Collectibles On SI

Who Is Travis Bazzana & Why His First Bowman Baseball Card Is Important

It is that time of the year for a new list of prospects to get their First Bowman cards and Travis Bazzana is on that list of players.

Adam Palmer

Jul 14, 2024; Ft. Worth, TX, USA; The Cleveland Guardians select Travis Bazzana with the first pick during the first round of the MLB Draft at Cowtown Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Jul 14, 2024; Ft. Worth, TX, USA; The Cleveland Guardians select Travis Bazzana with the first pick during the first round of the MLB Draft at Cowtown Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

One of the names you’re going to hear a lot about coming out of this year’s Bowman Draft is Travis Bazzana. He was the No. 1 pick in last year’s MLB Draft and is featured as a cover athlete for the product alongside Jac Caglianone. Bazzana was named MVP of the Cape Cod League in 2023 and earned the title of Pac-12 Player of the Year while playing at Oregon State last season.

Originally from Australia, Bazzana played college baseball at Oregon State. He is currently ranked as the 12th overall prospect on MLB Pipeline (https://www.mlb.com/prospects). However, that ranking still includes many players from the end of last season, some of whom are expected to graduate from the list when the new rankings are released.

Since being drafted, Bazzana has also debuted for the Australian National Team, playing against Japan in a game this offseason.

There’s a decent chance that Bazzana could make his MLB debut this year. At 22 years old (turning 23 next season), his age and experience make him a strong candidate for a fast track to the majors. If that happens, we could see his first Bowman card in 2024 and a rookie card in 2025, depending on the timing of his debut.

Unlike Caglianone, Bazzana already has several sports cards available for collectors, but his Bowman card from this year’s release is likely the one to target.

Topps has given us a preview of the card everyone will be chasing in this year’s Bowman Draft release:

Bowman Draft is one of the sports card industry’s biggest annual releases. It features players from the most recent MLB Draft, giving them their first Bowman cards—their first official cards in their Major League team’s uniform.

Not all first-round picks get their first Bowman cards in that year’s Bowman Draft. Some years, Topps strategically includes certain players in other products to drive sales.

For example, this year, the third overall pick, Charlie Condon, and the eighth overall pick, JJ Wetherholt, are notably absent from the 2024 Bowman Draft Baseball set. It’s likely they will be featured in next April’s Bowman Baseball as headliners.

Published |Modified
Adam Palmer
ADAM PALMER

Adam has been a sports content creator since 2016, initially focusing on creating sports-related graphics for his Instagram page. In 2018, he transitioned to writing and podcasting about sports cards. Since then, he has worked both independently and with companies within the industry, producing podcasts, videos, and written content on sports cards.