The Bazzana buzz is alive and well, with Australia’s own Travis Bazzana continuing to thrill in the Minor Leagues with Cleveland affiliate, the Lake County Captains.
Cleveland signed Bazzana on July 19th with the first overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft. Since then, Trav has been assigned to High A Lake County Captains and debuted in the minors on July 26th. He’s been absolutely crushing it in High A, having already received “Captain of the Week” honors in their round against the Great Lakes Loons (LA Dodgers) with a .545 AVG, 4 2B and 1.524 OPS. The second baseman already has 2 HR in his Minor League career and is averaging .229 with .372 OBP
Travis currently sits 13th overall in MLB Pipeline’s Overall Prospect Rankings, the highest out of any Australian and highest even within the entire Cleveland Guardians Organisation. Guardians Catcher, Austin Hedges spoke on the Talkin Baseball Podcast about the possibility of Travis playing in the majors and being added to the roster in September when they expand. When asked “how hard would that be?” Hedges replied, “It would be the hardest thing ever [considering how little time he’s spent in the Minors], BUT this kid is special man!”
“This guy has one of those mentalities that seems different” says Hedges. We have seen firsthand through his dedication at State levels, National levels, in High Performance programs and throughout his college career…. Travis’ work ethic is second to none and his physical AND mental determination to make it to the big leagues has been what set him apart from his peers. We eagerly await the roster expansions in September and are keen to see what Travis has to offer in the rest of his Minor League season.