Hello everyone, and welcome back to another installment of the Upcoming Dynasty Featured Player.
Another week is in the books, and after highlighting one top prospect last week, who I consider to be the best player for years to come, I thought I’d continue the trend and highlight the player who was the top overall pick in the 2024 draft.
Travis Bazzana he is not a player who keeps sneaking up on people. He was the first player to hear his name called on draft night in 2024, and he’s been producing on the field ever since. He entered the 2026 season ranked as the #22 prospect by Baseball America, #20 by MLB, and #24 by Baseball Prospectus.
So, as we do every week, let’s dive in and learn more about Travis Bazzana.
Mathematics
| A YEAR | LEVEL | G | R | HR | The RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-24 | The NCAA | 184 | 220 | 45 | 165 | 66 | .360 | .497 | .660 |
| 2024 | A+ | 27 | 20 | 3 | 12 | 5 | .238 | .369 | .396 |
| 2025 | RK|AA|AAA | 84 | 71 | 9 | 39 | 12 | .245 | .389 | .424 |
| 2026 | AAA | 24 | 18 | 2 | 10 | 8 | .287 | .422 | .511 |
| 2026 | The guards | 50 | 24 | 7 | 24 | 12 | .261 | .357 | .446 |
Growing up in Australia, Travis Bazzana didn’t generate much buzz with scouts before heading to Oregon State. But when he was on campus, scouts noticed him immediately. He took home Freshman All-America honors in 2022 when he slashed .306/.425/.478 with six homers, 44 RBIs and 14 steals. The next season, he went .374/.500/.622 with 11 dingers, 55 RBI, and 14 steals, then went crazy in 2024. As a junior, he slashed .407/.568/.911 with 28 home runs, 66 RBI in 60 steals.
The Rangers held the top pick in the June 2024 draft and immediately selected him and offered an $8.95 million signing bonus. After signing with the Guardians, he appeared in 27 games at the High-A level, hitting .238/.369/.396 with three homers, 12 RBI, and five steals. The left-hander then spent the 2025 season at three different major league levels and 24 more at Triple-A before being sent back to the majors.
Tools
Looking at Bazzana’s percentage above, it looks like he shouldn’t be hitting too hard. His Average EV, Barrel%, Hard-Hit%, and Launch Angle Sweet Spot% are all below average, somewhat below average.
Travis Bazzana has a combined swing with above-average bat speed, and his lack of consistent drives should change as he adjusts to big league hitting. He already has seven runs in 50 games and 24 RBI, producing 23 homers and 78 RBI. Coming from a second baseman, I’ll take that production any day.
While Bazzana’s power has been solid despite his Statcast ranking, his ability to hit the ball has always been considered outstanding, and that hasn’t really changed during his time with Cleveland. In college, he made 904 plate appearances and struck out just 146 times for a 16% strikeout rate. In his junior year, that rate was only 12.5%. Through his first 50 games, his strikeout rate is just 19.2% while his walk rate is 12.5%, thanks to a 81st percentile strikeout rate.
I really like Bazzana’s swing, which allows him to hit the ball a lot in all fields, but that hasn’t translated to a high level since he became a champion. His career batting average in the minors is .252, and he currently has a .262 average against keepers – and that’s with a .303 BABIP, which is higher than the .289 MLB average. Finally, I see his batting average and thus his OBP and OPS increasing as he settles down.
There are plenty of second basemen with good power in the majors, and some with solid to above-average power and OBP. But Bazzana also brings above-average speed to his skill set. And unlike other players who are quick but not good base stealers, Bazzana has proven that he can add more steals to his stat line.
At Oregon State, he was 66 of 77 on steal attempts for an 86% success rate. In children, he was 25 out of 29 – an 86% success rate. So far with Cleveland, he is 12 of 15 on steal attempts for an 80% success rate. Why are you arguing about the numbers being exactly the same across all three different levels of baseball?
The decision
Travis Bazzana came out of the gates on fire with Cleveland as he hit .311/.398/.476 in May with three homers, 11 RBI, and eight steals in 28 games. The month of June did not go as well as he had hoped, seeing his slash line drop to .213/.310/.440. But in eight fewer games than May since Thursday, he has one more homer (4) and two RBI (13) than last month. So even though the average has decreased, resulting in fewer steals, his power production has not decreased.
The Guardians have him hit a career-best 25 games now, and he’s shown he can handle the pressure to wake up the lineup, hitting .258/.330/.536 with 12 runs, five homers, 15 RBI, and three steals. And if his entire month of June scares you, it shouldn’t, as he’s already shown signs of turning things around at the plate. Over the past 14 days (11 games), he is hitting .275/.383/.550, and over the past seven days (7 games), he is hitting .333/.419/.704.
If there’s any concern about Travis Bazzana, it’s the fact that he could be a center fielder in the future. He doesn’t have the best second base skills, and the Rangers have several top prospects who can play second base. But whether he sticks at second base or moves to center, Bazzana was taken first overall for one reason — he can hit. And he has shown that talent at every level he has played. His batting average and OBP haven’t always been outstanding, but that’s no reason to suddenly turn your back on him. If you have him on your team, be very happy.
Thank you!
Thanks for reading, and come back next week.
