Guardians get great news on Travis Bazzana’s prospect upside before Opening Day originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The shine wore off just a tiny bit for Travis Bazzana after last season included a bit of injury trouble and just a little struggle at the plate.

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All told, it was still a quality season for the Cleveland Guardians‘ former No. 1 overall pick as he worked to climb his way to the big leagues, and no one was giving up on him or anything close to that. But this spring, Bazzana has made sure the shine is fully back.

First, he went to the World Baseball Classic with Australia and delivered multiple big moments in pool play.

Once back with the Guardians, Bazzana showed he can really, truly, impressively square up a baseball.

His average exit velocity this spring was 94.5 miles per hour, which would’ve ranked in the top-three in MLB if put up over the course of the entire 2025 season.

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Bazzana isn’t starting the season in the major leagues, which was the expected outcome all along. The Guardians want him to get some more seasoning in the minor leagues, and that’s probably fair.

But if Bazzana starts hot at Triple-A, will they keep him down long? It’d be hard to do so.

Don’t be surprised if Bazzana is in the majors within a month or two. And when he arrives, he may just hit the ground running.

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