Former top pick sits atop list of Cleveland Guardians prospects

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Travis Bazzana, the first overall pick by the Cleveland Guardians in the 2024 MLB June Amateur Draft, has been ranked as the organization's number one prospect. This list comes from MLB Pipeline, which has ranked the top 30 prospects of each major league ballclub.

The 22-year-old native of Australia appeared in 27 games for the Lake County Captains in 2024, collecting 24 hits in 122 plate appearances, 10 of which went for extra-bases (seven doubles, three home runs). Bazzana would score 20 runs while driving in 12 in addition to stealing five bases and walking 17 times compared to 31 strikeouts.

Bazzana is considered to be the 10th overall prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, which is encouraging for the future of the Guardians' infield. It was not too long ago that Cleveland decided they would be better off with placeholders manning second base via a spring training roster battle than continuing to pay Andres Gimenez. The Guardians are betting on Bazzana to provide a level of offense that Gimenez may not be capable of, and hopefully, that turns out to be the case when he gets the call to the big leagues.

3 more Guardians prospects were named in MLB's Top 100

Outfielders Chase DeLauter (36th) and Jaison Chourio (59th) check in as Cleveland's second and third-ranked prospects, while infielder Angel Genao (61st) was fourth. First baseman Ralphy Velazquez was the only member of Cleveland's top five prospects to not make the Top-100 cut. Of this group, DeLauter is the closest to the majors, but another injury has resulted in him being sidelined again, reducing the chances of him being an impact player for the organization.

Chourio, Genao, and Velazquez have yet to reach Double-A, with their expected arrivals being no earlier than 2026. It is not out of the realm of possibilities for each of these three players to be meaningful contributors for the Guardians in the future, but there are still a few years to go before they can be considered realistic options. In the meantime, hopefully, they continue to progress and make their way through Cleveland's minor league system, coming ever closer to the big league roster.