FRANCO ALEMAN
GUARDIANS ALL PROSPECT TEAM
JUSTIN LADA
DEC 17
Award season was a little delayed, but we’re getting them in before the end of the year.
Note: I had to take a few liberties at some positions where candidates were lighter than I would have in years past. Normally I would have used the qualifier that a player had to play most of his season in the minors, but for catcher and first base, that wasn’t really possible. But at pitcher, Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen, and Gavin Williams didn’t qualify due to how much time they spent in the majors, and there were deserving pitchers.
C: Bo Naylor: .253/.393/.498, .12 2B, 13 HR, 391 wOBA, 123 wRC+,
Normally, I would pick someone who played the majority of their games in the minors for this spot, but the catcher spot in the minors this year for Cleveland was bleak. Bryan Lavastida had a minor resurgence in the second half, but beyond that, it was a weak year for the catching group beyond some international prospects too young to consider for this.
1B: Kyle Manzardo: .233/.324/.535, 8 2B, 6 HR, .361 wOBA, 132 wRC+ (all with Cleveland)
Manzardo didn’t have the majority of his season’s at-bats in the Cleveland system, but like the catcher spot, first base was a rough spot throughout the organization. Manzardo had a nice tear at the end of the season power-wise and also hot well in the AFL. So this was an easy call.
2B: Juan Brito: .271/.377/.434, 31 2B, 14 HR, 7/15 B, .370 wOBA, 126 wRC+
At Lake County Brito looked solid, but at times wasn’t overly dominant or special. But he kicked it into gear a little more at Double-A and from the left side offensively, he produced. Defensively and as a right handed hitter, there were questions left to answer. But he was deserving here.
SS: Jose Devers: .252/.356/.398, 15 2B, 11 HR, 34/45 SB, .356 wOBA, 113 wRC+
Shortstop was another source of disappointment in the minors this year for Cleveland. But Devers showed a good glove at the position and came into some modest power at times. He had some really strong moments that stood out more than anyone in this position, even though Brayan Rocchio was solid but disappointing this year. But Devers showed some good flashes, albeit at Low-A.
3B: Dayan Frias: .260/.356/.426, 19 2B, 11 HR, 8/11 SB, .359 wOBA, 120 wRC+
There were some ups and downs offensively for Frias, but overall he had plenty of good moments. He found some pullside power from the left side, made plenty of contact and drew some walks.
He also showed a strong glove at third base, maybe the best glove in the system at any position.
OF 1:Wuilfredo Antunez: .275/.354/.420, 17 2B, 6 HR, 11/17 SB, .366 wOBA, 120 wRC+
There weren’t a ton of choices in the outfield this year, at least not as an outfielder and Antunez also had his ups and downs, like most prospects. At 21 in Low-A, these are not blow you away numbers, but his K/BB% were promising, he showed some pop and might be able to play center. There are consistency and maturity issues to work on, but that can be said about any 21 year old minor leaguer. Still enough production to be a top-3 performance in the Guardians system in 2023 among outfielders in a down year.
OF 2: Chase DeLauter: .355/.417/.528, 22 2B, 5 HR, .428 wOBA, 159 wRC+
The only reason DeLauter is in the number two spot is due to only collecting 217 plate appearances and some of these numbers coming during his rehab in Arizona. Still, DeLauter hit well in High-A once he was healthy and on the field and was pretty good in the AFL. The results were there for excitement if they hold true.
OF 3: Jaison Chourio: .321/.417/.528, .13 2B, HR, 20/22 SB, .425 wOBA, 132 wRC+,
Most of the damage Chourio did was in the Arizona Rookie League, so these results are fairly hard to take, and I admit this spot could be a bit of name value. But there weren’t many big performances to choose from and this all came in Chourio’s age 18 season. If he had done this in Low-A all year it would have been more impressive but it still stands out in 2023 in this system.
DH: Jonathan Rodriguez: .286/.368/.529, 26 2B, 29 HR, .393 woBA, 135 wRC+
Putting Rodriguez at DH was the most logical choice since all three ahead of him here were better defenders than he is, even though he has a good am. But he did produce some of the best numbers in the system this past year between Double-A and Triple-A. There was still a question of his approach in the minors at both levels, especially when he got to Triple-A, but he still produced in a way to take notice and see what this might turn into.
RHP: Trenton Denholm: 91.1 IP, 3.16 ERA/3.18 FIP, 21.2 K%, 5.7 BB%
There weren’t a lot of big performance chances among right handed pitchers in the system, but Denholm has a solid year with his FIP matching his ERA. He didn’t miss many bats but he had better control and success in 2023, and perhaps this can be a building block season for him going into 2024.
LHP: WIll Dion: 116.1IP, 2.39 ERA/2.86 FIP, 27.9 K%, 7.6 B%
Easily the best pitcher in the Guardians system in 2023. Despite only being able to hit 91-92 on the radar gun, he’s got two above average secondaries, and he’s missing bats in Double-A with that stuff. It’s hard to now how that velocity is going to play going forward but there’s no denying what he was able to do in 2023.
RP: Franco Aleman: 55IP, 3.10 ERA/2.50 FIP, 36.1 K%, 7.7 BB%
This was one area where Cleveland had a few good candidates to go with here. But Aleman got a promotion to Double-A with very questionable numbers at High-A,
then took off big time in Double-A, not allowing an earned run his entire time there 0.00 ERA; 24 INN; 38 K; 5 W; 9 H. He made some errors that led to unearned runs and wasn’t able to pitch a ton due to availability at times.
But he was flat out dominant stuff wise and Double-A hitters couldn’t touch him.
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