Travis Bazzana is in line to fulfill his destiny as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft by making his debut with the Cleveland Guardians this season. However, he will first accomplish another major goal.
The infielder is expected to represent his native Australia in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. In fact, he even predicted he would do so seven years ago.
Fast forward to today, and Bazzana is posting a hype video about the WBC that includes highlights from his time in Cleveland’s minor league system and emojis of the Australian flag, a boomerang and a kangaroo.
“Cleveland Guardians 23-year-old (2B) prospect Travis Bazzana posted [to] his Instagram account a hype video before his upcoming appearance in the World Baseball Classic for team Australia,” Guardians Prospective wrote on X.
Cleveland #Guardians 23yr old (2B) prospect Travis Bazzana posted his Instagram account a hype video before his upcoming appearance in the World Baseball Classic for team Australia. #GuardsBall 🇦🇺 🪃 🦘 pic.twitter.com/RMdlBowUcF
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) February 6, 2026
Bazzana was able to come up with a good collection of highlights despite the fact that his career to date has been derailed by multiple oblique injuries. He was limited to 84 games over three minor league levels in his first full season last year.
However, he performed as a top prospect should with an .858 OPS and four home runs in 26 Triple-A games. Unfortunately, another injury recurrence ended his season, which could make his participation in the WBC a dicey proposition for the Guardians.
He is projected to be part of Cleveland’s Opening Day lineup, and will already miss valuable spring training time with the team while he takes part in the WBC. With his recent injury history, there is no guarantee he will get through it healthy, which could significantly hinder Cleveland’s plans.
Bazzana is one of nine Guardians expected to play in the WBC. That list includes Logan Allen (Panama), Dylan DeLucia (Italy), Stuart Fairchild (Chinese Taipei), Matt Festa (Italy), Dayan Frias (Colombia), Bo Naylor (Canada), Ryan Prager (Israel) and Matt Wilkinson (Canada).
Among them, only starting pitcher Allen and starting catcher Naylor are expected to have big roles for Cleveland this season. The status of Dominican Republic star Jose Ramirez for the tournament is reportedly unsettled, as the third baseman is not taking part in at least the first round due to a “personal situation.”
So, for now, Guardians can watch Bazzana play with equal amounts of wonder and worry surrounding their potential starting second baseman.
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