The Travis Bazzana call-up is no longer a matter of speculation. The Guardians are promoting their 2024 first overall pick, with Bazzana expected to debut and take over as the everyday second baseman. Cleveland will open an active roster spot by optioning another player to make room.
With that news now official, the conversation has already shifted from whether Bazzana is coming to how Stephen Vogt plans to use him.
Guardians Prospective laid out an intriguing case for putting Bazzana directly into the leadoff spot from day one.
“I know it probably won’t happen, but I’d love to see Vogt insert Bazzana directly into the lead-off spot from day one. Kwan has a .305 OBP over his last 105 games. The one thing Bazzana has shown consistently in his brief minor league career is the ability to get on base,” Guardians Perspective wrote.
I know it probably won't happen, but I'd love to see Vogt insert Bazzana directly into the lead-off spot from day one.
Kwan has a .305 OBP over his last 105 games. The one thing Bazzana has shown consistently in his brief minor league career is the ability to get on base.
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) April 28, 2026
Steven Kwan has been the Guardians’ leadoff hitter for years and has earned that spot through some genuinely excellent seasons. But the 2026 version of Kwan has been a real concern. He is currently hitting .217 with a .300 on-base percentage and a .574 OPS across 106 at-bats, good for an OPS+ of just 62, which means he has been 38 percent below the average hitter in baseball this season. Over his last 105 games that on-base percentage sits at just .305. For a leadoff hitter whose job is setting the table for Jose Ramirez and the heart of the order, those numbers represent a significant problem.
To put it in further context, Kwan’s career OPS is .734 with a career OBP of .349. What he is producing in 2026 is nowhere close to that player. His last five games have been particularly rough, going 0-4 against Tampa Bay on Monday and 1-5 in Sunday’s series finale against Toronto, with his bat going almost completely quiet over the most recent stretch.
Bazzana, meanwhile, has done nothing but get on base at every level he has played. At Triple-A Columbus this season across 24 games, he slashed .287/.422/.511 with a .933 OPS. At Oregon State in his final college season he posted a .407 batting average.
Kwan is still a respected veteran presence in that clubhouse and his defense in center field remains excellent. His four Gold Gloves and two All-Star selections speak to the kind of player he has been for this organization. But the bat has not been what Cleveland needs from its leadoff spot in 2026, and Bazzana’s arrival gives Vogt a real option to consider at the top of the order.
Whether Vogt goes there on day one is a different question. But the case for it is stronger than most people might initially think, and the numbers make it harder to dismiss with every game that passes.
NEXT: Guardians Make Big Travis Bazzana Announcement
