The Cleveland Guardians are one of the few MLB franchises that always seem to be productive without the household names, besides Jose Ramirez.
However, Jose Ramirez is aging, and in a few years, he will be approaching 40 years old. He is everything and more for Cleveland, as he has carried the lineup for years, and likely for years to come, but it's never too early to think about who will take his place once his time is up with the Guardians.
Guardians' first overall pick in 2024, Travis Bazzana, is getting ever so closer to making his big league debut, and he may be the next star in Cleveland
Travis Bazanna predicted next 'face of the franchise'
In a recent Bleacher Report piece, they predicted each MLB team's future 'face of the franchise' and Travis Bazanna was the pick for Cleveland:
"Surely the hope, though, is that 2024 No. 1 pick Travis Bazzana will be shining brightly three years from now. He missed nearly two months of the current season with an oblique injury, but that wasn't enough to stop him from getting called up to Triple-A earlier this week. Pencil him in for second base on Opening Day 2026, and don't be surprised if fans in Cleveland soon thereafter come to revere him like they did Jason Kipnis."
Bazanna was just recently called up to Triple-A, and the sample size is small at that level, but the hope is that he finishes the season at that level and then is ready for 2026. In 51 games at the AA level, Bazanna hit .256 with an OPS of .790.
Another name that BR mentioned was Kyle Manzardo, who is having a breakout 2025 campaign. Manzardo is up to 21 home runs on the season and an OPS of .805 in just his second full MLB season.