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Cleveland Guardians MLB Draft grades: Everything to know about the first overall pick

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Cleveland Guardians MLB Draft grades: Everything to know about the first overall pick


The 2024 MLB Draft is officially here and the Cleveland Guardians are on the clock. Due to the newly added draft lottery, the Guardians jumped up to the first overall pick, winning the lottery. They have had plenty of time to look into who they want to take with this first overall pick, but only the Guardians know what that decision is at this point.

With the first overall pick, the Guardians will have their selection of talent between any draft eligible player on the planet. They have been mocked to select nearly all of the players in the projected top ten picks, but they can only select one of them.

FanSided’s Roger Castillo projected the Guardians to select the Oregon State infielder, Travis Bazzana, with their first overall pick. Bazzana is a true five-tool prospect that could crack the big leagues by the beginning of next year. He has smashed every level of pitching that he’s been up against through his entire career.


Cleveland has also been consistently mocked to take a few other names. Among those names, JJ Weatherholt, Charlie Condon and Jac Caglianone are the most popular options for the Guardians to land with the first overall pick.

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It’s hard to go wrong when you have your pick of the litter. With so much top-end talent in this draft, the Guardians are almost surely going to grab a perennial big leaguer with this first-overall pick.

The Guardians hold the No. 1, 36, and 48 picks on day one of the MLB Draft.

Round 1, Pick 1: Guardians select 2B/SS Travis Bazzana, Oregon State University

With the first pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, the Cleveland Guardians selected the middle infielder, Travis Bazzana out of Oregon State University. Bazzana is likely to be the most MLB ready player in this draft.

Last season, Bazzana slashed .407/.568/.911 while being a plus runner and a plus defender. He’s a true five-tool player with the ability to do anything and everything on the baseball field. MLB Pipeline has him ranked as the top draft prospect with multiple 60-grade tools.

Beyond just his physical traits, Bazzana adds a player that has the energy and desire to win. He’s a leader that leads from the front of the pack.

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With the first pick, the Guardians landed on the best player in the draft. There’s potential that a player like Jac Caglianone or Chase Burns end up with a higher ceiling, but Bazzana is the right pick here. He’s the perfect combination of high-floor, high-ceiling that the Guardians need.

Grade: A

Comp Balance A, Pick 36: Guardians select RHP Braylon Doughty, Chaparral High School (CA)

With the 36th pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, the Cleveland Guardians selected 18-year-old right-handed pitcher, Braylon Doughty out of Chaparral High School in California.

After selecting a safe, top end talent in Travis Bazzana in the first round, the Guardians were right to go with a prep pitcher here. The teenager is typically a three pitch pitcher, led by a plus fastball and two plus breaking balls. He flashes a changeup, but it’s still quite a work in progress at the moment. He’ll need to develop that pitch as he matures and moves through the minor leagues.

His fastball consistently sits in the mid-nineties and his breaking pitches have flashed true swing and miss potential. If he can hold his athleticiscm while gaining another 10 pounds, he could be a truly dominant arm.

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Grade: A-

Round 2, Pick 48: Guardians select C Jacob Cozart, NC State

With the 48th pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, the Cleveland Guardians selected catcher Jacob Cozart from North Carolina State.

Cozart is one of the top catchers in this year’s class and he produces with both the bat and the glove. He’s an above-average defensive catcher that has shown off a good arm in recent years. His receiving may need some adjusting to pro ball, but his defense as a whole has been average to above average for his entire college career.

His bat has looked tremendous, especially from a catcher, as he slashed .305/.437/.601 at NC State last season. His low doubles number, 7, is a bit concerning, but he made up for it by hitting almost 20 homers.

Having a well-rounded catcher is never a bad thing. He may never be one of the best catchers in the league, but the Guardians certainly got themselves a solid backstop here.

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Grade: B



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’27 DE Munir Lewis Commits to Louisville

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’27 DE Munir Lewis Commits to Louisville


LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Make that a trio of commitment in the Class of 2027 this week for the Louisville football program.

Cleveland (Oh.) Brush defensive end Munir Lewis announced Wednesday that he has committed to the Cardinals. He’s the third commit in the last four days for UofL, Bradenton (Fla.) Cardinal Mooney defensive lineman Kaleb Exume committing on Sunday and Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day two-way athlete Brooklyn Maxey doing so on Monday.

Lewis chose Louisville out of a top seven that also consisted of Ohio State, Michigan State, Illinois, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Purdue. He also held offers from Cincinnati, Minnesota, Wisconsin plus several others, and made multiple visits to UofL’s campus – including this past Friday for the spring game. He’s set to return for an official visit this May.

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The 6-foot-5, 245-pound defensive end is regarded as the 23rd-ranked prospect in the state of Ohio, the No. 50 edge rusher in the Class of 2027, and the No. 592 recruit in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite.

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Lewis was an explosive force for Brush as a junior this past season. He collected 55 total tackles, 13.5 for loss, nine sacks, four pass breakup, a forced fumbles and over 20 quarterback pressures. He helped Brush finish the 2025 season with a 6-4 record.

Lewis is the 12th commitment in Louisville’s 2027 recruiting class, which is on pace to be the best in school history. he joins a class that not only ranks as the best class in the ACC, but the No. 8 class in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite. Four of their commitments are regarded as four-star prospects by the composite.

He’s also the latest in a budding pipeline to the state of Ohio, which has been championed by Executive Director of Football Personnel and Recruiting Vince Marrow. Five of Louisville’s 12 commitments in the 2027 cycle are from the Buckeye State, with three hailing from the Cincinnati area and the other two coming from Cleveland.

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American Cornhole League Cleveland Signature Open | April 24, 2026 | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission

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American Cornhole League Cleveland Signature Open  | April 24, 2026 | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission


Anyone Can Play, Anyone Can Win
American Cornhole League is bringing the heat to the boards in Cleveland with $150,000 on the line. Join us on April 24-26, 2026, for elite competition where amateurs and pros collide. Whether you’re a backyard ringer or a seasoned veteran, this is your chance to…



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Houston Astros at Cleveland Guardians prediction, pick for Tuesday 4/21/26

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Houston Astros at Cleveland Guardians prediction, pick for Tuesday 4/21/26


Garion Thorne gives you a preview, prediction and pick for tonight’s game between the Houston Astros and the Cleveland Guardians.

Few teams needed a win last night more than the Astros.

Houston came into Monday’s action having lost 12 of its past 14 games, while also having lost nearly as many pitchers — at least it feels that way. Just take a quick glance at this club’s IL. Hunter Brown (shoulder), Tatsuya Imai (fatigue), Cristian Javier (shoulder). Those aren’t losses that are easy to survive, and the Astros have understandably been struggling. However, after a dominating 9-2 victory, Houston can at least take a small breath.

Can the Astros make it two in a row this evening? Or will the Guardians bounce back? Let’s preview this AL clash and make a couple picks on the DraftKings Sportsbook.

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Astros vs. Guardians prediction, preview

So, remember that list of injured Astros pitchers I just recited? The consequence of the length of that list, is that you have to start people like Ryan Weiss. That’s not to suggest that Weiss is completely without promise — he was a stud in the KBO in 2024 and 2025 — it’s just that the right-hander’s MLB career has gotten off to a slightly rocky start, and it’s clear that Houston currently prefers the 29-year-old as a reliever. In 14.2 innings of work, Weiss has racked up 18 strikeouts, but he’s also surrendered four home runs, 11 earned runs, and a sixth percentile opponent hard hit rate (54.5%). Weiss isn’t quite built up to be a starter, either. Well, at least not fully, as he threw a season-high 76 pitches in his last outing. That means we’re probably going to have to see a lot of the Astros’ bullpen on Tuesday, which is not a good thing. Houston’s RPs rank 29th in ERA (5.66) and they’ve served up a league-high 1.89 opponent home runs per nine. Yikes.

On the other side of this pitching matchup, we find another starter with little major league experience. That said, Parker Messick already looks like another developmental success story of the Guardians’ pitcher factory. The former second-round pick debuted in 2025, maintaining a 2.72 ERA and a 2.98 FIP across seven starts. If possible, Messick’s looked even better so far in 2026, allowing a mere three earned runs over 25.2 innings. Now, a .200 BABIP isn’t going to sustain. Neither is a 91.4% strand rate. However, when you’re limiting opponents to a 3.3% barrel rate and a 29.5% hard hit rate, you might just get a little “lucky” from time to time. It’s not like the southpaw has been skating by on a soft schedule, either. Messick has faced the Dodgers, the Braves, the Cubs and the Orioles. There isn’t a single cakewalk in there.

That pattern of difficult matchups will continue on Tuesday, as well. For as underwhelming as the Astros’ record is, it’s mostly a byproduct of poor pitching. The offense has actually been one of the best in all of baseball. Houston actually leads all American League teams in wOBA (.350) and wRC+ (124), with Yordan Alvarez leading the charge. He’s been fantastic in left-on-left scenarios, too. In his 36 plate appearances within the split, Alvarez is slashing .448/.528/1.034 with a 315 wRC+. I don’t want to discount Jose Ramirez, who has six homers and 10 stolen bases for the Guardians, yet a healthy Alvarez is easily the best bat in this series. He’s that good.

Astros vs. Guardians pick, best bet

Best Bet: Jose Ramirez 2+ Total Bases (+107)

Weiss has a 6.27 FIP. The Astros’ bullpen has given up the most opponent home runs per nine (1.89). Ramirez probably won’t be in a single bad matchup this evening, and that’s before you factor in that the All-Star is a switch-hitter.

Strong Lean: Ryan Weiss 4+ Strikeouts (+123)

While Weiss’ surface numbers aren’t great, he has managed four strikeouts in two of his three outings where he’s thrown 60+ pitches. He’s struck out 18 in 14.2 innings and I expect he’ll flirt with the 90-pitch plateau on Tuesday.

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