Travis Bazzana could bring unique ABS advantage to Guardians in 2026

Say what you want about the current state of Major League Baseball, but it’s clear that the sport’s leadership contingent is willing to think outside the box to improve the quality of the sport. 

And after adding the pitch clock and making the bases bigger a couple years ago, a new innovation will be on display this year in the form of the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System, which allows for a batter, pitcher or catcher to challenge an umpire's call. 

While the system has been kicking around in the minors and spring training for the past couple seasons, this year will mark the first time the system will be used in major league games. 

But for a plethora of young players who have spent the past couple years in the minors, the system will be old hat thanks to its prevalence in the sport’s lower levels. 

As such, we’re able to get a bit of a preview of the young players who could be the main beneficiaries from the system making its way to MLB. And, according to a new story from MLB.com’s David Adler, Guardians prospect Travis Bazzana stands out as an obvious player who could benefit from the inclusion of the system. 

Travis Bazzana stands out as an obvious player who could benefit from new ABS system

Adler went through all of the ABS data from last year’s Triple-A season, and broke his findings into different categories to highlight prospects whose eyes at and behind the plate stood out amongst their peers. 

As such, he had Bazzana ranked as the “best challenger among top hitting prospects,” citing his strong winning percentage on challenges during his short stint in Triple-A last season.

Last year Bazzana challenged 15% of the pitches he saw in 26 games in Triple-A. He would have played at the level longer had he not suffered a season-ending oblique injury. 

While Bazzana only hit .225 in those 26 games, he had a gaudy .420 on-base percentage with 29 walks and just 32 strikeouts. Regardless of how some evaluators feel about his swing, it’s clear that Bazzana’s eye is legit, and the challenge system data shows that. 

The biggest question now is how long it’ll take for Bazzana to get a chance to showcase that eye at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. He got off to a solid start this spring with a majestic home run against the Dodgers, but he recently left camp to head to Japan for the World Baseball Classic. 

He’s the most exciting middle-infield option for the Guardians, but it seems like the front office is willing to start the season with Gabriel Arias and Brayan Rocchio holding down the fort.

But whenever Bazzana gets his call up to the bigs, it seems like it won’t be long until he’s tapping his hand on his head to get a call reviewed on Progressive Field’s 59-foot jumbotron.