In the 2024 MLB Draft Lottery, the Guards won the #1 overall pick for the first time in franchise history. With that pick, the Guards selected Travis Bazzana first overall. Projected to be a speedy contact hitter with a good amount of power, he fills a team need for Cleveland. His potential offensive production would definitely help the team. The Guardians rank in the bottom five in team batting average, slugging percentage, hits per game, and runs per game. With comparisons to former Phillies 2B Chase Utley and Cleveland legend Grady Sizemore, Bazzana seems to be loaded with potential. Although the future looks bright for Bazzana, he seems to have hit some obstacles on his road to the show.
Bazzana’s stats in the minors aren’t exactly eye-popping. Last season, the former Oregon State Beaver hit .238 with 3 homers and 12 RBI for the Guardians’ high-A affiliate, Lake County Captains. This season on the team’s AA affiliate, Akron RubberDucks, Bazzana went yard 4 times while hitting .252, with 17 RBI. In Bazzana’s defense, he’s currently dealing with an oblique strain that’ll keep him out of action for the foreseeable future. Before the injury, he was seeing the ball well. Through 12 games in May, he hit .279 with two homers.
The problem here isn’t that Bazzana isn’t producing, which he is, but that he’s not producing on the level of other premier prospects like Jac Caglianone or Charlie Condon. Condon, currently in the Colorado Rockies’ system, has been excelling so far in 2025. He’s currently hitting .324, with three home runs, and 18 RBI in 38 games. With Colorado on pace for the worst record in the modern era, we’ll probably see Condon in the majors sooner rather than later. Jac Caglianone, on the other hand, has already been called up and contributed. Through 17 games, he has a pair of homers, four RBI, and an impressive four-hit game on his resumè.
Even with Bazzana’s “struggles” early in his career, history is on his side. There have been plenty of MLB stars who didn’t put up the best numbers in the minors. Before he was Cleveland’s ace pitcher, Corey Kluber went 10-14 during a two-year span in classes AA and AAA. Even Hall-of-Fame P Randy Johnson had his fair share of difficulties. From 1985-1988, The Big Unit was 28-25 with a 4.08 ERA in the minors.
I’m not saying that the Guardians made the wrong choice in selecting Bazzana. He was the best player available and I think the team hit the nail on the head. It’s a little discerning, however, to see his draftmates progress faster given relatively the same opportunities. I’m excited about what Travis Bazzana can bring to the table. However, time will tell if he’s a Lebron James, Myles Garrett type of #1 pick or an Anthony Bennett, Courtney Brown type.
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