Stephen Vogt addresses Travis Bazzana reality Guardians fans have slowly been noticing

For a brief second yesterday, it looked like Colin Holderman had gotten out of the fifth inning against the Blue Jays. 

Although the start of his outing was a bit disastrous after he allowed a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sacrifice fly that was followed up by a Jesús Sánchez RBI single, it looked like he had gotten a bit closer to getting out of the inning when he got Sean Keys to hit a harmless grounder to second base. 

Then Travis Bazzana happened. 

After taking a step toward the plate to field Keys’ grounder, Bazzana bobbled the exchange, which allowed for hustling Keys to reach base without a throw. After Holderman allowed a walk to Josh Smith to load the bases, manager Stephen Vogt walked out to the mound and replaced him with Craig Yoho. 

Although Yoho was able to get out of the inning without allowing any more damage, Bazzana’s error meant that Vogt needed to burn another pitcher (and Holderman needed to throw more pitches), which can end up having a huge impact at this juncture in the season. 

That misplay in Thursday’s loss was just another mistake from Bazzana, who contributed to Angel Genao’s throwing error on Wednesday by not getting to the base on time. 

Oh yeah, and he’s hit .214 since the start of August with just three extra-base hits. Bazzana may be a key piece of the Guardians’ future, but he’s not helping them much in the present. 

Vogt was asked about that topic postgame on Thursday, where he addressed the rookie’s seemingly all-consuming struggles. 

“Travis wants to help us win,” Vogt said. “Travis is a winner, and you know when you're going through your first season and you want to perform perfectly and you want to be great for your teammates and you go through a stretch where it's been a little bit tough, you're going to wear it.

"He came here with expectations and he’s been great, but when you want to help your team win you’re going to show it.”

Travis Bazzana's struggles are hurting the Guardians

The most frustrating part of Bazzana’s struggles is that we’ve seen him have success at the big league level. Not only was he an All-Star, but he also spent a month as the Guardians’ leadoff hitter, which is about as high of honor as you can have in Vogt’s lineup. 

But it seems like the rest of MLB has caught up to Bazzana, and he hasn’t been able to adjust. Although he’s punished his fair share of fastballs (.405 slugging), he’s recorded just three extra-base hits against breaking balls and his hitting just .192 against offspeed pitches. 

He still has a gaudy walk rate (11.5%), but it’s clear that he’s pressing at the plate, and now it’s reached a point where those struggles are impacting his defense. 

Bazzana’s never going to be a Gold Glove defender at second (-2 Outs Above Average), but his mistakes against the Blue Jays seem to be mental as much as anything. 

While his misplay with Genao can be chalked up to two rookies struggling with timing, his error on Thursday was inexcusable, especially at this juncture in the season. 

Even if Bazzana is an important part of the Guardians’ future, his contributions to the present have left a lot to be desired.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow