Cleveland Guardians Tuesday Top 50: Travis Bazzana

Welcome to Top 50 Tuesday, your weekly deep dive into the Cleveland Guardians' most promising young talent. Each week, we'll bring you the latest on the prospects making waves in the Guardians' farm system. And what better way to kick things off than with the team's undisputed No. 1 prospect in second baseman Travis Bazzana?

Cleveland Guardians Tuesday Top 50: Travis Bazzana

After a brief stint on the injured list earlier this year with a right oblique injury, Bazzana is back in action with the Double-A Akron RubberDucks, and he's wasting no time making his presence felt. He's gone 3-for-9 in his two games since returning, and is hitting .257 across 35 games with Akron this year.

This early success bodes well for the young Australian phenom, especially as he looks to build on his strong foundation. He's improved on every offensive category compared to how he did last season at Lake County. He enters play on Tuesday slashing .257/.361/.426 with four home runs, 17 RBI, five doubles and three triples this year with Akron.

Those stats indicate a player who is not only recovering well but continuing to develop his offensive game.

Bazzana is widely regarded as a key piece of the Guardians' future. Cleveland is one of MLB's best at building a contender through its farm system, and Bazzana having some success would go a long way toward helping build that back up. There's also a clear path for him to make the Guardians' MLB roster since the future of second base (Bazzana's main position) isn't settled.

Daniel Schneemann and Gabriel Arias have been solid at the keystone this year, but they both have their warts. While Bazzana's batting average isn't eye-popping, he still posses some of the best bat-to-ball skills in Cleveland's system and is only 22-years-old.

While he likely won't break into Cleveland's MLB picture this year, it's not hard to imagine him finishing the year at Triple-A and getting a legit MLB shot next year. He still needs to be added to the 40-man roster, but it would be easy for them to do that in the offseason when they restructure their middle infield picture.

As Bazzana settles back into Double-A, all eyes will be on his continued progress. His swift return from injury and immediate impact are a testament to his talent and dedication, reinforcing why he sits atop the Guardians' prospect rankings.

Cleveland lucked into the first round pick in last year's draft, and they knocked their pick out of the park by grabbing Bazzana. Even if his injury has slowed his rise this year, he's still a top prospect and a guy who will be a big part of Cleveland's MLB future.