The Cleveland Guardians have sky-high expectations for their No. 1 prospect.
That’s why it was such a shame to see Travis Bazzana sustain an oblique strain injury that will keep him on the shelf for 8-10 weeks.
Bazzana, the No. 12 prospect in all of baseball, sustained the injury during the second game of a doubleheader while playing with Double-A Akron, being pulled in the fourth inning after reaching second base on a double.
In a recent interview with MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins, president Chris Antonetti talked about his mindset and approach to his recovery:
“[Travis Bazzana] shared that’s part of what made [the injury] frustrating, because he felt he was finally hitting his stride and where he wanted to be offensively and getting locked in, and then the injury provided a setback. He’s committed to coming out the other side, knowing what he needs to do to be a successful hitter, and carrying that forward from the progress he made earlier in the season,” Antonetti said.
Bazzana started his recovery process at the Arizona complex.
As Antonetti pointed out, Bazzana was getting hot at the time of the injury.
He was slashing .279/.392/.512 with four doubles, two homers, seven walks, and 12 strikeouts through 12 games in May after posting a .238/.347/.393 slash line with one double, three triples, two homers, 12 walks, and 27 strikeouts in 21 games in April.
Bazzana’s offensive skills have been well-documented.
While he struggled with his timing earlier in the season, he made better decisions in the couple of weeks leading to his injury.
The Australian infielder is now projected to get back on the field in late July or early August, so he might still have more than enough time to showcase his skills and get called up at some point in the season.
That’s a bridge the Guardians will cross once they get there, and the only thing that matters right now is making sure he gets back to full strength.
NEXT: Analyst Uses 5 Words To Describe Guardians Season So Far
