tuesday:

Florial CF 071/306 OPS
Ramirez 3B 231/769
John 1B 357/714
Laureano DH 354/897
Brennan RF 308/1126
Arias SS 250/641
Hedges C 333/1289
Noel LF 25 0/625
Brito 2B 1--/367
Williams 2 2/3 IP 4 hits 1 run, earned 0 walks 5 strikeouts

No Juan Zapata in the 9th today; Cantillo with 2 shutout innings; 1 each from Clase, Sandlin, and some depth guys
Brennan double and single and 2 rbi; hitting 333; still not big on taking walks or striking out 1 vs 2 of those
Brito singled and sac flied

Seven game losing streak is over. Must have been Vogt working on the lineup card all night.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Bo Naylor is back on the radar.

Naylor was scratched from Cleveland’s lineup on Feb. 28 because of back spasms. He has not played a game since, but manager Stephen Vogt told reporters on Tuesday morning at the team’s training site in Goodyear, Arizona, that Naylor should be back in the lineup on Wednesday.

“Bo is good,” said Vogt. “He completed a workout on Monday (an off day) and will go through a full workout today and should be catching on Wednesday.”

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What's wrong with this picture.

Just saw today's lineup. Home run leader and RBI leader Angel Martinez hitting last.


Bo back. Where's Straw?

ST lineups don't mean much. They want certain guys to get more at bats.
Kwan LF
Giminez 2B
Freeman CF
BO Catcher
Rocchio SS
Manzardo 1B
DLS DH
DeL RF
Martinez as noted 3B
McKenzie on the mound

Angel with a triple!

He's the STMVP no doubt

2 shutout innings from McKenzie

2 more hits from Freeman, a single and double. He's out to win the CF job??? He's been playing there most days; Straw still out with infection 1069 OPS
Martinez OPS 1744
Manzardo singles; please recall that he is considered a power hitter than a very good all purpose hitter; he's doing just fine at 455 1116 OPS
DeLauter single and walk in 2 at bats 1483 OPS

ON the other hand:
DLS 0-2 one strikeout; Rocchio 0-2

Rocchio singled later in the game; I don't think I see any other hits over the second half of the game. De Los Santos finishes 0-4 with 2K

Carrasco struggled in his third inning, giving up a 2 run homer to former G'dn Eric Haase and walking 2.

Final two CLE relievers: Tim Herrin and Eric Sabrowski both strike out the side, the latter issued the walk, Herrin was perfect

Cleveland Guardians Spring Training Prospect Report 3/5/24

ARTHUR KINNEY

MAR 6

Game 11 - Cleveland Guardians 4, Seattle Mariners 1


STARTERS

Juan Brito (2B): 1-1, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SF -

Brito started the Cleveland scoring with a 3rd inning sac fly. He picked up his base hit two frames later before subsequently scoring on Will Brennan;s two-run line-drive single to right.

Jhonkensy Noel (LF): 1-3, 2 K -

The only other prospect in yesterday;s starting lineup has a hit in each of his three March games after an 0-for-8 February.

NOTABLE RESERVES

Raynel Delgado (3B): 1-1 -

After failing to reach base in his first six plate appearances of the Spring, Delgado has singled in both of his trips to the dish over the last three days.

Daniel Schneemann (SS): 0-0, 1 BB -

Schneemann reached base for the fifth time this Spring (13 PA) and the first time via walk.

Deyvison De Los Santos (1B): 0-1 -

De Los Santos grounded into a (insert scoring) double play in his only plate appearance on Tuesday to continue a Spring that seems to suggest that the Guardians may need to strike a deal with the Diamondbacks for his full rights.

ALSO PLAYED

Petey Halpin (CF): 0-1

Korey Holland (DH): 0-1

Johnathan Rodriguez (RF): 0-1

Bryan Lavastida ( C ): 0-1

Chase DeLauter (LF): 0-1

Jose Tena (2B): 0-1

RELIEVERS

Tanner Burns: 0.1 IP, perfect, 1 K -

Burns struck out the lone batter he faced (Luke Raley) to extend his preseason-opening streak of exactly one strikeouts per appearance to three games (first two outings were a full inning each).

Joey Cantillo: H (1), 2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K -

Just like in his Spring debut, Cantillo allowed a hit and a walk across a pair of frames. This time, however, he kept the opposition off of the scoreboard.

Jack Leftwich: S (1), 1 IP, 1 BB -

The save was Leftwich's first as a professional and his first in any type of baseball since he saved five ballgames for the 2021 Florida Gators. This is what makes Spring Training baseball so great. You literally never know what you're going to see.

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Left-hander Joey Cantillo is trying to earn a place in the Guardians' pitching pipeline to the big leagues.



Guardians’ left-hander trying to reserve spot in pitching pipeline to Cleveland

Updated: Mar. 06, 2024, 6:02 p.m.|Published: Mar. 06, 2024, 5:41 p.m.

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- We have been through this before.

The rotation breaks down in Cleveland and help arrives from the minors. Not just one arm, but arms in multiples.

In 2018, Shane Bieber arrived. In 2019, he was joined by Aaron Civale and Zach Plesac. They were all members of the 2016 draft class.

Last year rookies Logan Allen, Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams walked into the locker room at Progressive Field to keep the rotation solvent. They weren’t all from the same draft class, but they were close. Allen was a second round pick in 2020, while Cleveland drafted Williams No. 1 and Bibee No. 5 in 2021.

When those three were otherwise occupied, fellow rookies Xzavion Curry and Hunter Gaddis combined to make 16 starts. Curry and Gaddis were drafted in 2019.

The Guardians don’t buy free agent starting pitchers, they grow them like rows of corn. They trade for them as well.

The worry is when does it stop? When does the pitching pipeline get turned off?

That does not appear to be a pressing concern. Remember, this is an organization that took 19 pitchers in the 20 rounds that made up the 2021 draft.

They deal bulk.

One name to remember is left-hander Joey Cantillo. Cleveland acquired him from San Diego in the Mike Clevinger trade on Aug. 31, 2020. Besides Cantillo, Cleveland received Gabriel Arias, Josh Naylor, Austin Hedges, Owen Miller and Cal Quantrill for Clevinger, Greg Allen and Matt Waldron.

Considering that Quantrill went 22-15 in his four years with Cleveland before being non-tendered and traded to Colorado over the offseason, this is the trade that never stops giving.

Naylor will open the season as Cleveland’s starting first baseman. Arias has a chance to be their starting shortstop and after a one-year absence Hedges is back to help Bo Naylor behind the plate. If Cantillo makes his big league debut this year, he could coceivably be on the mound with Naylor at first, Arias at short and Hedges behind the plate.

Cantillo, meanwhile, is making inroads with the right people this spring. In two appearances, including one start, he’s allowed one run and two hits in four innings. He’s struck out three and walked two.

In Tuesday’s 4-1 win over Seattle, he pitched two scoreless innings.

“This is a focused and determined kid,” said manager Stephen Vogt. “Every time he takes the mound, there is a focus and an intent. I want to watch him pitch, that’s the feeling I get.

“He’s got an opportunity to impact the roster at some point this year. He’s developed really well. I think he could be a big-time arm for us. But his focus and determination really stand out for me.”

Cantillo is from Kailua, Hawaii. Kailua, a suburb of Honolulu, on the island of Oahu.

“If I wasn’t on the baseball field as a kid,” said Cantillo, “I was body surfing, body boarding, swimming, snorkeling and diving with my friends. We were doing all those kind of things.”

Cantillo is not thinking about riding the waves when he’s pitching. Vogt picked up on that early.

“I’ve always been a serious person, sometimes to a fault,” he said. “The last few years I think it’s been learning to balance the two things.

“When I’m on the mound, I’m definitely competing. I’m a competitive person. I want to be locked in. I want to have be laser focused. So whatever people are seeing externally, that’s what comes out.”

Cantillo said that attitude came from the baseball environment he was raised in.

“Baseball is big in my hometown,” said Cantillo. “I grew up in a competitive Asian community. There are a lot of older Japanese guys who carry down that old school approach to baseball. It’s a very serious, hard-working approach to baseball.”

Last year Cantillo, 24, went 7-4 with a 4.07 ERA in 26 games, including 24 starts at Class AA Akron and Class AAA Columbus. He struck out 146 and walked 69 in 119 1/3 innings.

Walks have been an issue for Cantillo, who throws a fastball, curve, slider and changeup. He walked 55, while striking out 111 in 20 games at Columbus last year.

“It;s a work in progress,” he said. “I know I have the stuff to compete with any lineup and go out there and get outs. It’s just a matter of doing it. No matter how hard you throw, you’ve got to work ahead in the count.”

Cantillo is well aware Cleveland’s success at finding, developing and sending pitchers to the big leagues. He watched the rise of Allen, Bibee and Williams last year.

“It’s not a fluke at all,” he said. “There are more guys in this room that are going to do the same thing they did.”

Cantillo would like to be one of them.

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After injury-filled year, McKenzie starts spring strong

Feb 6, 2024 11 minutes ago

PHOENIX -- He came out pumping strikes and getting quick outs. He allowed only one hit in his two innings of work, and that one hit was erased by a caught stealing. He punched out a pair of batters.

Triston McKenzie, in short, made it look easy in his Cactus League debut as the Guardians tied the Brewers, 3-3, on Wednesday afternoon at American Family Fields.

He was due for something easy.

The 2023 season? That wasn’t easy at all. McKenzie came into camp looking to build on a breakout. Instead, he broke down. He suffered a UCL sprain that caused him to miss Opening Day, returned briefly in June, then hit the injured list again with a teres major muscle strain. It added up to just four starts and 16 innings of work.

“I had dealt with injuries before,” he said. “But having to deal with them after feeling like I had come back to the top of the mountain, only to fall off again, was tough. But I think it's all a learning experience and just made me better as a person and a better teammate.”

The Guardians have high hopes for what a healthy McKenzie and Shane Bieber, who makes his second Cactus start Thursday in Mesa against the A’s, can do for their competitive chances. There is huge upside for Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams and Logan Allen, but also a likelihood that they have to make sophomore adjustments and perhaps some limitation on their workloads.

So, to see the 26-year-old McKenzie resembling his 2022 self -- even if only in two non-binding spring innings -- while Bieber shows off an increase in velocity was good for the Guards’ soul.

McKenzie is also good for their clubhouse.

“He’s just an infectious personality,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “Really, really competitive person. He doesn't accept mediocrity. I picked up on that right away.”

McKenzie, who had a 2.96 ERA, 127 ERA+ and 0.95 WHIP in 191 1/3 innings in 2022, said he’s not caught up in any mechanical tweaks or pitch adaptations. He’s just trying to command what he has and remain on the mound.

So far, so good.

“Getting back in the games is always a learning curve,” he said. “To be able to have it go smoothly was really good.”

Freeman shining in center

The Guardians are still monitoring center fielder Myles Straw as he rebounds from the viral infection that has held him out of the lineup for more than a week. That’s given them time to see Tyler Freeman in center field -- something they didn’t expect.

Freeman has played 552 innings in the field as a Major Leaguer, as well as nearly 3000 innings as a Minor Leaguer. Only one of those innings, a single frame on June 30, 2023, in a nine-run loss to the Cubs, has been as an outfielder.

But on Wednesday, he made his fourth start of the spring in center and is up to 20 innings at the position this spring. He continued to make an impression with his bat, going 2-for-3 with an RBI double. But just as meaningfully, he has performed well in a position that is new to him




Vogt said the 24-year-old Freeman, who has also made starts at second and third this spring, will continue to bounce around the diamond.

“It’s valuable to have somebody that can do that,” Vogt said. “He’s been swinging the bat really well, running the bases well, and his defense has been phenomenal no matter where we throw him.”

It’s too soon to call Freeman a candidate to supplant the veteran Straw, whose .580 OPS over the last two seasons is worst among MLB qualifiers. But he’s emerging as an option at center field, a position that he wasn’t forecasted to play a month ago.

Martínez keeps mashing


Angel Martínez tripled to score a run in Wednesday’s game.

What else is new? The 22-year-old native of the Dominican Republic has been storming the Cactus League, raking to the tune of a .529 average and 1.644 OPS in 19 plate appearances. He’s started games at second and third, and he carries himself with the clear confidence that comes from having grown up in the game.




Martínez’s father is former big league catcher Sandy Martínez, who played parts of eight seasons for six clubs -- Cleveland included. After the switch-hitting Martínez, who batted .251 with a .715 OPS across Double-A and Triple-A last year, made a change to his old, more open batting stance over the offseason, his dad looked him over and declared him ready to do big things in his first big-league camp.

“That confidence that my dad put in me to remember who I am,” he said, “is coming out.”

Sure is.

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Guardians’ Triston McKenzie throws two scoreless innings in 3-3 tie with Brewers

Published: Mar. 06, 2024, 6:50 p.m.

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Triston McKenzie pitched well in his first spring training start on Wednesday against the Brewers.

McKenzie threw two scoreless innings with two strikeouts as the Guardians and Brewers played to a 3-3 tie at American Family Fields in Phoenix. McKenzie, limited to four starts last season because of right shoulder and elbow injuries, allowed one hit.

The Guardians, 3-8-1 in Cactus League play, led 3-0 after three innings. Tyler Freeman, 2-for-3 with an RBI, doubled in the first inning for a 1-0 lead. A triple by Angel Martinez, batting .529 (9 for 17), scored Chase DeLauter for a 2-0 lead in the second.

DeLauter drew a two-out walk to bring the hot-hitting Martinez to the plate. Freeman is hitting .353 (6 for 17) this spring.

In the third, DeLauter’s infield single made it 3-0. Brayan Rocchio, who reached on an error and took third on Kyle Manzardo’s single, scored. DeLauter is hitting .455 (5 for 11) and Manzardo .417 (5 for 12).

Eric Haase, Cleveland’s former catcher, put the Brewers back in the game with a two-run homer off Carlos Carrasco in the fifth. Carrasco, in camp on a minor league deal, is trying to make the staff as a swing-man.

Carrasco retired the side in order in the fourth, but ran into problems in the fifth and sixth.

In the sixth, after Cleveland used the re-entry rule to put Carrasco back in the game, the Brewers tied the score on a grounder by Oliver Dunn. Joey Weimer, who reached on a single and went to third on a grounder by Brice Turang and a throwing error by first baseman Joe Naranjo, scored the tying run.

Beside Carrasco, manager Stephen Vogt used eight pitchers to throw 6 2/3 scoreless innings. Eli Morgan, Tim Herrin and Kyle Sabrowski held the Brewers scoreless over the last three innings. Eight of their nine outs came on strikeouts.

The Guardians out-hit Milwaukee, 6-5.

Next:

Shane Bieber will make his second start of the spring on Thursday when the Guardians travel to Mesa to play the A’s at 3:05 p.m. E.T. Tyler Beede, Sam Hentges, Anthony Banda, Tanner Burns, Franco Aleman and Mason Hickman are also scheduled to pitch.

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A few words by Vogt in a Hoynes story [or was it Mandy Bell?] that suggested he has an open mind about DeLauter possibly breaking camp with the team. I'd be surprised but he's sure looking good.