No. 1 Draft pick launches grand first pro homer

Travis Bazzana has hit the ground running in his introduction to pro ball. Now his debut stint can also be deemed grand.

Playing in his third game for High-A Lake County, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 Draft crushed his first professional home run -- a grand slam en route to a 17-5 rout of Beloit on Wednesday at Classic Auto Group Park.

“I was excited,” Bazzana said. “I acknowledged the bullpen in right field, the guys out there, and I was just really pumped up. It was a grand slam and I got that one out of the way, so it was cool.”

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After striking out and walking twice in his first three plate appearances, the former Oregon State star came up with the bases loaded in the fifth inning. Bazzana worked a full count against left-hander Caleb Wurster (Marlins) before clobbering a middle-middle fastball over the right-center wall.

“I was just trying to be ready to hit a fastball at the top of the zone and turn on it to right field,” the Australia native said, “but also see his breaking ball start at my front hip or like ribs area, because it has a lot of horizontal breaks.

“So I had to let it start at me and then be a strike vs. start over the plate and miss outside. So I was just trying to see something middle/middle up, and he threw a fastball that I was on time for and I made a good swing.”

grand slam ball delivered 🥹 pic.twitter.com/gaA2iA1vzP

— Lake County Captains (@LCCaptains) July 31, 2024

Bazzana has reached milestones in each of his first three games. On July 26, he picked up his first RBI before collecting his first two hits on July 28. He hit his first homer Wednesday, also picking up his first stolen base and scoring three runs while going 2-for-4 with two walks out of the leadoff spot. The 21-year-old is batting .364 with a 1.189 OPS.

Bazzana said it wasn’t necessarily a goal or expectation to start racking up the professional firsts, but he does feel lucky to be checking them off the list quickly.

“It’s been awesome,” he said. “I think it’s all part of it. These last couple of weeks to a month have been kind of a whirlwind, so it’s nice to get out on the field and get to do baseball things. This is just a bonus of being out there playing the game I enjoy.”

Milestones and long balls are nothing new for the 21-year-old, of course. He set Oregon State career and single-season record for career (45) and single-season (28) home runs this spring.

The left-handed hitter has brought the mindset that helped him break those marks to the Minors.

“Keeping focus and trusting my abilities,” Bazzana said of his priorities. “The other side is being in a new place, building the relationships that are going to help me and my teammates thrive. New friendships, new people, and getting to know them so we can hopefully build some great winning teams in this organization. That’s just part of the new journey.”