CLEVELAND — A few years back, before Steven Kwan and Trevor Larnach took batting practice and completed some workouts at Oregon State’s facilities, a teenager asked if he could shadow them for the day.
Kwan and Larnach were on the verge of breaking out in the big leagues, and as they spent a day at their alma mater, a freshman infielder named Travis Bazzana stood silently and scrutinized their every move.
When they finished their work, Bazzana ambushed the two with questions. He wanted to know every thought that trickled through their minds during every part of every drill. Kwan had forgotten Bazzana was even watching them.
Now, Bazzana can pepper Kwan with more questions as his teammate in Cleveland.
The Guardians are calling up Bazzana, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, to take over at second base, team sources told The Athletic. To make room for Bazzana, the Guardians plan to option infielder Juan Brito to Triple-A Columbus.
That work ethic and drive to improve are what attracted the Guardians to Bazzana as they cycled through their options two years ago after having held only a 2 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick in the draft lottery. Well, they salivated over his approach at the plate, too. Bazzana’s patience, swing decisions and contact ability provide him with a high floor at the plate and explain why he’s a highly regarded prospect.
The makeup, however, is what has stood out to those in the organization.
When he was initially assigned to Class-A Lake County in 2024, Bazzana requested scouting reports from the player development staff — not just on upcoming opponents, but on his own teammates, just in case he spotted anything he could assist with once he got to know them.
Stephen Osterer, the team’s vice president of player development, speculated that Bazzana was the organization’s first prospect ever to schedule a meeting with the research and development department. In that conference, Bazzana asked about the Guardians’ internal defensive metrics and how the organization evaluates hitters’ swing decisions.
When he reached the end of a whirlwind 2024, he took a weeklong vacation to Kauai, Hawaii, where, even in paradise, he said, he couldn’t stop thinking about baseball.
At one point last year, Bazzana texted Kwan a list of questions about his mental and physical preparation.
Now, he can simply ask him face-to-face.
The 23-year-old owns a .287/.422/.511 slash line in 24 games at Triple A this season. Had he not missed two months with an oblique strain last summer, this debut might have already materialized. A slew of his fellow 2024 draftees have reached the majors, and several also selected in the Top 10 have thrived, including Athletics slugger Nick Kurtz, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Chase Burns and St. Louis Cardinals infielder J.J. Wetherholt.
Entering this season, Bazzana ranked No. 50 on Keith Law’s top prospects list for The Athleticand No. 22 at Baseball America, No. 16 at MLB Pipeline and No. 24 at Baseball Prospectus. He received an invite to big-league camp this spring, but he spent part of spring training playing for his native Australia in the World Baseball Classic, an opportunity that had long resided near the top of his baseball bucket list.
Less than two years after drafting him, the Guardians will get their first look at the second baseman at Progressive Field.
