Oregon State Alum Travis Bazzana Finds Form, Slugs First Big League Homer

Over the past two weeks, Travis Bazzana rallied from a slow start, reaching several career milestones.

May 8, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians second baseman Travis Bazzana (37) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Early last week, the Cleveland Guardians called up former Oregon State star Travis Bazzana.

Bazzana, the first overall pick in Major League Baseball's 2024 amateur draft, hit a bumpy road in his first few games at the major league level. In his first two games late last month, he went hitless.

Now, the Aussie has found his form. Last night, Bazzana hit his first ever big league home run.

With Cleveland already ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the first, the Guardians' rookie second baseman battled fellow rookie Conner Prielipp. The Minnesota Twins' lefty tried to fit a slider low and in, but Bazzana found it. In the blink of an eye, the former Oregon State standout launched the ball 102 miles per hour past the fence in right center field.

The home run is the latest sign of a career crescendo for Bazzana, who is recovering from the hitless slump which haunted his arrival to the majors.

On the road May 2nd against the Athletics, Bazzana slugged his first career base hit. The world-class athlete from Sydney, Australia's most populous city, singled off of A's reliever Hogan Harris, and the bouncing ball up the middle beat out diving efforts from the A's infield. For added measure, the play scored two runs, helping the Cleveland defeat their foes in Sacramento. Bazzana added two more hits the following game May 3rd, a hit and two stolen bases last Thursday May 7th at the Kansas City Royals. and last night's awesome display: the two run homer, and two stolen bases.

After leaving Corvallis as the number one overall pick in the draft - the second time an Oregon State player earned that honor, after Adley Rutschmann - Bazzana quickly rose through the minor league ranks. In 2024, he played 24 games with the Lake County Captains (Eastlake, OH), Cleveland's High-A affiliate club. From there, he took on many different challenges. 2025 saw the second baseman split time between the Guardians' Double-A affiliate Akron RubberDucks (Akron, OH), their Triple-A team Columbus Clippers (Columbus, OH), and their rookie league side in Arizona.

Before getting called up to the bigs this season, Bazzana competed at the World Baseball Classic with Australia's national baseball team, the Southern Thunder. He also played 24 games in Columbus, hitting .287 with 2 home runs, 10 RBIs, 18 scored runs, and 8 stolen bases.

Bazzana and the Guardians will next play today versus the Minnesota Twins, with first pitch scheduled for 3:10 PM PST.