Travis

Bazzana

Bazzana increased his hitting streak to seven consecutive games on Friday evening and is hitting .303 with two homers through nine games since May 1. The top-overall selection from last year’s MLB Draft appears to be on track to reach Cleveland at some point in the second half of the year.

Bazzana is hitting just .227 with a pedestrian .726 OPS in his first extended taste of the upper minors. His ninth-inning solo shot on Saturday was his second round-tripper in his last five games. The first-overall pick from the 2024 MLB Draft has a decent shot at making it to Cleveland before the regular season wraps up.

That’s back-to-back multi-hit performances for Bazzana to open the year. The 22-year-old, who was selected first overall in last year’s MLB Draft, is going to move rapidly through Cleveland’s system and could potentially reach the big leagues by the second half. He’s a top-20 range prospect for dynasty purposes already and could be in the top-10 territory in a couple weeks.

The top-overall pick from last year’s MLB Draft got on-base four times in his season debut. The 22-year-old projects as an all-around impact fantasy contributor once he ascends to the big leagues, especially since he’ll be doing so at one of the thinnest position groups in the landscape. There’s a chance Cleveland’s front office decides he’s ready by midseason.

It’s merely a procedural move as Horwitz was subsequently shipped to the Pirates for righty Luis Ortiz and a pair of left-handed pitching prospects. We’re assuming Cleveland doesn’t want to put too many obstacles of top prospect Travis Bazzana, who was selected first overall in last year’s MLB Draft.

As expected, Bazzana has looked like arguably the top fantasy prospect from last month’s MLB Draft after being selected first overall by Cleveland out of Oregon State. The 21-year-old second baseman has reeled off back-to-back multi-hit performances and should probably make it to Double-A by the end of the season. He projects as a high-impact five-category fantasy contributor once he reaches the big leagues, which could be early next year.

The first-overall selection from the 2024 MLB Draft kicked off his professional career on Friday night and is expected to rise quickly through Cleveland’s system over the next few months. The 21-year-old second baseman, who received an $8.95 million signing bonus from the Guardians, is arguably the top fantasy prospect from his draft class, right up there with Rockies slugger Charlie Condon and Cardinals shortstop JJ Wetherholt at the moment. The former Oregon State standout projects as an impact five-category contributor once he reaches the majors.

The Oregon State second baseman receives a $8.95 million bonus, which is $1.62 million below the $10.57 million slot for the first-overall pick, according to MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis. It’s the fourth-highest bonus in draft history, but only the second-highest bonus in the 2024 draft. Chase Burns received the largest bonus in draft history when he signed for $9.25 million with the Reds earlier this week. Considered the best pure hitter in the draft, Bazzana hit .407/.568/.911 with a school-record 28 home runs in his junior season. He projects as an impact second baseman for fantasy managers and figures to arrive in Cleveland at some point within the next year.

Not a huge surprise. A product of Australia, made an immediate impact at Oregon State and finished his junior campaign with a slash of .407/.568/.911 with 28 homers and 16 stolen bases. The left-handed hitting second baseman can make hard contact to all parts of the field with many believing he can finish with a 70-grade (on the 20-80 scouting scale) hit tool, and there’s above-average power and plus speed for good measure. He’s not considered a great defender, but he should be able to stick at second base and obviously the bat will play there. Bazzana has the talent to help in all categories, and he could be playing in the majors by this point next year.