and an OPS of .849. He was a Gold Glove finalist in 2023 and made the All-MVC Defensive Team in the last two seasons.

2024 stats: Two home runs, 17 RBI, four stolen bases, and his slash line was .250/.366/.321 in 196 at-bats.

Career stats 2021-2024: nine home runs, 98 RBI, 29 stolen bases, and his slash line was .277/.359/.361 in 867 at-bats in four seasons.

14. Talladega OF Jahir Cruz- Jahir Cruz was born in Puerto Rico and is a righty. Cruz attended High School at the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy. This season, he had 23 stolen bases, three triples, and an OPS of .980 for Talladega. Cruz set career highs in home runs, RBI, stolen bases, and slugging percentage. He scored a career-high six runs in a game against Rust College. Cruz has a high contact rate, with only 10 strikeouts this season and 16 walks.

2024 stats: Two home runs, 26 RBI, 23 stolen bases, and a batting average of .321 in 84 at-bats.

Career stats 2022-2024: Two home runs, 40 RBI, 38 stolen bases, and a batting average of .333 in 168 at-bats in three seasons.

15. Talladega OF Rafael Diaz- Rafael Diaz is a lefty born in Puerto Rico. He went to Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy High School, which fellow Puerto Rican and former MLB star Carlos Beltran created. He played 22 games this season and had an OPS of .737 for Talladega. Diaz had his best season in 2023 with 12 stolen bases, three home runs, 24 RBI, and an OPS of .845. His best game of the season was against Rust College when he went 3-for-4 with three RBI, both season highs.

2024 stats: one home run, 13 RBI, five stolen bases, and a .286 batting average in 63 at-bats.

Career stats 2022-2024: Five home runs, 55 RBI, 25 stolen bases, and a .311 batting average in three seasons.

Photo Credit: Oregon State infielder Travis Bazzana (37) in an NCAA super regional game between the Oregon State Beavers and the Kentucky Wildcats on June 9, 2024, at Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington, KY. (Photo by Jeff Moreland/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)