The Cleveland Guardians have a potential game-changing prospect in second baseman Travis Bazzana.
The No. 1 pick of the 2024 MLB Draft has done enough to put himself in a position to play relevant MLB games with Cleveland this year, probably in the foreseeable future.
Whether those games start coming on Opening Day or not depends on many factors, but if he doesn’t break camp with the squad, he should be on the active 26-man roster relatively soon.
Team insider Tim Stebbins offered his two cents and said he thinks Bazzana should start in Triple-A Columbus, but if he hits well for a few weeks, he should be up in the first half.
“I’d start there (Triple-A) because he didn’t have more than 25 or 26 games down there last year, so it makes sense to give him a little bit more run. But if he comes out of the gate hitting with them (Columbus), I’d think that that conversation is going to ramp up, like May or June, because you know he can help you,” Stebbins said in a conversation with the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show.
May or June seems to be about right as a potential Bazzana call-up estimation, because it’s not like there is a better offensive player than him among current middle infielders in the organization.
This is a guy who put up a 126 wRC+ in 27 games as a rookie in High-A in 2024, and went on to have a 137 mark last year between the Complex League, Double-A, and Triple-A.
He has power, speed, and the ability to take a walk, among many other tools and traits.
Stebbins believes he has looked very good in camp and even told a hilarious story that highlights just how much Bazzana expects from himself.
“I think he’s looked good. Before he left for Australia, they (the Guardians) were playing the Dodgers, and he hit a home run to dead center, a little bit to right-center. After the game, he said: ‘I feel like I’ve been a bit off on the fastballs, just off the barrel’. That one was a fastball, and he crushed it. He could force the conversation in May or June, and you know that he could come up and help these guys,” he said.
If his current spring line is .250/.333/.625 with a homer and a 132 wRC+, imagine what he can do when he gets the entire barrel consistently on fastballs.
Not only does Bazzana have elite baseball tools, but he has the mentality to succeed as well.
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