I suppose to have to be a suscriber to listen, but here's a lilnk to a BA podcast discussion on the Cleveland farm system
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories ... deep-dive/
Outline is:
(00:00) The State Of The Guardians System
(04:00) Travis Bazzana Is The Clear No. 1—What Can Be Expected From Him In 2026?
(08:20) Chase DeLauter Is Healthy. Keep Your Fingers Crossed.
(11:00) Is The System Better Or Worse Than A Year Ago?
(13:30) Jace LaViolette Was A Fascinating Guardians Draft Pick
(16:00) Who Could Be Next Year’s No. 1 Prospect?
(17:00) Parker Messick and Braylon Doughty Discussions
(22:15) What The Guardians Are Good At Developing
(25:00) More Guardians Sleepers To Know
(32:00) Khalil Watson’s Fascinating Path
Re: Minor Matters
14012Aaron Davenport posted on his Instagram story this week that he had Tommy John surgery and will miss the 2026 season. The right hander out of Hawaii did get a spring training invite this year and is entering his age 26 season and a year away from minor league free agency. He saw a bit of a bump in control last year by switching to pitching out of the stretch full time. He doesn’t have much fastball but has a beautiful curve, but now he’s facing the clock with age and minor league free agency so he’ll need to find a new deal for his age 27 season in 2027. Best of luck to Aaron.
Speaking of:
Notes on Guardians Prospects Invited to Spring Training
RHP Tanner Burns: At age 27, the 2020 CB-A pick out of Auburn is also running out of time and has yet to find his footing above High-A as a starter or a reliever. There’s a lot of pitching competing for spots at Triple-A, so who knows what his future holds.
RHP Trenton Denholm: His knuckleball didn’t really stand out results wise in the AFL, I am always curious to see what the control specialist can do with his pitch mix, especially with a knuckleball. It will be fun to get spring training data on it at least.
LHP Will Dion: Falling into the same category as his 2021 draft-mates. I had high hopes for Dion’s curve/change and command but the fastball velocity was never able to find the right gear and he’s also running short of time like Davenport, Burns and Denholm.
RHP Jack Leftwich: The 2021 draft class did produce Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee, but the rest of that pitching class didn’t catch on like we hoped. Leftwich is much like Burns too where he hasn’t found a role or footing that has secured his future.
RHP Tommy Mace: Now 27 and getting a $1.1M signing bonus, the clock is ticking here too. The fastball has yet to find enough life. Hasn’t missed enough bats or thrown enough strikes. His bonus and the need for depth might have kept him around this long.
RHP Jake Miller: Ironically, the Guardians LAST pick of the 20 round draft in 2021 has the best odds at being the next pick from that class to make the majors. He had a nice breakthrough as a reliever at Akron last year with a sinker/changeup combination that really works. He struggled in the transition to Triple-A with the MLB baseball (still can’t answer why they’re different other than cost to produce) as many have. So he’ll need another year to see if he can make that adjustment before saying what his future looks like.
LHP Steven Perez: Back on a minor league deal after being a minor league free agent. The short lefty also found a new gear last year with a mid-90s fastball and slider. I think only being in Double-A is the only thing that kept him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. He’ll be a fun relief option to get a look at in spring training.
LHP Ryan Webb: After leading the AFL in strikeouts in 2024, I had high hopes for Webb. But the lack of fastball utility hold him back. Perhaps there is still hope for a bullpen role since he has some solid secondaries.
C Cameron Barstad: Resigned to catch because the system lacks some depth and has some good defensive qualities.
C Jacob Cozart: This is a good spring opportunity for Cozart to get some big league coaching and exposure. He has all the physical tools to catch. Bigger body for a catcher but a great arm. He gets his first big league camp invite because you always need catchers and Bo Naylor is playing in the World Baseball Classic for Team Canada, so that will allow Cozart some real reps with MLB pitchers and against them.
C Kody Huff: Still a good defender with framing/blocking. The arm is pretty good too. He still hasn’t figured out how to parlay decent exit velocities into better production at the plate. He will also likely get a decent share of playing time with Cozart and Ingle with Naylor out.
C Cooper Ingle: This is also a big spring for Ingle. It’s his second camp invite. He’s due to be on the 40 man roster at the end of the year. He’s shown he can draw a walk and frame a little bit, but blocking and throwing haven’t been great for him. His exit velocities and performance vs. LHP also create some clouds for his offensive future. I would expect he will be seeing a lot of time behind Austin Hedges with Naylor out and it will be a big year for him and where his future goes.
2B Travis Bazzana: The 2024 first overall pick earns his first big league camp invite, but he won’t be there long as he leaves for Team Australia in the World Baseball Classic. Basically the early invite to camp was necessary to get ready, not that it wasn’t warranted. But we’ll see how long he’s gone, what kind of impression he can make on the team and how soon he can push himself into the lineup in 2026.
INF Dayan Frias: Like Bazzana, he’s off to the World Baseball Classic for Team Colombia. I liked Frias once as a nice defender at short, great arm for the left side of the infield and some pop, but better breaking stuff has exposed him. He did re-sign as a minor league free agent.
INF Milan Tolentino: Cleveland simply doesn’t have much at shortstop in camp. Tolentino can play short quite well. He benefitted greatly from the friendly confines of Huntington Park in Columbus, so I don’t buy his offensive season plus he strikes out a ton. But, great defender.
1B Ralphy Velazquez: Coming to MLB camp at age 20 for the first time should be quite the experience for Velazquez. He made a lot of noise with his bat last summer. Now he needs to prove it wasn’t a fluke and big league exposure will be good for him.
OF Wuilfredo Antunez: Hit a homer in his lone AFL game before a shoulder injury. He came back on a minor league deal as well and avoided being selected in the Rule 5 draft. Curious to see what time he gets in big league camp.
OF Alfonsin Rosario: Rosario replaced Antunez on the AFL roster and he really struggled to hit. Not a great sign because the AFL is usually light on pitching and the ball flies there. But he had a nice year in Lake County, and struggled in Akron when he got there. Fun tools and talent, but what playing time he gets this spring, I am not sure what to expect.
World Baseball Classic Prospects
Pitchers
LHP Matt Wilkinson: Nice opportunity for Tugboat. He struggled last year with his stuff and control, and got hit hard at times. He’ll get a real test in the WBC and see how his deception and arm slot plays with control and changeup. He will likely pitch in the bullpen for Canada.
LHP Ryan Prager: Going back to Texas A&M in 2025 was a mistake for Prager. But Cleveland maybe bought low on the lefty. He’s only got four pro innings and who knows how many he’ll get on Team Israel but he’s got very little pro experience and heads to the world’s stage.
RHP Dylan DeLucia: I thought DeLucia was a fringe-40 man candidate last year. But he’s likely too small to start and has a big delivery. I imagine he’ll be a reliever for Team Italy, which actually might be a good role for him with his fastball traits, curve and change.
In addition to working on my Guardians prospect rankings and scouting reports, that I hope to have done later this month in full, I am also trying to re-launch Guardians of the Future this year too in concert with Spring Training. I’m working on finding a new platform to record on and some production, plus a format/guests to make it as good as it once was. To be, if it’s not worthwhile and good, it’s not worth doing. So my hope is that when I bring it back, which I intend to, I want to make it worth your time and attention.
Speaking of:
Notes on Guardians Prospects Invited to Spring Training
RHP Tanner Burns: At age 27, the 2020 CB-A pick out of Auburn is also running out of time and has yet to find his footing above High-A as a starter or a reliever. There’s a lot of pitching competing for spots at Triple-A, so who knows what his future holds.
RHP Trenton Denholm: His knuckleball didn’t really stand out results wise in the AFL, I am always curious to see what the control specialist can do with his pitch mix, especially with a knuckleball. It will be fun to get spring training data on it at least.
LHP Will Dion: Falling into the same category as his 2021 draft-mates. I had high hopes for Dion’s curve/change and command but the fastball velocity was never able to find the right gear and he’s also running short of time like Davenport, Burns and Denholm.
RHP Jack Leftwich: The 2021 draft class did produce Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee, but the rest of that pitching class didn’t catch on like we hoped. Leftwich is much like Burns too where he hasn’t found a role or footing that has secured his future.
RHP Tommy Mace: Now 27 and getting a $1.1M signing bonus, the clock is ticking here too. The fastball has yet to find enough life. Hasn’t missed enough bats or thrown enough strikes. His bonus and the need for depth might have kept him around this long.
RHP Jake Miller: Ironically, the Guardians LAST pick of the 20 round draft in 2021 has the best odds at being the next pick from that class to make the majors. He had a nice breakthrough as a reliever at Akron last year with a sinker/changeup combination that really works. He struggled in the transition to Triple-A with the MLB baseball (still can’t answer why they’re different other than cost to produce) as many have. So he’ll need another year to see if he can make that adjustment before saying what his future looks like.
LHP Steven Perez: Back on a minor league deal after being a minor league free agent. The short lefty also found a new gear last year with a mid-90s fastball and slider. I think only being in Double-A is the only thing that kept him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. He’ll be a fun relief option to get a look at in spring training.
LHP Ryan Webb: After leading the AFL in strikeouts in 2024, I had high hopes for Webb. But the lack of fastball utility hold him back. Perhaps there is still hope for a bullpen role since he has some solid secondaries.
C Cameron Barstad: Resigned to catch because the system lacks some depth and has some good defensive qualities.
C Jacob Cozart: This is a good spring opportunity for Cozart to get some big league coaching and exposure. He has all the physical tools to catch. Bigger body for a catcher but a great arm. He gets his first big league camp invite because you always need catchers and Bo Naylor is playing in the World Baseball Classic for Team Canada, so that will allow Cozart some real reps with MLB pitchers and against them.
C Kody Huff: Still a good defender with framing/blocking. The arm is pretty good too. He still hasn’t figured out how to parlay decent exit velocities into better production at the plate. He will also likely get a decent share of playing time with Cozart and Ingle with Naylor out.
C Cooper Ingle: This is also a big spring for Ingle. It’s his second camp invite. He’s due to be on the 40 man roster at the end of the year. He’s shown he can draw a walk and frame a little bit, but blocking and throwing haven’t been great for him. His exit velocities and performance vs. LHP also create some clouds for his offensive future. I would expect he will be seeing a lot of time behind Austin Hedges with Naylor out and it will be a big year for him and where his future goes.
2B Travis Bazzana: The 2024 first overall pick earns his first big league camp invite, but he won’t be there long as he leaves for Team Australia in the World Baseball Classic. Basically the early invite to camp was necessary to get ready, not that it wasn’t warranted. But we’ll see how long he’s gone, what kind of impression he can make on the team and how soon he can push himself into the lineup in 2026.
INF Dayan Frias: Like Bazzana, he’s off to the World Baseball Classic for Team Colombia. I liked Frias once as a nice defender at short, great arm for the left side of the infield and some pop, but better breaking stuff has exposed him. He did re-sign as a minor league free agent.
INF Milan Tolentino: Cleveland simply doesn’t have much at shortstop in camp. Tolentino can play short quite well. He benefitted greatly from the friendly confines of Huntington Park in Columbus, so I don’t buy his offensive season plus he strikes out a ton. But, great defender.
1B Ralphy Velazquez: Coming to MLB camp at age 20 for the first time should be quite the experience for Velazquez. He made a lot of noise with his bat last summer. Now he needs to prove it wasn’t a fluke and big league exposure will be good for him.
OF Wuilfredo Antunez: Hit a homer in his lone AFL game before a shoulder injury. He came back on a minor league deal as well and avoided being selected in the Rule 5 draft. Curious to see what time he gets in big league camp.
OF Alfonsin Rosario: Rosario replaced Antunez on the AFL roster and he really struggled to hit. Not a great sign because the AFL is usually light on pitching and the ball flies there. But he had a nice year in Lake County, and struggled in Akron when he got there. Fun tools and talent, but what playing time he gets this spring, I am not sure what to expect.
World Baseball Classic Prospects
Pitchers
LHP Matt Wilkinson: Nice opportunity for Tugboat. He struggled last year with his stuff and control, and got hit hard at times. He’ll get a real test in the WBC and see how his deception and arm slot plays with control and changeup. He will likely pitch in the bullpen for Canada.
LHP Ryan Prager: Going back to Texas A&M in 2025 was a mistake for Prager. But Cleveland maybe bought low on the lefty. He’s only got four pro innings and who knows how many he’ll get on Team Israel but he’s got very little pro experience and heads to the world’s stage.
RHP Dylan DeLucia: I thought DeLucia was a fringe-40 man candidate last year. But he’s likely too small to start and has a big delivery. I imagine he’ll be a reliever for Team Italy, which actually might be a good role for him with his fastball traits, curve and change.
In addition to working on my Guardians prospect rankings and scouting reports, that I hope to have done later this month in full, I am also trying to re-launch Guardians of the Future this year too in concert with Spring Training. I’m working on finding a new platform to record on and some production, plus a format/guests to make it as good as it once was. To be, if it’s not worthwhile and good, it’s not worth doing. So my hope is that when I bring it back, which I intend to, I want to make it worth your time and attention.
Re: Minor Matters
14013. Angel Genao, SS (No. 33 on the top 100)
Height: 5-9 | Weight: 190 | Bats: B | Throws: R | Age: 22
Genao’s 2025 season started late as he sprained his right shoulder during an infield drill in spring training, then didn’t look like his 2024 self over the summer as he often seemed hesitant to swing at full speed. The Guardians did send him to Double A right off the injury after he’d spent only 66 games at High A to finish his breakout 2024 season, so he also was adjusting to facing better pitching. The good news is he played better defense at shortstop this year and showed a little more arm strength, with second base still more likely, but at least shortstop is still a possibility in the long term. He did play in the Dominican Winter League this offseason and hit very well, showing more full extension on his swings, so perhaps he’s regained the strength or confidence in his shoulder. His 2025 was mostly a lost year, unfortunately, but given the injury as the likely cause of the reduced output, I’m not lowering my expectations for him as an above-average regular somewhere in the middle infield.
2. Travis Bazzana, 2B (No. 50 on the top 100)
Height: 6-0 | Weight: 199 | Bats: L | Throws: R | Age: 23
Bazzana missed two chunks of the 2025 season with oblique strains, one on each side (that is, all of them), and his performance while he played was certainly not what was expected of the No. 1 pick from 2024. Even before the first injury, he was hitting just .252/.362/.433 in Double A — which was an aggressive assignment for his first full season — with a 26.1 percent strikeout rate. He made more contact with less power on his return and then moved to Triple A and showed more power but bumped back up to a 26.7 percent strikeout rate. He has excellent hand-eye coordination and made plenty of contact in Double A, whiffing on just 20 percent of his swings, but that went up significantly after his promotion, and he had particular trouble with anything that wasn’t a fastball. He did maintain strong hard-hit and barrel rates in Triple A, even with a swing path that can be very steep and makes it harder for him to stay on plane, so he did flash the hit and power tools that made him the first pick even if the raw stat line doesn’t show it. He’s still playing second base, where his defense isn’t great but might be adequate, even with rumors that he would move to left field last season. He’s got to hit, and he’s got to stay healthy, and I’m not sure how much the second variable affected the first last year.
Chase DeLauter #34 of the Cleveland Guardians walks across the field during the second inning against the Detroit Tigers in game two of the American League Wild
Card Series at Progressive Field on October 01, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. DeLauter made his MLB debut in this game.
Chase DeLauter made his major-league debut in a postseason game.Nick Cammett / Getty Images
3. Chase DeLauter, OF (No. 81 on the top 100)
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 235 | Bats: L | Throws: L | Age: 24
Last season was the same old story for DeLauter, who was the Guardians’ first-round pick in 2022: He hit well enough when he played, but he didn’t play much at all, with just 177 plate appearances in 42 Triple-A games before making his MLB debut in the playoffs. DeLauter had a serious foot injury when Cleveland drafted him, then reinjured the foot, and has had a litany of ailments since then, so he has never reached 250 PA or played in 60 games in any of his three full professional seasons. The 2025 season was actually his worst year at the plate, as he hit .264/.379/.473 in Triple A, but still walked as often as he struck out (15.8 percent) and made mostly hard contact, with a 52 percent hard-hit rate and a peak EV of 110 mph. The swing is ugly, and MLB pitchers will be able to exploit it; he actually whiffed on 19.4 percent of pitches in the heart of the zone in Triple A in a small sample. He’s a good athlete who could, in theory, play center field, but Cleveland wisely moved him out of there last year, with all of his time in the corners and a good dose of starts at DH as well. The preponderance of evidence we have says he will hit with some power, and he will not stay healthy. I don’t think 2025 moved the needle on either of those points.
4. Joey Oakie, RHP (No. 84 on the top 100)
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 200 | Bats: R | Throws: R | Age: 20
Oakie was part of Cleveland’s group of high-upside high school pitchers selected in the 2024 draft, paid for in large part by their savings on the bonus for No. 1 pick Bazzana. Oakie broke out from the remainder of the pack with a 2025 season that showed improved stuff and dominant performances. Oakie started his season in the Arizona Complex League and threw well, but by the time he moved up to High A in August, he was bumping 99 and sitting 94-98. He had back-to-back starts in late August when he threw a hidden no-hitter with 22 strikeouts over 9 1/3 innings, working mostly with that riding four-seamer and a plus slider up to 88 with mostly downward break. His arm is loose and very quick, with everything coming out hot, and he still has to work on his control (14 percent walk rate last year) and needs to develop a changeup. The Guardians haven’t tried to add a pitch so far, as he was an Iowa high school kid who saw his velocity dip in his draft season, so they took a conservative approach. He isn’t as safe a bet as a fellow Cleveland prospect from the same draft class, Braylon Doughty, who is more polished and has a hammer curveball right now, but he has a much higher ceiling. He has huge upside given how he’s barely scratched the surface of what he can do.
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5. Parker Messick, LHP (No. 92 on the top 100)
Height: 6-0 | Weight: 225 | Bats: L | Throws: L | Age: 25
Messick needed to pick up some velocity across his arsenal to get out of that finesse lefty/fifth-starter bucket, and he did so, gaining a little over a half a mile an hour on his fastball and over a full mph on his slider, leading to a very successful big-league debut in which he walked fewer batters than he did in Triple A. He’s a big-bodied kid who comes from a three-quarters slot but hides the ball well behind his body, helping all his stuff play up. His changeup is his one truly plus pitch, and his two breaking balls are more average, but they help him get lefties out because they don’t see the ball until quite late in his delivery. He had some platoon splits in the majors but didn’t in the minors, and he should be able to continue to get righties out at a similar rate as he does lefties. He’s been durable since Cleveland took him in the second round in 2022, making 24 starts and throwing 121 innings his first year and then going up from there, and he should be able to handle a full starter’s workload in the majors right now. He looks like a high-floor fourth starter and could creep up to more than that with further development of either or both of the breaking balls or another increase in overall velocity.
6. Ralphy Velazquez, 1B/C (Just missed)
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 240 | Bats: L | Throws: R | Age: 21
Velazquez had a very “meh” season in High A for the majority of 2025, hitting .245/.323/.469, no great shakes for a first baseman. He does have plus bat speed, which showed up in flashes last year, including the 22 homers he hit across two minor-league levels, and he hits fastballs extremely well, though his breaking-ball recognition needs work. He has a super-wide stance with just a toe-tap, which I think is making him less flexible on swings; once he starts his hands, he’s committed to the swing path, and if the ball isn’t where he expected, he doesn’t adjust that well. He loves the ball in, while he’s worse on stuff middle-away.
He does have good ball/strike recognition, though, even with the 9 percent walk rates he posted at each level. After his promotion to Double A in August, he joined the team in Reading, the best hitter’s park in the Eastern League, and went 12-for-22 with four homers, four doubles, a triple (!) and four walks; he hit .278/.350/.400 the rest of the way, respectable, but back to a level that isn’t going to work for a guy who’s first base-only and might not be more than an average defender there. His value is so tied up in his bat that he’s going to have to produce more for me to consider him in the upper echelons of the rankings.
7. Cooper Ingle, C
Height: 5-8 | Weight: 190 | Bats: L | Throws: R | Age: 24
Ingle had a slightly disappointing year after a breakout season in 2024 that saw him hit well at two levels and in the Arizona Fall League while showing solid to above-average defense. His glove work and his arm were about a half-grade worse in 2025 than the year before; his caught stealing rate dropped from 26 percent to 17 percent, in part as his accuracy was off and in part because he was facing better competition. At the plate, he’s still a very high-contact hitter who doesn’t have much power but hits the ball hard enough to keep his average up, at least against righties, and last year he didn’t make any progress against lefties and still has some platoon risk. There’s still everyday ceiling here, as he has a very high aptitude for the game and does the “little things” (mild sarcasm employed there) such as grinding out at-bats, with more backup/platoon potential than I saw a year ago.
8. Juneiker Caceres, OF
Height: 5-10 | Weight: 168 | Bats: L | Throws: L | Age: 18
Caceres played the entire Arizona Complex League season at age 17 last year, hitting .289/.419/.469 with exceptional batted-ball data, then moved up to Low A before turning 18 and continued to make contact at a high rate. He hits the ball reasonably hard already for his age and size, showing impressive feel for the barrel and an advanced approach that includes fouling off pitches to try to get one he likes. He will get stronger in time and at least projects to get to a 55 hit tool, maybe more, with more in-game power to come if the Guardians work with him on his bat path. I saw him play center field in Low A, where he was fine for now, with a corner most likely once he fills out.
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9. Juan Brito, IF
Height: 6-0 | Weight: 202 | Bats: B | Throws: R | Age: 24
Brito’s 2025 season was a washout, as he tore a thumb ligament in mid-April, missing two months after surgery, and then injured his hamstring July 4, eventually undergoing surgery for that and missing the remainder of the season. He raked in 2024 in Triple A, hitting .256/.365/.443 with 22 homers and 88 walks, and could be that player again if fully healthy — a solid-average everyday second baseman or a very good utility infielder.
10. Braylon Doughty, RHP
Height: 6-1 | Weight: 196 | Bats: R | Throws: R | Age: 20
Doughty was part of the same loaded draft class of high school pitching that brought in Oakie, and Doughty has the best breaking ball of the two — maybe the best in the system, a plus curveball right now with spin and shape. He has been up to 98 in side sessions, pitching more 92-95 in games on limited pitch counts, with some left in the tank to gain more and probably an opportunity to get him to tweak the shape or try a two-seamer to keep hitters off the pitch. He throws a slurvy slider as a third pitch with no real changeup, which he’ll need at some point for lefties even though he had a large reverse platoon split last year. He walked just 6.4 percent of batters he faced in Low A, with above-average control but not command. He’s a more likely big-league starter than Oakie, with a lower ceiling, more mid-rotation or a little less.
11. Jaison Chourio, OF
Height: 6-0 | Weight: 188 | Bats: B | Throws: R | Age: 21
Chourio’s 2024 season ended with a broken wrist in August, and it might have had an impact on his 2025 season, as he wasn’t hitting the ball as hard as he had the prior year and seemed more tentative on all sides of the ball. He moved up to High A and hit .235/.380/.284, losing 80 points of ISO from the year before, and his whiff rate was up slightly from 19 percent to 23 percent, notable because he is such a high-contact hitter by nature. He’s still too groundball-heavy, coming in just over 50 percent last year, although that might also improve when he feels confident in the wrist again. He’s a 55 runner who projects to stay in center field, and he stole 44 bases in 2024, dropping to 10 last year as part of that lack of aggressiveness. He’ll turn 21 in May and has plenty of time to return to High A and show he’s back to the hitter he was before the injury. (Yes, he’s Jackson Chourio’s brother.)
Texas A&M's Jace LaViolette smiles as he adjusts his glove during Game 3 of the College World Series finals in June 2024.
Jace LaViolette had some 1-1 buzz early in the 2025 draft season but ultimately struggled during his draft year, falling to the Guardians at pick 27.Brianna Paciorka / News Sentinel / USA Today
12. Jace LaViolette, OF
Height: 6-6 | Weight: 230 | Bats: L | Throws: L | Age: 22
The Guardians rolled the dice on one of the big fallers of the 2025 draft, as LaViolette came into the year with top-10 buzz — I know there was some 1-1 chatter, but I never thought that was realistic given how much he struck out as a sophomore — and then had his worst year for Texas A&M, hitting .258/.427/.576 with a career-low 18 homers and more trouble with contact. He has huge power, with a 90th percentile EV last spring of 107.9, putting him in the top 5 percent of all Division 1 hitters, and he has an outside chance to stick in center field, with right field the much safer bet. He broke a metacarpal bone in his left hand during the SEC tournament in May, so he has yet to make his pro debut. His contact issues seem to be part pitch recognition and part mechanics, as he has no load and then swings extremely hard without any consistency to his movements. For the end of the first round, and a system that is generally light on power, he was a great pick.
13. Khal Stephen, RHP
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 215 | Bats: R | Throws: R | Age: 23
Acquired from the Blue Jays for Shane Bieber, Stephen is an athletic righty with above-average control, coming from a high slot that results in a very north-south approach. He throws three pitches, with the fastball and changeup the better two. The Guardians plan to work to develop a better breaking ball for him, whether it’s tweaking the slider or trying another pitch entirely, at least to give him a shape that works and allows him to get more east-west. He did miss a few weeks with a shoulder impingement right after the deadline, returning for four starts in Double A. He’s probably a back-end starter, maybe closer to a No. 5 starter if this is what his pitch mix will be.
14. Welbyn Francisca, SS
Height: 5-8 | Weight: 148 | Bats: B | Throws: R | Age: 20
I expected more from Francisca in his full-season debut, but he hit .229/.320/.302 despite good contact rates in Low A as a 19-year-old. He’s a little small, more like 5-foot-11 than his listed 5-8, but twitchy, with surprising power for his size that shows up in batted-ball data, needing to work on his swing decisions to focus on hitting pitches he can drive. He can put the bat on the ball, especially in the zone, with an approach that sacrifices power because he’s so focused on contact. His upside is still that of a switch-hitting second baseman with power.
15. Dean Curley, IF
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 218 | Bats: R | Throws: R | Age: 22
Cleveland’s second-round pick in 2025, Curley has plus bat speed with plenty of raw power to get to 20-odd homers a year. He needs to work on pitch recognition and selection after his performance dropped against the better pitching in the SEC last spring. He’s not a shortstop and has the plus arm for third base, with second also a possibility but perhaps not the best use of his skills. He’s a very Cleveland draft pick, with strong underlying characteristics and a need for small adjustments to get to better results in-game.
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16. Jacob Cozart, C
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 214 | Bats: L | Throws: R | Age: 23
I have talked to scouts who think Cozart is a non-prospect, killing his bat and his defense, while the Guardians seem to view him as a potential everyday catcher. I am King Solomon, coming down right in the middle, albeit I will not be splitting anyone in two: I think Cozart’s a solid backup catcher who can defend and will get to enough power to be a long-term big leaguer who can catch 40 games a year and help a team. He’s a 55 defender across the board, with a swing that might explain some of the offensive inconsistency, and he could still hit enough to be a regular in a best-case scenario, although off a year where he didn’t hit well in High A or Double A as an ACC product, that seems much less likely.
17. Robert Arias, OF
Height: 6-1 | Weight: 168 | Bats: L | Throws: L | Age: 19
Arias is a center fielder who walked more than he struck out in the ACL while showing plus speed on the bases and on defense. He’s still young and projectable with maybe fringy raw power now, showing bat speed but not a lot of bat control, resulting in too much contact on the ground last year when he should be shooting line drives to the gaps. He could probably have gone to Low A given his command of the zone if Juneiker Caceres weren’t already manning center field in Lynchburg; I expect each of them to move up this spring and we could see Arias take off if he gets stronger this winter.
18. Josh Hartle, LHP
Height: 6-6 | Weight: 207 | Bats: L | Throws: L | Age: 23
Acquired from Pittsburgh in the Spencer Horwitz trade that also brought in the now-suspended Luis Ortiz, Hartle gained velocity over the course of the 2025 season, averaging a little over 91 mph on the season and 92 after the All-Star break, enough that he could still become a back-end starter given his control and above-average changeup. It’s still a fine line for him given the velocity and lack of a true average breaking pitch, so his ability to limit hard contact as he goes to Double A, where he made just two starts last year, will tell us whether he can still be a starter or ends up a swing type.
George Valera #35 of the Cleveland Guardians rounds the bases after hitting a home run in the bottom of the first inning during Game Two of the American League Wild Card Series between the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Wednesday, October 1, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio.
George Valera made his major-league debut in 2025.Grace Hoppel / MLB Photos via Getty Images
19. George Valera, OF
Height: 5-10 | Weight: 195 | Bats: L | Throws: L | Age: 25
Valera returned in 2025 after years of injuries and underperformance that saw him outrighted off Cleveland’s 40-man roster and unclaimed by any other team last winter. He hit .255/.346/.457 in a month in Triple A and earned his first big-league callup. He hasn’t played a full season since 2022, and his 2025 season started very late as he recovered from a torn patellar tendon he suffered in September 2024. The bit of Valera we saw last year looked like a capable platoon right fielder who’ll hit for some power and get on base against righties, which isn’t exactly what the Guardians need (their outfield leans left) but would be valuable for many other teams. It’s a great comeback story regardless of where he ends up.
20. Alfonsin Rosario, OF
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 222 | Bats: R | Throws: R | Age: 22
Rosario is a power-over-hit guy who swings extremely hard and posts big exit velocities while swinging and missing too much to project as any kind of regular. He finished 2025 in Double A, where he whiffed 41 percent of the time he took the bat off his shoulder, including 38 percent on fastballs, the pitches that don’t usually move that much. He’s played center and right, and he’s not sticking in center, so it’s a straight corner bat with 25-30 homer power and a low probability of hitting.
Others of note
I don’t really know what to expect from right-hander Daniel Espino, but the good news is that he did actually return to the mound after three and a half years of injuries and surgeries, including major knee and shoulder injuries, to throw five innings in Triple A and the AFL combined. He hit 100 in the desert and sat 97-98 in one-inning appearances, with a handful of low-spin sliders. Maybe he’ll have a Hunter Harvey career path, where he resurfaces as a reliever who’s good when he’s healthy but isn’t always available … Shortstop Gabriel Rodriguez hit .294/.393/.402 as an 18-year-old in the ACL, showing a decent approach but not enough hard contact and too many ground balls. He needs to get stronger just to keep the average up. He’s probably a long-term shortstop even though he played third and second last year as the Guardians tried to give multiple players reps at short … Infielder Dauri Fernandez hit .333/.398/.558 in the ACL last year, although he didn’t actually make that much hard contact and still has to gain strength and bat speed to be a potential regular, especially since he’s an impatient hitter who goes up there to swing the bat … Kahlil Watson is a center fielder now and the one-time Marlins first-rounder had a solid year in Double A and Triple A, hitting .250/.346/.467, striking out 27.7 percent of the time. He’s probably just an up-and-down guy but maybe a platoon outfielder since he hits righties reasonably well … Catcher Kody Huff remains one of the best defensive catchers in the minors and could be somebody’s backup, although his .222/.301/.330 line in Triple A kept him from being selected in the most recent Rule 5 draft … Outfielder/first baseman Nolan Schubart was the Guardians’ third-round pick out of Oklahoma State, a similar prospect to LaViolette but more extreme. He also has huge power, and he strikes out excessively, struggling badly against breaking stuff. He struck out 36 percent of the time in a small sample of 66 PA in Low A after signing.
2026 impact
If DeLauter is healthy, he should be their Opening Day right fielder, or at least their DH to try to keep him off the injured list. He could win Rookie of the Year, he could play 40 games. I don’t really know how to forecast him. Messick has an excellent chance to be in their Opening Day rotation.
Height: 5-9 | Weight: 190 | Bats: B | Throws: R | Age: 22
Genao’s 2025 season started late as he sprained his right shoulder during an infield drill in spring training, then didn’t look like his 2024 self over the summer as he often seemed hesitant to swing at full speed. The Guardians did send him to Double A right off the injury after he’d spent only 66 games at High A to finish his breakout 2024 season, so he also was adjusting to facing better pitching. The good news is he played better defense at shortstop this year and showed a little more arm strength, with second base still more likely, but at least shortstop is still a possibility in the long term. He did play in the Dominican Winter League this offseason and hit very well, showing more full extension on his swings, so perhaps he’s regained the strength or confidence in his shoulder. His 2025 was mostly a lost year, unfortunately, but given the injury as the likely cause of the reduced output, I’m not lowering my expectations for him as an above-average regular somewhere in the middle infield.
2. Travis Bazzana, 2B (No. 50 on the top 100)
Height: 6-0 | Weight: 199 | Bats: L | Throws: R | Age: 23
Bazzana missed two chunks of the 2025 season with oblique strains, one on each side (that is, all of them), and his performance while he played was certainly not what was expected of the No. 1 pick from 2024. Even before the first injury, he was hitting just .252/.362/.433 in Double A — which was an aggressive assignment for his first full season — with a 26.1 percent strikeout rate. He made more contact with less power on his return and then moved to Triple A and showed more power but bumped back up to a 26.7 percent strikeout rate. He has excellent hand-eye coordination and made plenty of contact in Double A, whiffing on just 20 percent of his swings, but that went up significantly after his promotion, and he had particular trouble with anything that wasn’t a fastball. He did maintain strong hard-hit and barrel rates in Triple A, even with a swing path that can be very steep and makes it harder for him to stay on plane, so he did flash the hit and power tools that made him the first pick even if the raw stat line doesn’t show it. He’s still playing second base, where his defense isn’t great but might be adequate, even with rumors that he would move to left field last season. He’s got to hit, and he’s got to stay healthy, and I’m not sure how much the second variable affected the first last year.
Chase DeLauter #34 of the Cleveland Guardians walks across the field during the second inning against the Detroit Tigers in game two of the American League Wild
Card Series at Progressive Field on October 01, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. DeLauter made his MLB debut in this game.
Chase DeLauter made his major-league debut in a postseason game.Nick Cammett / Getty Images
3. Chase DeLauter, OF (No. 81 on the top 100)
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 235 | Bats: L | Throws: L | Age: 24
Last season was the same old story for DeLauter, who was the Guardians’ first-round pick in 2022: He hit well enough when he played, but he didn’t play much at all, with just 177 plate appearances in 42 Triple-A games before making his MLB debut in the playoffs. DeLauter had a serious foot injury when Cleveland drafted him, then reinjured the foot, and has had a litany of ailments since then, so he has never reached 250 PA or played in 60 games in any of his three full professional seasons. The 2025 season was actually his worst year at the plate, as he hit .264/.379/.473 in Triple A, but still walked as often as he struck out (15.8 percent) and made mostly hard contact, with a 52 percent hard-hit rate and a peak EV of 110 mph. The swing is ugly, and MLB pitchers will be able to exploit it; he actually whiffed on 19.4 percent of pitches in the heart of the zone in Triple A in a small sample. He’s a good athlete who could, in theory, play center field, but Cleveland wisely moved him out of there last year, with all of his time in the corners and a good dose of starts at DH as well. The preponderance of evidence we have says he will hit with some power, and he will not stay healthy. I don’t think 2025 moved the needle on either of those points.
4. Joey Oakie, RHP (No. 84 on the top 100)
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 200 | Bats: R | Throws: R | Age: 20
Oakie was part of Cleveland’s group of high-upside high school pitchers selected in the 2024 draft, paid for in large part by their savings on the bonus for No. 1 pick Bazzana. Oakie broke out from the remainder of the pack with a 2025 season that showed improved stuff and dominant performances. Oakie started his season in the Arizona Complex League and threw well, but by the time he moved up to High A in August, he was bumping 99 and sitting 94-98. He had back-to-back starts in late August when he threw a hidden no-hitter with 22 strikeouts over 9 1/3 innings, working mostly with that riding four-seamer and a plus slider up to 88 with mostly downward break. His arm is loose and very quick, with everything coming out hot, and he still has to work on his control (14 percent walk rate last year) and needs to develop a changeup. The Guardians haven’t tried to add a pitch so far, as he was an Iowa high school kid who saw his velocity dip in his draft season, so they took a conservative approach. He isn’t as safe a bet as a fellow Cleveland prospect from the same draft class, Braylon Doughty, who is more polished and has a hammer curveball right now, but he has a much higher ceiling. He has huge upside given how he’s barely scratched the surface of what he can do.
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5. Parker Messick, LHP (No. 92 on the top 100)
Height: 6-0 | Weight: 225 | Bats: L | Throws: L | Age: 25
Messick needed to pick up some velocity across his arsenal to get out of that finesse lefty/fifth-starter bucket, and he did so, gaining a little over a half a mile an hour on his fastball and over a full mph on his slider, leading to a very successful big-league debut in which he walked fewer batters than he did in Triple A. He’s a big-bodied kid who comes from a three-quarters slot but hides the ball well behind his body, helping all his stuff play up. His changeup is his one truly plus pitch, and his two breaking balls are more average, but they help him get lefties out because they don’t see the ball until quite late in his delivery. He had some platoon splits in the majors but didn’t in the minors, and he should be able to continue to get righties out at a similar rate as he does lefties. He’s been durable since Cleveland took him in the second round in 2022, making 24 starts and throwing 121 innings his first year and then going up from there, and he should be able to handle a full starter’s workload in the majors right now. He looks like a high-floor fourth starter and could creep up to more than that with further development of either or both of the breaking balls or another increase in overall velocity.
6. Ralphy Velazquez, 1B/C (Just missed)
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 240 | Bats: L | Throws: R | Age: 21
Velazquez had a very “meh” season in High A for the majority of 2025, hitting .245/.323/.469, no great shakes for a first baseman. He does have plus bat speed, which showed up in flashes last year, including the 22 homers he hit across two minor-league levels, and he hits fastballs extremely well, though his breaking-ball recognition needs work. He has a super-wide stance with just a toe-tap, which I think is making him less flexible on swings; once he starts his hands, he’s committed to the swing path, and if the ball isn’t where he expected, he doesn’t adjust that well. He loves the ball in, while he’s worse on stuff middle-away.
He does have good ball/strike recognition, though, even with the 9 percent walk rates he posted at each level. After his promotion to Double A in August, he joined the team in Reading, the best hitter’s park in the Eastern League, and went 12-for-22 with four homers, four doubles, a triple (!) and four walks; he hit .278/.350/.400 the rest of the way, respectable, but back to a level that isn’t going to work for a guy who’s first base-only and might not be more than an average defender there. His value is so tied up in his bat that he’s going to have to produce more for me to consider him in the upper echelons of the rankings.
7. Cooper Ingle, C
Height: 5-8 | Weight: 190 | Bats: L | Throws: R | Age: 24
Ingle had a slightly disappointing year after a breakout season in 2024 that saw him hit well at two levels and in the Arizona Fall League while showing solid to above-average defense. His glove work and his arm were about a half-grade worse in 2025 than the year before; his caught stealing rate dropped from 26 percent to 17 percent, in part as his accuracy was off and in part because he was facing better competition. At the plate, he’s still a very high-contact hitter who doesn’t have much power but hits the ball hard enough to keep his average up, at least against righties, and last year he didn’t make any progress against lefties and still has some platoon risk. There’s still everyday ceiling here, as he has a very high aptitude for the game and does the “little things” (mild sarcasm employed there) such as grinding out at-bats, with more backup/platoon potential than I saw a year ago.
8. Juneiker Caceres, OF
Height: 5-10 | Weight: 168 | Bats: L | Throws: L | Age: 18
Caceres played the entire Arizona Complex League season at age 17 last year, hitting .289/.419/.469 with exceptional batted-ball data, then moved up to Low A before turning 18 and continued to make contact at a high rate. He hits the ball reasonably hard already for his age and size, showing impressive feel for the barrel and an advanced approach that includes fouling off pitches to try to get one he likes. He will get stronger in time and at least projects to get to a 55 hit tool, maybe more, with more in-game power to come if the Guardians work with him on his bat path. I saw him play center field in Low A, where he was fine for now, with a corner most likely once he fills out.
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9. Juan Brito, IF
Height: 6-0 | Weight: 202 | Bats: B | Throws: R | Age: 24
Brito’s 2025 season was a washout, as he tore a thumb ligament in mid-April, missing two months after surgery, and then injured his hamstring July 4, eventually undergoing surgery for that and missing the remainder of the season. He raked in 2024 in Triple A, hitting .256/.365/.443 with 22 homers and 88 walks, and could be that player again if fully healthy — a solid-average everyday second baseman or a very good utility infielder.
10. Braylon Doughty, RHP
Height: 6-1 | Weight: 196 | Bats: R | Throws: R | Age: 20
Doughty was part of the same loaded draft class of high school pitching that brought in Oakie, and Doughty has the best breaking ball of the two — maybe the best in the system, a plus curveball right now with spin and shape. He has been up to 98 in side sessions, pitching more 92-95 in games on limited pitch counts, with some left in the tank to gain more and probably an opportunity to get him to tweak the shape or try a two-seamer to keep hitters off the pitch. He throws a slurvy slider as a third pitch with no real changeup, which he’ll need at some point for lefties even though he had a large reverse platoon split last year. He walked just 6.4 percent of batters he faced in Low A, with above-average control but not command. He’s a more likely big-league starter than Oakie, with a lower ceiling, more mid-rotation or a little less.
11. Jaison Chourio, OF
Height: 6-0 | Weight: 188 | Bats: B | Throws: R | Age: 21
Chourio’s 2024 season ended with a broken wrist in August, and it might have had an impact on his 2025 season, as he wasn’t hitting the ball as hard as he had the prior year and seemed more tentative on all sides of the ball. He moved up to High A and hit .235/.380/.284, losing 80 points of ISO from the year before, and his whiff rate was up slightly from 19 percent to 23 percent, notable because he is such a high-contact hitter by nature. He’s still too groundball-heavy, coming in just over 50 percent last year, although that might also improve when he feels confident in the wrist again. He’s a 55 runner who projects to stay in center field, and he stole 44 bases in 2024, dropping to 10 last year as part of that lack of aggressiveness. He’ll turn 21 in May and has plenty of time to return to High A and show he’s back to the hitter he was before the injury. (Yes, he’s Jackson Chourio’s brother.)
Texas A&M's Jace LaViolette smiles as he adjusts his glove during Game 3 of the College World Series finals in June 2024.
Jace LaViolette had some 1-1 buzz early in the 2025 draft season but ultimately struggled during his draft year, falling to the Guardians at pick 27.Brianna Paciorka / News Sentinel / USA Today
12. Jace LaViolette, OF
Height: 6-6 | Weight: 230 | Bats: L | Throws: L | Age: 22
The Guardians rolled the dice on one of the big fallers of the 2025 draft, as LaViolette came into the year with top-10 buzz — I know there was some 1-1 chatter, but I never thought that was realistic given how much he struck out as a sophomore — and then had his worst year for Texas A&M, hitting .258/.427/.576 with a career-low 18 homers and more trouble with contact. He has huge power, with a 90th percentile EV last spring of 107.9, putting him in the top 5 percent of all Division 1 hitters, and he has an outside chance to stick in center field, with right field the much safer bet. He broke a metacarpal bone in his left hand during the SEC tournament in May, so he has yet to make his pro debut. His contact issues seem to be part pitch recognition and part mechanics, as he has no load and then swings extremely hard without any consistency to his movements. For the end of the first round, and a system that is generally light on power, he was a great pick.
13. Khal Stephen, RHP
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 215 | Bats: R | Throws: R | Age: 23
Acquired from the Blue Jays for Shane Bieber, Stephen is an athletic righty with above-average control, coming from a high slot that results in a very north-south approach. He throws three pitches, with the fastball and changeup the better two. The Guardians plan to work to develop a better breaking ball for him, whether it’s tweaking the slider or trying another pitch entirely, at least to give him a shape that works and allows him to get more east-west. He did miss a few weeks with a shoulder impingement right after the deadline, returning for four starts in Double A. He’s probably a back-end starter, maybe closer to a No. 5 starter if this is what his pitch mix will be.
14. Welbyn Francisca, SS
Height: 5-8 | Weight: 148 | Bats: B | Throws: R | Age: 20
I expected more from Francisca in his full-season debut, but he hit .229/.320/.302 despite good contact rates in Low A as a 19-year-old. He’s a little small, more like 5-foot-11 than his listed 5-8, but twitchy, with surprising power for his size that shows up in batted-ball data, needing to work on his swing decisions to focus on hitting pitches he can drive. He can put the bat on the ball, especially in the zone, with an approach that sacrifices power because he’s so focused on contact. His upside is still that of a switch-hitting second baseman with power.
15. Dean Curley, IF
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 218 | Bats: R | Throws: R | Age: 22
Cleveland’s second-round pick in 2025, Curley has plus bat speed with plenty of raw power to get to 20-odd homers a year. He needs to work on pitch recognition and selection after his performance dropped against the better pitching in the SEC last spring. He’s not a shortstop and has the plus arm for third base, with second also a possibility but perhaps not the best use of his skills. He’s a very Cleveland draft pick, with strong underlying characteristics and a need for small adjustments to get to better results in-game.
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16. Jacob Cozart, C
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 214 | Bats: L | Throws: R | Age: 23
I have talked to scouts who think Cozart is a non-prospect, killing his bat and his defense, while the Guardians seem to view him as a potential everyday catcher. I am King Solomon, coming down right in the middle, albeit I will not be splitting anyone in two: I think Cozart’s a solid backup catcher who can defend and will get to enough power to be a long-term big leaguer who can catch 40 games a year and help a team. He’s a 55 defender across the board, with a swing that might explain some of the offensive inconsistency, and he could still hit enough to be a regular in a best-case scenario, although off a year where he didn’t hit well in High A or Double A as an ACC product, that seems much less likely.
17. Robert Arias, OF
Height: 6-1 | Weight: 168 | Bats: L | Throws: L | Age: 19
Arias is a center fielder who walked more than he struck out in the ACL while showing plus speed on the bases and on defense. He’s still young and projectable with maybe fringy raw power now, showing bat speed but not a lot of bat control, resulting in too much contact on the ground last year when he should be shooting line drives to the gaps. He could probably have gone to Low A given his command of the zone if Juneiker Caceres weren’t already manning center field in Lynchburg; I expect each of them to move up this spring and we could see Arias take off if he gets stronger this winter.
18. Josh Hartle, LHP
Height: 6-6 | Weight: 207 | Bats: L | Throws: L | Age: 23
Acquired from Pittsburgh in the Spencer Horwitz trade that also brought in the now-suspended Luis Ortiz, Hartle gained velocity over the course of the 2025 season, averaging a little over 91 mph on the season and 92 after the All-Star break, enough that he could still become a back-end starter given his control and above-average changeup. It’s still a fine line for him given the velocity and lack of a true average breaking pitch, so his ability to limit hard contact as he goes to Double A, where he made just two starts last year, will tell us whether he can still be a starter or ends up a swing type.
George Valera #35 of the Cleveland Guardians rounds the bases after hitting a home run in the bottom of the first inning during Game Two of the American League Wild Card Series between the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Wednesday, October 1, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio.
George Valera made his major-league debut in 2025.Grace Hoppel / MLB Photos via Getty Images
19. George Valera, OF
Height: 5-10 | Weight: 195 | Bats: L | Throws: L | Age: 25
Valera returned in 2025 after years of injuries and underperformance that saw him outrighted off Cleveland’s 40-man roster and unclaimed by any other team last winter. He hit .255/.346/.457 in a month in Triple A and earned his first big-league callup. He hasn’t played a full season since 2022, and his 2025 season started very late as he recovered from a torn patellar tendon he suffered in September 2024. The bit of Valera we saw last year looked like a capable platoon right fielder who’ll hit for some power and get on base against righties, which isn’t exactly what the Guardians need (their outfield leans left) but would be valuable for many other teams. It’s a great comeback story regardless of where he ends up.
20. Alfonsin Rosario, OF
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 222 | Bats: R | Throws: R | Age: 22
Rosario is a power-over-hit guy who swings extremely hard and posts big exit velocities while swinging and missing too much to project as any kind of regular. He finished 2025 in Double A, where he whiffed 41 percent of the time he took the bat off his shoulder, including 38 percent on fastballs, the pitches that don’t usually move that much. He’s played center and right, and he’s not sticking in center, so it’s a straight corner bat with 25-30 homer power and a low probability of hitting.
Others of note
I don’t really know what to expect from right-hander Daniel Espino, but the good news is that he did actually return to the mound after three and a half years of injuries and surgeries, including major knee and shoulder injuries, to throw five innings in Triple A and the AFL combined. He hit 100 in the desert and sat 97-98 in one-inning appearances, with a handful of low-spin sliders. Maybe he’ll have a Hunter Harvey career path, where he resurfaces as a reliever who’s good when he’s healthy but isn’t always available … Shortstop Gabriel Rodriguez hit .294/.393/.402 as an 18-year-old in the ACL, showing a decent approach but not enough hard contact and too many ground balls. He needs to get stronger just to keep the average up. He’s probably a long-term shortstop even though he played third and second last year as the Guardians tried to give multiple players reps at short … Infielder Dauri Fernandez hit .333/.398/.558 in the ACL last year, although he didn’t actually make that much hard contact and still has to gain strength and bat speed to be a potential regular, especially since he’s an impatient hitter who goes up there to swing the bat … Kahlil Watson is a center fielder now and the one-time Marlins first-rounder had a solid year in Double A and Triple A, hitting .250/.346/.467, striking out 27.7 percent of the time. He’s probably just an up-and-down guy but maybe a platoon outfielder since he hits righties reasonably well … Catcher Kody Huff remains one of the best defensive catchers in the minors and could be somebody’s backup, although his .222/.301/.330 line in Triple A kept him from being selected in the most recent Rule 5 draft … Outfielder/first baseman Nolan Schubart was the Guardians’ third-round pick out of Oklahoma State, a similar prospect to LaViolette but more extreme. He also has huge power, and he strikes out excessively, struggling badly against breaking stuff. He struck out 36 percent of the time in a small sample of 66 PA in Low A after signing.
2026 impact
If DeLauter is healthy, he should be their Opening Day right fielder, or at least their DH to try to keep him off the injured list. He could win Rookie of the Year, he could play 40 games. I don’t really know how to forecast him. Messick has an excellent chance to be in their Opening Day rotation.
Re: Minor Matters
14014That was Keith Law's top 20. He's usually a little more ecletic than this year. He's also hated DeLauter's swing. He's not at all a fan of guys with big swing and miss % so he's lower on Velazquez and Rosario than some others.
No real surprises in his list.
I understand why he puts Oakie so high: very high ceiling, less certain he'll make it than Doughty.
Interesting he's got Genao on top of his list,
No real surprises in his list.
I understand why he puts Oakie so high: very high ceiling, less certain he'll make it than Doughty.
Interesting he's got Genao on top of his list,
Re: Minor Matters
14015
Cleveland Guardians Prospect Roster Notes, Odds and Ends
Spring training, roster and World Baseball Classic News
Justin Lada
Feb 6
Sorry this place has been kind of quiet in the new year. The lack of news and Guardians prospect participation in the international winter leagues, and people needing to prioritize their health and other work (including myself with Locked On Guardians) has made it tougher to keep up.
But with spring training ramping up next week, rest assured we will be back to daily content here quickly!
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Good news - I am working on my 2026 Cleveland Guardians prospect rankings, profiles and another full digital guide. So as soon as that is done, I’ll be able to do much more.
But since we have SOME news, let’s get this place going again!
First, injury news.
Aaron Davenport posted on his Instagram story this week that he had Tommy John surgery and will miss the 2026 season. The right hander out of Hawaii did get a spring training invite this year and is entering his age 26 season and a year away from minor league free agency. He saw a bit of a bump in control last year by switching to pitching out of the stretch full time. He doesn’t have much fastball but has a beautiful curve, but now he’s facing the clock with age and minor league free agency so he’ll need to find a new deal for his age 27 season in 2027. Best of luck to Aaron.
Speaking of:
Notes on Guardians Prospects Invited to Spring Training
RHP Tanner Burns: At age 27, the 2020 CB-A pick out of Auburn is also running out of time and has yet to find his footing above High-A as a starter or a reliever. There’s a lot of pitching competing for spots at Triple-A, so who knows what his future holds.
RHP Trenton Denholm: His knuckleball didn’t really stand out results wise in the AFL, I am always curious to see what the control specialist can do with his pitch mix, especially with a knuckleball. It will be fun to get spring training data on it at least.
LHP Will Dion: Falling into the same category as his 2021 draft-mates. I had high hopes for Dion’s curve/change and command but the fastball velocity was never able to find the right gear and he’s also running short of time like Davenport, Burns and Denholm.
RHP Jack Leftwich: The 2021 draft class did produce Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee, but the rest of that pitching class didn’t catch on like we hoped. Leftwich is much like Burns too where he hasn’t found a role or footing that has secured his future.
RHP Tommy Mace: Now 27 and getting a $1.1M signing bonus, the clock is ticking here too. The fastball has yet to find enough life. Hasn’t missed enough bats or thrown enough strikes. His bonus and the need for depth might have kept him around this long.
RHP Jake Miller: Ironically, the Guardians LAST pick of the 20 round draft in 2021 has the best odds at being the next pick from that class to make the majors. He had a nice breakthrough as a reliever at Akron last year with a sinker/changeup combination that really works. He struggled in the transition to Triple-A with the MLB baseball (still can’t answer why they’re different other than cost to produce) as many have. So he’ll need another year to see if he can make that adjustment before saying what his future looks like.
LHP Steven Perez: Back on a minor league deal after being a minor league free agent. The short lefty also found a new gear last year with a mid-90s fastball and slider. I think only being in Double-A is the only thing that kept him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. He’ll be a fun relief option to get a look at in spring training.
LHP Ryan Webb: After leading the AFL in strikeouts in 2024, I had high hopes for Webb. But the lack of fastball utility hold him back. Perhaps there is still hope for a bullpen role since he has some solid secondaries.
C Cameron Barstad: Resigned to catch because the system lacks some depth and has some good defensive qualities.
C Jacob Cozart: This is a good spring opportunity for Cozart to get some big league coaching and exposure. He has all the physical tools to catch. Bigger body for a catcher but a great arm. He gets his first big league camp invite because you always need catchers and Bo Naylor is playing in the World Baseball Classic for Team Canada, so that will allow Cozart some real reps with MLB pitchers and against them.
C Kody Huff: Still a good defender with framing/blocking. The arm is pretty good too. He still hasn’t figured out how to parlay decent exit velocities into better production at the plate. He will also likely get a decent share of playing time with Cozart and Ingle with Naylor out.
C Cooper Ingle: This is also a big spring for Ingle. It’s his second camp invite. He’s due to be on the 40 man roster at the end of the year. He’s shown he can draw a walk and frame a little bit, but blocking and throwing haven’t been great for him. His exit velocities and performance vs. LHP also create some clouds for his offensive future. I would expect he will be seeing a lot of time behind Austin Hedges with Naylor out and it will be a big year for him and where his future goes.
2B Travis Bazzana: The 2024 first overall pick earns his first big league camp invite, but he won’t be there long as he leaves for Team Australia in the World Baseball Classic. Basically the early invite to camp was necessary to get ready, not that it wasn’t warranted. But we’ll see how long he’s gone, what kind of impression he can make on the team and how soon he can push himself into the lineup in 2026.
INF Dayan Frias: Like Bazzana, he’s off to the World Baseball Classic for Team Colombia. I liked Frias once as a nice defender at short, great arm for the left side of the infield and some pop, but better breaking stuff has exposed him. He did re-sign as a minor league free agent.
INF Milan Tolentino: Cleveland simply doesn’t have much at shortstop in camp. Tolentino can play short quite well. He benefitted greatly from the friendly confines of Huntington Park in Columbus, so I don’t buy his offensive season plus he strikes out a ton. But, great defender.
1B Ralphy Velazquez: Coming to MLB camp at age 20 for the first time should be quite the experience for Velazquez. He made a lot of noise with his bat last summer. Now he needs to prove it wasn’t a fluke and big league exposure will be good for him.
OF Wuilfredo Antunez: Hit a homer in his lone AFL game before a shoulder injury. He came back on a minor league deal as well and avoided being selected in the Rule 5 draft. Curious to see what time he gets in big league camp.
OF Alfonsin Rosario: Rosario replaced Antunez on the AFL roster and he really struggled to hit. Not a great sign because the AFL is usually light on pitching and the ball flies there. But he had a nice year in Lake County, and struggled in Akron when he got there. Fun tools and talent, but what playing time he gets this spring, I am not sure what to expect.
World Baseball Classic Prospects
Pitchers
LHP Matt Wilkinson: Nice opportunity for Tugboat. He struggled last year with his stuff and control, and got hit hard at times. He’ll get a real test in the WBC and see how his deception and arm slot plays with control and changeup. He will likely pitch in the bullpen for Canada.
LHP Ryan Prager: Going back to Texas A&M in 2025 was a mistake for Prager. But Cleveland maybe bought low on the lefty. He’s only got four pro innings and who knows how many he’ll get on Team Israel but he’s got very little pro experience and heads to the world’s stage.
RHP Dylan DeLucia: I thought DeLucia was a fringe-40 man candidate last year. But he’s likely too small to start and has a big delivery. I imagine he’ll be a reliever for Team Italy, which actually might be a good role for him with his fastball traits, curve and change.
In addition to working on my Guardians prospect rankings and scouting reports, that I hope to have done later this month in full, I am also trying to re-launch Guardians of the Future this year too in concert with Spring Training. I’m working on finding a new platform to record on and some production, plus a format/guests to make it as good as it once was. To be, if it’s not worthwhile and good, it’s not worth doing. So my hope is that when I bring it back, which I intend to, I want to make it worth your time and attention.
Thanks for reading and get ready for the return of more Guardians prospect content.
<
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller
Democracy Dies In Darkness - WAPO
-- Bob Feller
Democracy Dies In Darkness - WAPO
Re: Minor Matters
14016
Keith Law’s assessment of Guardians’ farm system should be bittersweet for fans
By Henry Palattella
1 hour ago
Evaluating MLB prospects is an imperfect game. While it’s easy to tell if a player has the tools needed to succeed (anyone can see how hard a ball is hit or how fast a pitch is thrown), it can be tougher to figure out how those skills could lead to major league success.
Keith Law’s latest assessment of the Guardians’ top prospect in The Athletic is a prime example of that.
While Law’s list featured a great update in regard to Angel Genao (who was ranked as the top prospect in Cleveland’s system and the No. 33 prospect in baseball), his presence at the top of the list came at the cost of Travis Bazzana, who was ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the system despite being the No. 1 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft.
Keith Law’s latest prospect rankings aren’t a great sign for Travis Bazzana
The obvious highlight here is how high Law is on Genao (even if it comes at Bazzana’s expense in the rankings).
The 21-year-old got a late start to last season due to a shoulder injury he suffered in 2024 and only managed to play in 77 games at Triple-A, but still managed to post a .323 on-base percentage despite hitting just .259.
But none of that takes away from his breakout 2024 season where he hit .330 across 110 games at Single-A and High-A.
Genao looked to be fully healthy this winter when he hit .325 in 26 games in the Dominican Winter League, with Law reporting that it looked like he was back to having full extension in his shoulder.
The Guardians added Genao to their 40-man roster this offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, and the 2026 season would be considered a success if he’s able to stay healthy and make it to Triple-A.
Meanwhile Law wrote that his dip in Bazzana’s ranking is due to his oblique strains and middling results last season. While Bazzana finished last season with a .389 on-base percentage in 84 games last season, he hit just .245.
Law also wrote that he isn’t a big fan of Bazzana’s swing path (which is steep) and his subpar performances on defense.
While Bazzana is still one of the top prospects in baseball, one player drafted behind him has already won Rookie of the Year (Nick Kurtz) while another is the top prospect in baseball (Konnor Griffin).
The sky is still the limit for Bazzana, but Law’s rankings are a reminder of how quickly things can change when it comes to prospect development.
It’s also important to remember that success and progress isn’t linear. Bazzana had the best tools of all the players in his draft class (which is why the Guardians took him with the No. 1 pick), but no one saw Kurtz’s development coming.
But regardless of Law’s rankings, both Bazzana and Genao are going to be must-watch players during the spring.
<
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller
Democracy Dies In Darkness - WAPO
-- Bob Feller
Democracy Dies In Darkness - WAPO
Re: Minor Matters
14017Keith Law’s assessment of Guardians’ farm system should be bittersweet for fans
By Henry Palattella
1 hour ago
Evaluating MLB prospects is an imperfect game. While it’s easy to tell if a player has the tools needed to succeed (anyone can see how hard a ball is hit or how fast a pitch is thrown), it can be tougher to figure out how those skills could lead to major league success.
Keith Law’s latest assessment of the Guardians’ top prospect in The Athletic is a prime example of that.
While Law’s list featured a great update in regard to Angel Genao (who was ranked as the top prospect in Cleveland’s system and the No. 33 prospect in baseball), his presence at the top of the list came at the cost of Travis Bazzana, who was ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the system despite being the No. 1 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft.
Keith Law’s latest prospect rankings aren’t a great sign for Travis Bazzana
The obvious highlight here is how high Law is on Genao (even if it comes at Bazzana’s expense in the rankings).
The 21-year-old got a late start to last season due to a shoulder injury he suffered in 2024 and only managed to play in 77 games at Triple-A, but still managed to post a .323 on-base percentage despite hitting just .259.
But none of that takes away from his breakout 2024 season where he hit .330 across 110 games at Single-A and High-A.
Genao looked to be fully healthy this winter when he hit .325 in 26 games in the Dominican Winter League, with Law reporting that it looked like he was back to having full extension in his shoulder.
The Guardians added Genao to their 40-man roster this offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, and the 2026 season would be considered a success if he’s able to stay healthy and make it to Triple-A.
Meanwhile Law wrote that his dip in Bazzana’s ranking is due to his oblique strains and middling results last season. While Bazzana finished last season with a .389 on-base percentage in 84 games last season, he hit just .245.
Law also wrote that he isn’t a big fan of Bazzana’s swing path (which is steep) and his subpar performances on defense.
While Bazzana is still one of the top prospects in baseball, one player drafted behind him has already won Rookie of the Year (Nick Kurtz) while another is the top prospect in baseball (Konnor Griffin).
The sky is still the limit for Bazzana, but Law’s rankings are a reminder of how quickly things can change when it comes to prospect development.
It’s also important to remember that success and progress isn’t linear. Bazzana had the best tools of all the players in his draft class (which is why the Guardians took him with the No. 1 pick), but no one saw Kurtz’s development coming.
But regardless of Law’s rankings, both Bazzana and Genao are going to be must-watch players during the spring.
<
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller
Democracy Dies In Darkness - WAPO
-- Bob Feller
Democracy Dies In Darkness - WAPO