Minor League Baseball

Cleveland Guardians Top Prospect Named Best Hitter of All Players in Spring Breakout Games

The Spring Breakout games will happen this week as a way to show off some of the top young prospects in baseball, and Travis Bazzana of the Guardians was named as the best hitter to watch.
Brady Farkas|
Oregon State Beavers infielder Travis Bazzana (37) strikes out during the seventh inning against the Kentucky Wildcats at Kentucky Proud Park in 2024.
Oregon State Beavers infielder Travis Bazzana (37) strikes out during the seventh inning against the Kentucky Wildcats at Kentucky Proud Park in 2024. | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

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Cleveland Guardians

The Cleveland Guardians top prospects will battle the Seattle Mariners top prospects on Friday as part of the Spring Breakout games.

These games started last season as a way to show off the top prospects in the sport, with several players in the 2024 showcase eventually making it to the big leagues. Paul Skenes, for example, ended up winning the National League Rookie of the Year award for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He also started the All-Star Game for the NL.

This year, MLB.com highlighted the best tools that will be on display in these contests, with Guardians prospect Travis Bazzana earning the title of "best hitter."

Bazzana went No. 1 overall in the 2024 Draft because he was the best hitter available. He won the Cape Cod League batting title (.375) in 2023 before slashing .407/.568/.911 with an Oregon State-record 28 homers last spring. He has no obvious weakness at the plate, employing a compact left-handed stroke with plenty of bat speed, making smart swing decisions and producing a lot of hard contact.

Bazzana is the No. 10 prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline. He played 27 games last season for Single-A Lake County after being drafted, hitting .238 with three homers and 12 RBIs.

Given his experience level in college and his age (22), it wouldn't be shocking to see Bazzana make a quick rise through the Guardians system. MLB Pipeline lists his estimated time of arrival in Cleveland as this season.

The Guardians are coming off a year in which they won the American League Central and advanced to the American League Championship Series before losing against the New York Yankees in five games.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is the senior writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and the host of “The Payoff Pitch’’ podcast, which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. Follow Brady on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.

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