Bazzana, the No. 16 overall prospect in baseball, has been hitting the ball well in the minors this season


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The Cleveland Guardians are calling up their top prospect, second baseman Travis Bazzana, ESPN reports.

Bazzana, 23, was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Oregon State. Coming into the 2026 season, CBS Sports ranked Bazzana as the No. 16 prospect in all of baseball. Here's part of our write-up:

"The No. 1 pick in the 2024 Draft, Bazzana is now positioned to debut sometime in 2026. He split his first full professional season between Double- and Triple-A, hitting .245/.389/.424 with nine home runs and 12 stolen bases in 84 games. The book on him remains the same as when he was drafted: he combines a disciplined approach with above-average contact chops and power output. Indeed, Bazzana atones for pedestrian exit velocities by lifting and pulling the ball at high rates, a combination that ought to play well in Cleveland's ballpark. His comfort with deep counts will ensure he strikes out a fair amount, and he's not going to win a Gold Glove award anytime soon. Even so, Bazzana is a heady player who should justify the Guardians' selection for years to come."

This season, Bazzana has been at Triple-A Columbus, and in 24 games he's slashed .287/.422/.511 with two home runs, 21 walks, and eight stolen bases. As well, Bazzana presently leads all the minor leagues in doubles with 11. For his minor-league career, the Oregon State product has an OPS of .826 across parts of three pro seasons with 14 home runs and 25 steals in 135 games.

Bazzana will join a Guardians team that's 15-15 after losing three straight and four of their last five. Not surprisingly, Cleveland has again struggled offensively, as they rank 19th in MLB in both runs scored and OPS. As for Bazzana's future position, a job-share at second base in Cleveland has yielded a .202/.312/.330 line from the position thus far in 2026.

Bazzana is not yet on the 40-player roster, but the Guardians have an open slot. They will, however, have to make a roster move in order to add him to the active roster.

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