Olentangy’s Cooper Tracy discusses dad, Clippers manager Andy Tracy
Olentangy senior Cooper Tracy, who will play in the OHSAA Division I baseball state tournament, is the son of Columbus Clippers manager Andy Tracy.
On an abnormally hot September afternoon and not a cloud over Huntington Park, the Columbus Clippers prepped for a Sept. 18 game against the Omaha Storm Chasers.
While the International League’s Clippers (29-41) are finishing up their final series of 2025 and won’t be playing in the postseason, the club could still have an impact on the playoff chase in Cleveland.
The Cleveland Guardians are Columbus’ Major League parent organization, and they are in the final weeks of the MLB season, just 1.5 games back of the Boston Red Sox in the hunt for the final wild card spot and 3.5 games behind the once-surging Detroit Tigers in the AL Central.
The Jumbotron was displaying the Guardians-Tigers day game as the Clippers’ pitchers sweated it out during afternoon bullpen sessions. Clippers manager Andy Tracy kept one eye on his players, but mainly watched the Guardians take down Cy Young-candidate Tarik Skubal and the Detroit Tigers 3-1.
“It’s not like a different world,” said Tracy. He pointed at the jumbotron, “Those are all their teammates that have played here with them or really been together in spring training, because our environment is so open. … We’re excited they’re winning.”
In 2024, the Clippers owned the worst first-half record in the International league at 32-42. But unlike in the majors, an IL team can make the postseason after a disastrous start. Columbus surged in the late-summer months, posting a 48-26 record in the second half to earn a playoff berth. They eventually lost a best-of-three series to the Storm Chasers for the Governors’ Cup.
Several of the players who contributed to that late push are now part of the major league roster. Nine of the Guardians’ top-30 prospects from the 2024 season, according to MLB Pipeline, are currently on the major league roster contributing to Cleveland’s playoff chase.
Kyle Manzardo, the Guardians’ No. 2-ranked prospect from last year, for example, has turned into a steady option at first base for Cleveland. He’s hit 26 home runs with a .793 OPS. Tracy is not surprised.
“Manzo has got a very steady personality,” Tracy said. “… When he came over here (from the Durham Bulls in a 2023 trade), he was open to having conversations on where he could improve, and I think he’s going to continue to grow defensively.”
Manzardo is not alone. Jhonkensky Noel has bounced back and forth from the Major Leagues since 2024 and hit a solo home run against Skubal in the Sept. 18 game that helped the Guardians creep closer in the division race.
Angel Martinez, who played 55 games for the Clippers in 2024, patrols the Guardians’ outfield. He has bounced back from a dreadful August at the plate (9-for-65, one home run) to post a .794 OPS in September.
On the rubber, Parker Messick has joined a young Guardians pitching staff and continues to be a needed contributor to the late-playoff push. In his first five starts at the major league level, Messick has a 1.82 ERA. He also has pitched at least six innings in four of his outings.
“He wants the ball all the time, he competes,” Tracy said. “He challenges hitters. He’s got really good stuff. One of his intangibles, he works really fast… you’re not just standing out there, you’re ready for action.”
There’s even more promising talent ready to bubble up from Columbus in the future.
Travis Bazzana and Cooper Ingle, Guardians’ No. 1 and 4 prospects, succeeding in short time in Columbus
The Guardians’ No. 1 prospect and No. 15 in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, Travis Bazzana received the call-up from the Akron RubberDucks in tandem with Guardians No. 4 prospect Cooper Ingle. The two have been roommates since.
“(He’s a) really good roommate,” Ingle said with an obvious smirk, “Yeah. That’s all I have to say on that.”
It’s no secret that Bazzana, the top pick in the 2024 draft, is energetic, and after a Sept. 4 game against Indianapolis, in which the Australian-born slugger hit the first walk-off home run of his life (that he could recall), he let everyone know. Bazzana let out a yell and hyped up his teammates while waltzing down the first base line.
“Having the chance to win a ballgame, and doing it in a fashion I had never done before … it was just the emotion coming out of me, just feeding it to the dugout and enjoying while it was that moment.”
Bazzana has unlocked another gear since getting the call-up to Columbus. After 27 games at High-A Lake County in 2024, he moved quickly to Akron in 2025 and hit a respectable .790 OPS in 51 games. In 26 games with Columbus, his power has shone, with a .890 OPS and nine extra-base hits.
“He continues to try to play the game at high energy and be a really good teammate. … He’s able to impact the game, but (also) slow the game down so that he’s gonna learn from it,” Tracy said.
Unfortunately for Bazzana, the surge came to a screeching halt. He sustained a left oblique injury on Sept. 14, causing the Guardians to shut him down for the rest of the season. It’s a new challenge for Bazzana, who has not dealt with injury trouble before this season. He also strained his right oblique earlier this year.
“Controlling what I can control is the biggest thing,” Bazzana said. “How can I prepare my body best every day? How can I progress? How can I get my obliques ready to do it?”
Before Bazzana leaves to train in Arizona or takes trips to Australia to visit family and friends, he is hanging out with his teammates during their final home stretch and enjoying the ballpark in Columbus.
“Man, that guy loves baseball,” Tracy said. “He sleeps it, drinks it, everything. … He wants to be here. Obviously, the injury is not great, but he is here every day, sitting on the bench, communicating, talking with his teammates. He continues to grow in that fashion.”
His roommate, Ingle, has also thrived since joining Columbus. The catcher is currently riding a 13-game on-base streak for the Clippers, and he plans on adding more muscle mass during the offseason to improve exit velocities off his bat.
The Clemson alum was ranked No. 30 on MLB Pipeline’s Guardians’ prospect rankings in 2024; a year later, he is fourth.
“It’s really cool to think about it, but at the same time just to put the focus on your development and not really the outcome, because you can’t control that, just being where your feet are and controlling the things you can control,” he said.
Tracy yearns to win for the Columbus fans, but his priority remains to develop prospects and the Clippers continue to churn out talent.
“I think that the goals at this level (are) get them ready to help the major league club get a world title, and get really good communication with them so that they can grow,” he said.