Travis Bazzana has largely struggled, but the Cleveland Guardians aren't giving up
Travis Bazzana was named an All-Star by his peers during his big-league season. There aren't many players in the history of the game who can say that or have that accolade tied to their resume.
With that in mind, there's been some good and bad from Bazzana's season so far, and the Cleveland Guardians rookie isn't a finished product or immune to any more learning curves at the MLB level.
In fact, he is going through some of the growing pains at the plate right now.
Bazzana took his first few weeks in The Show by storm and finished with a .874 OPS and 11 extra-base hits in May. He looked every part of the No. 1 overall pick Cleveland made of Bazzana back during the 2024 MLB draft.
However, the league has apparently made an adjustment to the left-hander, though. Since June 1, Bazzana owns a .207/.304/.335 slash line and a wRC+ of 84. Perhaps the most concerning stat from this stretch has been Bazzana's strikeout rate of almost 25 percent.
There have certainly been some bright spots over this stretch, such as his two-home-run game against the Houston Astros, but Bazzana has largely struggled at the plate for a little while.
Jul 21, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians second baseman Travis Bazzana (37) hits an RBI single during the seventh inning against the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn ImagesManager Stephen Vogt was the first one to admit that "it's been a tough go" for Bazzana over the last few weeks.
"The longer you're in the league, the the more the book gets gets out on you," Cleveland's skipper said.
"This is the ebbs and flows of a rookie year... he's going through it a little bit right now, but we have not lost that faith and that belief that he's going to be one of the best hitters in this league for a long time."
Part of those ups and downs from a first-year player simply comes with the sheer number of games a rookies plays.
Bazzana has already appeared in 106 contests this season between Triple-A and MLB. That's been far and away the most
Amid some of Bazzana's growing pains at the plate, Vogt did want to highlight the strides that the second baseman has made, definitely over the last few months, too.
Cleveland's skipper is correct about this, too. Since the All-Star break, Bazzana owns a fielding run value of +3, which ranks second-best in the American League over that stretch.
As Bazzana looks to get back on track, the message from the Guardians manager is simply, "relax, get back to being who you are, and take what the pitcher gives you."
