2024 MLB Draft’s most interesting potential No. 1 pick, plus Yamine Lamal’s ‘perfect’ goal

For many, being possibly the best prospect in your country’s history would place a tremendous weight. How does one handle the pressures of being the face of a sport for a nation of more than 25 million?

From here, it seems like 22-year-old Australian baseball star Travis Bazzana relishes it. His rise, chronicled today by Brian Hamilton in a wonderful story, makes him the most interesting prospect in this weekend’s MLB Draft:

• To be clear, there’s not exactly a deep history between Australia and baseball. A whopping 38 Australians have played in MLB. It’s thoroughly a cricket country (more on that in a second), so when Bazzana fell in love with baseball at 7 years old, he simply became the town’s baseball kid. And he was obsessed.
• By nature, Bazzana is an analytical guy. As a teenager, he would get in cuts at a batting cage nearby and then go home and study pro swings on the MLB’s website. Throughout his youth career, he played against older players, including a stint at 15 years old in Australia’s top professional league. Incredibly, he hit a respectable .257 then — all while playing cricket too.
• He moved to the United States to play second base at Oregon State, where he blossomed into a bona fide star. He hit .407 this year with 28 homers and a 1.479 OPS. He is maniacal about improving his swing, already melding advanced analytics into his approach at the plate. The running gag was that if you were Bazzana’s roommate, your average would go up by .200. He also cooked steaks and fish for everyone? Sign him up.

Bazzana is No. 2 on Keith Law’s final top-100 prospect list ahead of Sunday’s first round. He could very well be the No. 1 pick by Cleveland.

I urge you to read the full story this morning, which includes plenty more details than we could fit above, including his ultimate goal: making Australia into an international baseball powerhouse.

There are levels to the Young Superstar Index. Maybe you are Cooper Flagg, the 17-year-old who opened eyes this week at Team USA’s training camp. Or maybe you’re Lily Yohannes, who scored for the USWNT in her international debut at 16.

Those two are firmly in the “up next” camp, though. For Lamine Yamal — also just 16 — there is no curiosity about what spot he’s inheriting. He’s already here, scoring deep into a giant tourney.

Just look at what he uncorked yesterday in Spain’s Euros semifinal win over France:

A GOLAZO FROM LAMINE YAMAL 🔥

The 16-year-old equalizes from outside the box to become the youngest goalscorer in Euros history.

🎥 @FOXSoccer | #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/Ygj6ACMXZ0

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) July 9, 2024

Absurd. The confidence to pull that off, with your team down one, on the biggest stage outside of the World Cup is just breathtaking. Spain won 2-1, making this goal critical. Maybe he’s too young to realize the magnitude, but I doubt that. This undeniable talent is why we highlighted him in our Radar scouting guide ahead of the Euros. Dermot Corrigan’s preview rings very true today:

“He has become one of his team’s most dangerous attackers for club and country. He generally picks up a position high and wide on the right wing, where he can receive the ball with the rival defense stretched. From there, he immediately looks to cut inside and take on his marker — such as the driving run that won a penalty for Spain against Brazil.

Which is exactly what happened yesterday. It was perfect, as James Horncastle wrote beautifully. Yamal is now the youngest player to ever: 

• Start a Champions League match
• Score in a La Liga match
• Score in a Euros match

Not a bad year. Spain faces the winner of today’s match between England and the Netherlands on Sunday, where we should not be surprised if Yamal adds to the unfathomable start to his soccer career. 

• Elsewhere: Argentina breezed past an overmatched Canada squad 2-0 in last night’s Copa America semifinal, sending the defending World Cup champions to another final. Lionel Messi scored and looked just fine after injury worries early in this tournament.