Guardians Top Prospect Launches Grand Slam For First Professional Homer

Cleveland Guardians prospect Travis Bazzana has gotten off to one heck of a start.

Jun 12, 2022; Corvallis, OR, USA; Oregon State Beavers infielder Travis Bazzana (37) runs the bases after hitting a home run against the Auburn Tigers in the 4th inning during Game 2 of a NCAA Super Regional game at Coleman Field. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports / Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland Guardians No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana has gotten his career off to a bang, hitting a grand slam for his first professional home run on Wednesday.

Pro HR No. 1 for MLB Draft pick No. 1!

Travis Bazzana crushes a grand slam!@CleGuardians | @LCCaptains | @GuardsInsider pic.twitter.com/SWbEdR0pFk

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 31, 2024

Talk about a great way to introduce yourself to the Guardians faithful.

Cleveland selected Bazzana with the top pick in the MLB Draft earlier this month. The second baseman played his collegiate baseball at Oregon State and was coming off of a spectacular season in which he slashed .407/.568/.911 with 28 homers and 66 RBI.

Bazzana made his minor-league debut at Single-A Lake County last week, going 0-for-3 on July 26. Two days later, Bazzana got himself on the board, going 2-for-4 with a double and a couple of runs scored. He went 0-for-1 on Monday before launching this grand salami Wednesday evening.

Funny enough, Bazzana wasn't even sure the ball was going to leave the yard at first.

"Little bit toward the end of my bat, I put a good swing on it," Bazzana said after the game. "I thought it had a chance, but I wasn't 100 percent sure."

The Australian native is 21 years old, so he may not be that far away from contributing to the Guardians' big-league club. Of course, we almost certainly won't see him in 2024, but it may not be out of the realm of possibility to see him get some major-league hacks next September.

Thanks to a highly-lauded MLB Draft haul, Cleveland's farm system is now teeming with young talent, with Bazzana leading the charge.

We have gotten a decent look at some of the Guardians' prospects recently, with Jhonkensy Noel and Angel Martinez both making some noise on the big-league level.

Cleveland owns the best record in the American League and will kick off a four-game series with the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday.