EASTLAKE, Ohio — Just weeks after being selected No. 1 overall in the Major League Baseball draft, 21-year-old second baseman Travis Bazzana was set to make his home debut as a member of the Cleveland Guardians organization Tuesday night with High-A Lake County, after already playing a pair of road games for the Captains.
Unfortunately, Tuesday's contest against the Beloit Sky Carp was suspended after one inning due to rain, leaving hundreds of fans at Classic Park left disappointedly waving their Australian flags. Though they were delighted when Bazzana stayed for nearly an hour afterwards to sign autographs, they would have to wait until Wednesday to see the young phenom suit up again.
A true "man of the people," as the team called him, Bazzana did not disappoint.
In the fifth inning of what became Game 1 of a doubleheader on Wednesday, Bazzana came to the plate with the bases loaded and the Captains already ahead 9-5. The Oregon State alum had a chance to put the game out of reach, and did so in grand style, belting a grand slam 337 feet over the fence in right-center field.
Though Bazzana entered the afternoon with a pair of hits on the season, Wednesday's blast marked his first home run as a professional player. According to the broadcast crew, it also had an exit velocity of 98.9 mph off the bat.
The missile of a homer will surely only increase the expected hype around Bazzana, who on July 14 became the first No. 1 overall selection in Cleveland franchise history. The Aussie subsequently signed his first pro contract valued at $8.95 million, and is already ranked as the 15th-best prospect in all of baseball by The Athletic's Keith Law.
Home runs are certainly not rare for Bazzana, who mashed 28 of them this year in his final campaign at OSU. Besides the grand slam, he had also walked twice and scored three runs Wednesday for Lake County, with Game 2 of the doubleheader still yet to be played.