Travis Bazzana, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft, has been called up by the Cleveland Guardians. He will take over as the full-time second baseman for the team.
Key points
Travis Bazzana is the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft.
The 23-year-old is set to take over second base full-time for the Guardians, joining Konnor Griffin, Nick Kurtz, Chase Burns, JJ Wetherholt and more among the 2024 draftees to already reach MLB.
Here's a look at how the Guardians' lineup could look with Bazzana in the fold.
For a Guardians team that rarely invests much into its lineup, manager Stephen Vogt is still set to have some strong talent across the board moving forward, thanks to the franchise's player development
For years, Cleveland has had a strong veteran duo in outfielder Steven Kwan and infielder Jose Ramirez. While Kwan is off to a slow start in 2026, Ramirez remains one of the game's best all-around hitters at age 33, also likely locked into the rest of his prime with Cleveland after signing a seven-year extension this past offseason.
Surrounding the speed and bat-to-ball skills of Kwan and Ramirez is an intriguing group of young players. Switch-hitting outfielder Angel Martinez, rookie Chase DeLauter and shortstop Brayan Rocchio are all under 25 years old, with DeLauter owning an .823 OPS so far this season.
Bazzana, who competed for Australia at this year's World Baseball Classic, is likely to overtake the everyday second baseman role, which will allow Daniel Schneemann to move elsewhere as a utility player, hitting .314 so far in 2026. Schneeman has made appearances at second base, shortstop, third base and center field this season. Rhys Hoskins, Kyle Manzardo, David Fry, Bo Naylor and Austin Hedges are other contributors who are often splitting time in the lineup.
For now, Bazzana isn't expected to enter the top of the Guardians' order despite his blend of power, plate discipline and speed. MLB teams often take things slow with rookies making their debuts, allowing them to ease into big-league pitching â the Pirates' Konnor Griffin was slotted toward the bottom of his team's order when he was called up earlier this month.
Still, Bazzana should bring more consistency to the Guardians' order, with team currently 15-15 and ranking 19th in the league with 118 total runs scored. If he gets off to a hot start, it's plausible he can move all the way up to the No. 2 spot, making for a strong 1-through-5 of Kwan, Bazzana, Ramirez, Martinez and DeLauter.
Bazzana was the No. 1 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft and has remained one of the top-ranked prospects across the league since. As of his call-up, MLB.com has him ranked as the No. 16 prospect in baseball, while The Athletic pinned him at No. 50 entering the 2026 season, Baseball America has him at No. 16, ESPN at No. 23 and Baseball Prospectus at No. 24.
"Bazzana has an extremely disciplined approach, taking a lot of pitches and rarely chasing outside the zone, and he's not afraid to work deep counts because his quick, compact left-handed swing allows him to make consistent contact," MLB.com wrote of Bazzana. "While he focuses on working from gap to gap and can use the opposite field, he also shows the aptitude to launch balls in the air to his pull side. He missed two months with the oblique injury and wasn't always 100 percent when in the lineup, but he still projects as a plus hitter with at least average power and plenty of walks."
Here's a look at how MLB.com graded Bazzana's skill set:
**Hit:**60
**Power:**55
**Run:**60
**Arm:**45
**Field:**50
**Overall:**55
Travis Bazzana stats
Bazzana finished his initial minor-league stint with just over 130 games played, starting at A+ then advancing to Triple-A by the end of the 2025 season.
