Travis Bazzana is our No. 1 Guardians prospect. Who should be No. 2?
The Aussie dazzled at Oregon State then promptly won a championship at Lake County.
The readers have spoken, and after being selected No. 1 overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, the No. 1 Cleveland Guardians prospect is Travis Bazzana, who pulled in a whopping (57%) of the vote totals, defeating Chase DeLauter, who had 108 fewer votes at (34%).
Cleveland won the draft lottery for 2024 and selected Bazzana with the first pick out of Oregon State University after an incredibly impressive junior season with the Beavers.
Over a span of 60 games in 2024, Bazzana slashed a ridiculous .407/.568/.911 with 28 home runs and 16 stolen bases, helping lead Oregon State to a 45-16 record. Cleveland also cares about how players perform in the offseason Cape Cod League, which uses wooden bats. For those interested, Bazzana was the league’s MVP in 2023 after slashing .375/.456/.581 with six home runs and 14 steals in 33 games.
Not one to waste time, the Australian-born second baseman signed quickly with Cleveland and was immediately placed at High-A Lake County, where he slotted in as the team’s leadoff hitter.
After a brief feeling-out period with some growing pains while adjusting to professional baseball, Bazzana settled in to slash .238/.369/.396 over 27 games with five stolen bases and three home runs for the Captains, including an impressive grand slam for his first professional bomb on July 31st.
Travis Bazzana worked another 3-2 count. He just missed an 0-1 pitch in the zone, fouled it off, worked it to full and then hit a grand slam for his first career minor league homer. pic.twitter.com/BFIsMihJYI
— Justin L. (jlbaseball on bluesky) (@JL_Baseball) July 31, 2024
Lake County went on to qualify for the High-A playoffs, where it won the Midwest League championship in five games after beating Dayton (2-0) and Wisconsin (2-1). During the playoffs, Bazzana went 6-for-19 (.316) with four walks, a home run and two steals for an OPS of .961. He spent part of his offseason representing Australia in the World Baseball Softball Confederation.
It’s important to remember that the Travis Bazzana that Guardians fans saw in 2024 was the Bazzana from college with little assistance from Cleveland’s system. The real test of his abilities will be to see how he responds to a full offseason of professional development with the Guardians’ minor league coaching staff and how he performs this upcoming year, where he’s likely to debut at Double-A Akron.
With Cleveland trading Andres Gimenez in the offseason, Bazzana could be knocking on the door for the MLB gig at some point this season should be come firing out of the gate.
Juan Brito, SS (Age 23)
2024 (AAA): 652 PA, .256/.365/.443, 21 HR, 13 SB, 13.5 BB%, 16.1 K%, 113 wRC+
A top candidate for the vacant second base job in Cleveland, Brito impressed in a 2024 season spent entirely at Triple-A, where he blasted a career-high 21 home runs.
Jaison Chourio, OF (Age 19)
2024 (A): 432 PA, .269/.414/.398, 5 HR, 11 SB, 19.9 BB%, 16.0 K%, 144 wRC+
The younger brother of top Milwaukee outfielder Jackson Chourio, Jaison represented Cleveland in the 2024 Futures Game and was the Carolina League MVP.
Chase DeLauter, OF (Age 23)
2024 (AA): 128 PA, .252/.328/.441, 5 HR, 1 SB, 10.9 BB%, 14.8 K%, 118 wRC+
2024 (AAA): 27 PA, .304/.407/.779, 2 HR, 0 SB, 14.8 BB%, 7.4 K%, 185 wRC+
2024 (AFL): 59 PA, .340/.475/.511, 1 HR, 2 SB, 20.3 BB%, 10.2 K%
Guardians’ 2022 1st round pick had an incredible spring, then was slowed by multiple lower body injuries at AA. Finished the year strong then destroyed the Arizona Fall League (again).
Welbyn Francisca, SS (Age 18)
2024 (AZL): 201 PA, .328/.418/.523, 6 HR, 11 SB, 12.4 BB%, 12.4 K%, 139 wRC+
2024 (A): 132 PA, .325/.402/.402, 1 HR, 8 SB, 10.6 BB%, 20.5 K%, 141 wRC+
A top international signing, Francisca dominated the Arizona Complex League last year in his stateside debut, then didn’t miss a beat in a late season promotion to Lynchburg at age 18.
Angel Genao, SS (Age 20)
2024 (A): 196 PA, .341/.383/.553, 6 HR, 12 SB, 7.1 BB%, 14.3 K%, 166 wRC+
2024 (A+): 300 PA, .322/.377/.463, 4 HR, 13 SB, 8.0 BB%, 16.3 K%, 140 wRC+
Impressed at both Single-A and High-A while actually improving his eye at the plate after being promoted. Had the best offensive season of any Guardians prospect.
Cooper Ingle, C (Age 22)
2024 (A+): 305 PA, .313/.433/.500, 9 HR, 3 SB, 16.7 BB%, 13.1 K%, 170 wRC+
2024 (AA): 103 PA, .281/.379/.416, 2 HR, 4 SB, 13.6 BB%, 15.5 K%, 132 wRC+
Absolutely dominated High-A before impressing at Double-A following a midseason promotion. Walked more than he struck out while developing defensively.
Ralphy Velazquez, 1B (Age 19)
2024 (A) 373 PA, .243/.362/.414, 10 HR, 8 SB, 15.0 BB%, 20.1 K%, 131 wRC+
2024 (A+): 80 PA, .176/.275/.250, 1 HR, 0 SB, 12.5 BB%, 25.0 K%, 54 wRC+
Guardians 2023 1st round pick. Impressed as one of the youngest players at Single-A and represented Cleveland in the 2024 Futures Game, showcasing prodigious power.