Former Oregon State baseball star, Travis Bazzana, has been called up to the Cleveland Guardians starting lineups after spending the whole of the current season in Triple-A.
The Australian native spent a storybook three-year stint through 2022-2024 at Oregon State University, capturing school records in runs scored, home runs, slugging percentage and even career stolen bases in the program.
All this success eventually culminated in Bazzana being selected first overall in the 2024 MLB draft, the first Australian-born player to be taken that high.
However, Bazzana’s first year in the next level didn’t blossom as his collegiate career would have you hope.
Injuries weighed down his rookie year, particularly in both his obliques, only letting him play in 84 games in 2025 between Double-A and the minor leagues.
Coming into this season, there have been new approaches to his workout and spring training to get him ready for a greater amount of higher-level participation.
This current season in minor leagues has Bazzana leading an average of .287, with two home runs and 10 RBI’s with a ratio of 21 walks to 25 strikeouts, a positive slope from his rookie year.
The Guardians have begun the season with an offensive struggle and a record of 15-15. As of April 27th, multiple sources reported that Bazanna was finally getting the call after Cleveland lost the first game of the series against Tampa Bay.
The team staff expressed faith in the foundation of the 23-year-old’s swing, as well as his ability to navigate himself through MLB development with longer high-level campaigns.
This expresses the expectation that Bazzana can soon step in as the team’s starting second basemen and give a boost to the offense as a whole after he is officially put on the active roster.
There is no official word on which game he will see his first reps in the show, but the sudden call-up points to the long-awaited MLB debut of one of Oregon State’s best on the diamond to come in the upcoming week.
Possibly as soon as Cleveland’s next game against the Rays on April 28th, at 3:10 P.M. at Progressive Field in Cleveland.