{"id":754476,"date":"2026-07-10T10:45:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T10:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/754476\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T10:45:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T10:45:14","slug":"bacon-and-eggs-fake-contracts-and-disbelief-guardians-players-remember-their-mlb-drafts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/754476\/","title":{"rendered":"Bacon and eggs, fake contracts and disbelief: Guardians players remember their MLB Drafts"},"content":{"rendered":"

MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 Travis Bazzana and a crowd of supporters \u2014 including some who had flown across the Pacific Ocean for the occasion \u2014 gathered in the Omaha Room, overlooking the baseball diamond at Oregon State\u2019s Goss Stadium on July 14, 2024.<\/p>\n

About 20 minutes before the start of the MLB Draft, the Cleveland Guardians called. Bazzana was going to be the No. 1 pick. TV interviews, video calls, news conferences and a whirlwind would follow.<\/p>\n

Few players have that sort of draft-day mayhem.<\/p>\n

Shawn Armstrong was asleep on the couch when he was selected, for instance. Slade Cecconi faked a contract signing in his living room in 2020, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have first overall picks. We have undrafted free agents,\u201d Guardians reliever Erik Sabrowski said. \u201cWe have a 14th-rounder (him). I\u2019m sure there\u2019s a 30th-rounder, and they don\u2019t even have 30 rounds anymore.\u201d His fellow reliever, Tim Herrin, in fact, was taken in the 29th round.<\/p>\n

With the MLB Draft this weekend, The Athletic asked a slew of Guardians players for their draft-day recollections.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all have a different story,\u201d Sabrowski said.<\/p>\n

They just threw it away in the garbage<\/p>\n

Where was Cecconi when he learned he was the 33rd pick in 2020?<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my freaking living room during COVID,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

That draft was different, thanks to the pandemic. Five rounds, all remote. Cecconi knew he was a borderline first-rounder, and he was \u201ctightly wound\u201d as each pick scrolled across.<\/p>\n

He said he took about 50 video calls with teams leading up to the draft. Teams with top 10 picks were interested in him as an early second-rounder. Teams with late picks considered him in the first round.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou couldn\u2019t really enjoy the process,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was like a job interview.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cleveland was one of the few teams that didn\u2019t bother. The Arizona Diamondbacks didn\u2019t seem interested, either. He recalled them telling him, \u201cWe appreciate your time, but don\u2019t think so,\u201d after a second call.<\/p>\n

\"Slade<\/p>\n

\n Slade Cecconi was drafted amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Brian Fisher \/ Cal Sport Media via Associated Press)<\/p>\n

The Diamondbacks ended up selecting him, though. At that moment, he was watching on TV with his family and his best friend. MLB had sent camera equipment to record his reaction. The league also sent a jersey and cap for every team. He\u2019d wear the gear of his new team and ship the rest back.<\/p>\n

Usually, a player chosen that early travels to the big-league ballpark to see the facilities, take batting practice or throw a bullpen session and, as Cecconi said, \u201cfeel like you\u2019re a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

His experience was \u2026 different. He signed his contract electronically.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was anticlimactic. It was crazy,\u201d he said. \u201cLiterally, track pad your signature. Send. \u2018Oh, that was weird.\u2019 It\u2019s me signing my contract, sitting alone in my living room, pressing a button on a keyboard.\u201d<\/p>\n

His mom, however, wanted to make the moment memorable. She had him don the Diamondbacks gear, printed out a copy of the contract and had him sign it with an actual pen, not his finger, \u201cjust so I could feel something.\u201d<\/p>\n

They tossed the papers in the garbage after the fact, but she was adamant, telling him, \u201cYou\u2019re going to sign this and feel like you signed your contract. You\u2019re not going to just press a button.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a very nice gesture,\u201d Cecconi said.<\/p>\n

An awkward arrival at a banquet<\/p>\n

Austin Hedges was convinced he would be a first-rounder in 2011. He had a camera crew and reporters at his house to chronicle the moment. The first round unfolded at the same time as his high school team banquet. When he finally arrived at the event, everyone looked in his direction, as if he were a doctor leaving an operating room to relay news to loved ones in the waiting room.<\/p>\n

Hedges shrugged and shook his head. He wasn\u2019t a first-rounder. He thought the Boston Red Sox would grab him at No. 26, but they instead opted for catcher Blake Swihart.<\/p>\n

The next day, Hedges\u2019 mom woke him up a little after 9 a.m. to tell him the San Diego Padres had taken him in the second round, the 82nd pick. He didn\u2019t really care. He planned to attend UCLA, unless, he told agent Scott Boras, the Padres offered him $2 million. Boras instructed him not to sign for anything less than $3 million. Sure enough, the Padres offered him $3 million, about seven times slot value.<\/p>\n

Bacon, eggs and a life-changing moment<\/p>\n

Sabrowski started as a hitter at Cisco College in Texas before he transferred to Cloud County Community College in Concordia, Kan. He said he spent college pitching in front of about 11 people each game, all players\u2019 girlfriends and parents. He never pondered a path to the big leagues until he struck out 18 in seven innings in front of a few scouts who happened to be in attendance to watch the opposing team.<\/p>\n

Sabrowski thought he would be a Day 2 pick in 2018, so he watched every second of coverage that day. His name never popped up, though. He was frustrated. The next morning, he was cooking breakfast \u2014 he\u2019s pretty sure it was bacon and eggs \u2014 for himself and his wife, Renee. She was monitoring the draft on a laptop.<\/p>\n

\u201cErik, that\u2019s you!\u201d she shouted. \u201cSan Diego!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Padres took him in the 14th round.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it happens, it\u2019s, \u2018Holy s\u2014, I just got drafted,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201c\u2018This is the coolest thing in the world.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Upstaging your brother\u2019s graduation party\"Cleveland's<\/p>\n

\n Tim Herrin was drafted in the 29th round. (Adam Hunger \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Herrin was the 883rd pick in 2018. He thought he might go in the teens, but he dropped to the 29th round, and by that point, he was only casually tracking the draft. He was socializing with friends and family at his younger brother\u2019s high school graduation party.<\/p>\n

Herrin\u2019s agent texted him that Cleveland was interested, and assured him it was a good organization to join as a late-round selection. Cody Allen, a 23rd-round pick, had flourished as the team\u2019s closer. The team and Herrin\u2019s agent settled on a $100,000 signing bonus, and Cleveland turned in his name. Herrin said he tried not to upstage his brother\u2019s accomplishment, but it certainly turned into a dual celebration.<\/p>\n

Wake up. You got drafted<\/p>\n

Armstrong was projected to go in the first 10 rounds in 2011, but since he could return to East Carolina for his senior season, he didn\u2019t want to settle for an underwhelming signing bonus. He turned down offers from a few teams and, discouraged by the process, went to sleep on the couch in his family\u2019s living room. His mom woke him up to tell him Cleveland had taken him in the 18th round.<\/p>\n

At 11:52 p.m. the night of the August signing deadline, Cleveland called with an offer, about $20,000 below what Armstrong had requested. Armstrong called his parents, but they didn\u2019t answer. He called his coach, but he didn\u2019t answer. He called his pitching coach, who didn\u2019t seem thrilled to be receiving a call so late at night. Armstrong relayed Cleveland\u2019s offer. The coach told him to accept it. So he did.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you would\u2019ve told me 10 years ago that I\u2019d be here today,\u201d Armstrong said, \u201cI\u2019d be like, \u2018No way.\u2019 Being optioned 21 times. The (18th) round. That\u2019s just impossible. Never going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Disbelief and deprecation<\/p>\n

Oregon State churns out MLB draft picks, so the team gathered in the players lounge in 2018 to watch Trevor Larnach, Nick Madrigal and Cadyn Grenier become first-rounders. Steven Kwan had been told to expect a team to take him in the rounds 10-12 range. During the fifth round, his agent called and rattled off a list of teams that might have him on their radar. He also cautioned to watch out for Cleveland.<\/p>\n

\u201cLiterally, Cleveland was next in the tracker,\u201d Kwan said, \u201cand I saw my name pop up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Steven<\/p>\n

\n Steven Kwan was a fifth-round pick out of Oregon State. (Frank Jansky \/ Icon Sportswire)<\/p>\n

The Oregon State players were following the draft in the cafeteria that day. Kwan said they were a bit desensitized to it after watching three teammates go in the first 37 picks the night before. Still, he was in \u201cdisbelief\u201d when Cleveland took him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe deprecator I am,\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018Ah, it\u2019s probably not going to happen.\u2019 And then it just happened. It was so matter-of-fact, being like, \u2018Oh, wow, that\u2019s my name.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

A \u2018bitter, interesting feeling\u2019<\/p>\n

Joey Cantillo wasn\u2019t thrilled with his senior season of high school. If he had pitched better, he stressed, he would have been selected higher in 2017. (Granted, he had a 1.24 ERA and was the Gatorade High School Player of the Year in Hawaii.)<\/p>\n

Cantillo followed the draft on his laptop in his room in Honolulu. He saw his name pop up and alerted his parents in the other room.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was definitely disappointed in myself that day,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was kind of a bitter, interesting feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cantillo, who went in the 16th round, had every intention of attending the University of Kentucky, but the Padres coveted him enough to hand him a signing bonus north of $300,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody has a different path,\u201d he said, before pointing out Bazzana. \u201cI wasn\u2019t the No. 1 overall pick like our boy here, but I wouldn\u2019t have it any other way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pick a hat<\/p>\n

Parker Messick laid out a cap for each team at his grandparents\u2019 house in Florida the night of the 2022 draft. He received a call from the Guardians, who planned to snag him in the second round with the 54th pick. He didn\u2019t tell his friends and relatives the identity of the team on the other end of the call, though.<\/p>\n

So, everyone else in the room tried to guess which hat he\u2019d be placing atop his head. With each pick announcement, they recorded video of the TV, waiting to hear his name. Then, a dejected reaction and a hat removal.<\/p>\n

Finally, the Guardians made the pick. Four years later, he\u2019s an All-Star.<\/p>\n

A team that never showed interest<\/p>\n

Hoskins watched Day 2 of the 2014 draft with his four roommates and 10 family members from his house off the campus at Sacramento State. The Diamondbacks called him and said they planned to take him with their third-round pick. They didn\u2019t. The Philadelphia Phillies called him in the fifth round, even though he never heard from them during the scouting process, one of only a handful of teams that didn\u2019t reach out.<\/p>\n

The Seattle Mariners picked before the Phillies, and Hoskins was on the phone with the Phillies\u2019 scout.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid the Mariners take you?\u201d the scout asked. \u201cNo? OK, yeah, we\u2019re taking you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoskins said he remembers realizing how far Philadelphia was from his hometown of Sacramento. First, though, the Phillies sent him to their Florida complex before assigning him to Low-A Williamsport.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was, \u2018Wow, this is so cool,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201c\u2018Holy cow, I have to leave tomorrow.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Whoa! That\u2019s me!\u2019\"Stephen<\/p>\n

\n \u201cTo see your name is something really special,\u201d Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. (Phil Long \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Stephen Vogt went undrafted in 2006 out of Azusa Pacific, so he was a senior prospect in 2007 who had little leverage. Whenever he was selected, and whatever the offer was, he was taking it. At 9:30 a.m. on Day 2, the Tampa Bay Rays took Vogt with the first pick in the 12th round.<\/p>\n

\u201c(You\u2019re) watching the ticker on the computer and waiting for your name to pop up,\u201d Vogt said, \u201cand all of a sudden you see your name pop up, and you go, \u2018Whoa! That\u2019s me!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

He was the 365th player selected.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s long-awaited,\u201d he said. \u201cYou don\u2019t know if your dream is going to happen or not. To see your name is something really special.\u201d<\/p>\n

It all started with an email<\/p>\n

Matt Festa started out at Dominican University, a Division II school in Orangeburg, N.Y., about an hour from his native Staten Island. He wanted to pursue baseball a bit more seriously, though, so he emailed every Division II school he could find, seeking an opportunity. He received interest from two: East Stroudsburg and Millersville, a couple of rivals in the Pennsylvania State Athletics Conference.<\/p>\n

East Stroudsburg invited him on a campus tour and showed off its fieldhouse, a building typically used for wrestling and track and field, but a place where he could long toss during the harsh winter.<\/p>\n

The Mariners selected Festa in the seventh round in 2016, as he watched the livestream of the event with some family and friends. He was surprised to go that early as a redshirt senior.<\/p>\n

His mom sent him a picture last month on the 10th anniversary of that day. He said his journey taught him \u201c(scouts) can find you anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018That means the world\u2019<\/p>\n

Kahlil Watson and his family reserved a spot at a golf club in Raleigh, N.C., the night of his draft in 2021. Really, he said, it felt like \u201cthe whole city\u201d was there to celebrate. Watson had been projected to go as high as the back half of the top 10. The Miami Marlins ultimately took him at No. 16.<\/p>\n

Watson had committed to NC State, so he felt at ease no matter when he was chosen. Watson moved out of Chase City, Va., about an hour south to Wake Forest, N.C., in part to gain more exposure. Once he noticed a dozen scouts lining up to watch him play, he thought, \u201cThis is getting real.\u201d He stopped playing football, focused on baseball and wound up a first-rounder.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for that day five years ago, I wouldn\u2019t be here right now,\u201d he said. \u201cThat means the world to me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 Travis Bazzana and a crowd of supporters \u2014 including some who had flown across the Pacific…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":754477,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[2320,363,99],"class_list":["post-754476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-cleveland-guardians","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/754476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=754476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/754476\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/754477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=754476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=754476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=754476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}