Cleveland Guardians rookie duo of Chase DeLauter and Travis Bazzana have them both physically and mentally ready to be big leaguers.
The 2026 season was always going to be about letting the prospects play so the Cleveland Guardians could see exactly what they had in their farm system before making any potential franchise-altering moves.
At the forefront of that young core is Chase DeLauter and Travis, and after years of anticipation and waiting, they’re finally making an impact at the big-league level.
The Guardians should be more than pleased with not just what the rookie duo has done on the field, but how they’ve handled themselves off it. That came to light during a recent comment by manager Stephen Vogt, where Cleveland’s skipper talked about the development each player has made mentally, not just mechanically.
“They’re confident. They know that they know they belong in the big leagues,” explained Vogt.
“We talk all the time about our guys, you know, when you get here, you're happy, and you gotta figure out how to stay. It clicks. I know I'm a big leader, and from day one, both Travis and Chase, when they walk through the door, they know they're big leaders, and they're playing like it.”
May 27, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians second baseman Travis Bazzana (37) hits a double during the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn ImagesLooking at each player’s stats alone backs up what Cleveland’s skipper has witnessed from the pair of rookies.
DeLauter owns a .260/.342/.438 slash line through 53 games, while Bazzana has logged a .302/.407/.458 slash line though his first month in the big leagues. Not only that, but Bazzana is now hitting leadoff for the Guardians, while DeLauter has been slated into the number three spot, sandwiching Jose Ramirez right in the middle of them.
That said, what Vogt alluded to, which certainly deserves more attention, is the mental piece of their success. Each player has already faced some adversity in their own right. DeLauter went through a slight cold spell at the beginning of April, and Bazzana patiently waited for his first MLB hit, even though he had strong underlying numbers.
Still, that didn’t bring either of them down, and the duo each found ways to work through it, respectively.
Bazzana and DeLauter have the makeup, both physically and mentally, to be mainstays for the Guardians for years to come, and Vogt is already seeing that play out in their mindsets early in their big-league careers.
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