Stephen Vogt has watched a lot of young players come through Cleveland over the years. What he is seeing from Travis Bazzana and Chase DeLauter right now has him feeling something different.
The Guardians manager addressed the development of his two most prominent rookies, and the way he described what he has been watching comes from a manager who has seen enough to know when something is real.
“When they walk through the door, they know they’re big leaguers, and they’re playing like it,” Vogt said.
“When they walk through the door, they know they're big leaguers, and they're playing like it”#Guardians manager Stephen Vogt on rookies Travis Bazzana and Chase DeLauter’s development #GuardsBall x @WEWS https://t.co/IYFE2ue9di pic.twitter.com/Us59wcKzVk
— Mason Horodyski (@MasonHorodyski) May 27, 2026
Bazzana is hitting .293 across 92 at-bats with three home runs, 11 RBI, seven stolen bases, a .404 on-base percentage, and an .838 OPS with an OPS+ of 140 in his first career season at the big league level. He has already become the first Cleveland player since Earl Averill in 1929 to post a .400 on-base percentage with at least one home run through his first 24 career games, a historical benchmark that puts his debut in rare company.
DeLauter has been equally impressive. The 24-year-old from Frederick, Maryland carries a .255 batting average across 188 at-bats with seven home runs, 30 RBI, 25 walks, and a .776 OPS with an OPS+ of 120 through 52 games. His 15 multi-hit games this season lead the team and reflect a hitter who finds a way to be productive even on days when the lineup around him is struggling.
The two rookies have complemented each other beautifully within the Cleveland lineup, providing different kinds of production from different spots in the order while sharing the same fundamental quality that Vogt identified. They carry themselves like big leaguers because they believe they are big leaguers, and that belief shows up in the biggest moments of games rather than disappearing under pressure.
The Guardians bet on their young players over the offseason when the easy and popular move would have been to spend in free agency on proven veterans. Vogt’s words are the most direct validation yet of how that bet is playing out.
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