WATCH: Travis Bazzana Takes Batting Practice Ahead Of Cleveland Guardians Game
![Jul 19, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians number one draft pick Travis Bazzana, middle, laughs with catcher Austin Hedges, left, before the game between the Cleveland Guardians and the San Diego Padres at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports Jul 19, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians number one draft pick Travis Bazzana, middle, laughs with catcher Austin Hedges, left, before the game between the Cleveland Guardians and the San Diego Padres at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_5909,h_3323,x_0,y_90/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/cleveland_baseball_insider/01j3979yp71cd51655ey.jpg)
There was already plenty of hype surrounding Travis Bazzana and the Cleveland Guardians after he was taken No. 1 overall in last Sunday’s MLB Draft. That excitement has only grown over the last 24 hours with Bazzana in the city of Cleveland and giving fans a glimpse of the (hopefully near) future.
Bazzana officially signed his deal with the Guardians on Friday and was introduced in a press conference ahead of Cleveland’s game with the San Diego Padres. Twenty-four hours later, Bazzana was on the field and in a Guardians uniform, taking batting practice for the first time.
Check out the No. 1 overall pick in the box at Progressive Field.
Welcome to Cleveland, Travis!@CleGuardians top draft pick Travis Bazzana has arrived in The Land and he talked about how the Guardians were his top pick for where he wanted to be. @AlPawlowski | @JLEWFifty | @DreKnott | #ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/xOuR3NmNhc
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) July 20, 2024
Travis Bazzana hops in the cage at Progressive Field. pic.twitter.com/dThW0YKDj8
— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) July 20, 2024
Bazzana said on Friday that it really hit him that he was part of a big league organization when he watched Jose Ramirez take batting practice. Then, Bazzana got the opportunity to stand in the exact same position that J-Ram was in.
The 22-year-old played second base at Oregon State, and that’s the position Chris Antonetti, President of Baseball Operations, said Bazzana would come up through the organization. He even fielded some grounders at second after taking batting practice
Bazzana will stick around the major league team and meet more members of the Cleveland organization for the next few days. After that, he’ll head out to join the Lake County Captains (Cleveland’s High-A affiliate) to start his minor league career and journey to The Show.