FORGOTTEN: Cleveland Guardians’ HIDDEN Gem Juan Brito Can BECOME a Key Piece in 2026

While Cleveland Guardians fans want and deserve offensive upgrades, Juan Brito is a prospect that has been overlooked that could help in 2026. Justin Lada and Jeff Ellis discuss the forgotten Juan Brito and the red-hot Ralphy Velazquez, unpacking why they are important prospects heading into the next few seasons. With second base wide open and Travis Bazzana waiting in the wings, could Brito’s bat help out of the gate. Plus, Velazquez climbs MLB Pipeline’s first base prospect rankings. Does he outperform hyped names like Charlie Condon and set himself up for a major league debut sooner than expected?
The show analyzes the evolving Guardians infield, looking into the importance of defense for ground ball-heavy pitching, and debating whether Brito or Velazquez best fits the team’s vision. We also dive into Shawn Armstrong’s new arsenal after a career-best season, and what his improvement means for the Guardians bullpen. Stick around for possible trade scenarios with the Dodgers and Mets to take advantage of depth.

05:23 Infield Defense Key to Success?
08:54 Guardians Could Use a Switch Hitter
13:36 Condon, Draft Picks, and Doubts
19:22 Kayfus Outfield Future Speculation
22:48 Shawn Armstrong’s Evolving Pitch Arsenal
25:41 Trust in Cade Smith’s Reliability
29:44 Trade Talks: Brett Baty Debate
31:24 Dodgers’ Trades, Depth, and Strategy

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13 comments

  3. Man idk what I would do without this podcast. It’s literally the only guardians content. There a few smaller ones but they are clearly not baseball heads. Can’t wait to get back to everyday in a few weeks. Much love

  4. times like this i wish they didn't run such a tight ship and had more leaks. there's zero indication whether or not they're still actively trying to add players or which ones. they fell out of the Donovan rumors, and they're never really tangibly rumored to be interested in anyone until it's official.

  7. Since we're hoping on 65 percent of the lineup, we might as well hope Arias and Rocchio hit enough to stay up the middle all year. Gabby going .250 with a .700 OPS isn't impossible. Would take that from Rocchio too. I'd say they're the middle infileld until someone pushes one or both out, which is just as much of a guess at this point if that happens.

  8. Juan Brito hasn’t been forgotten about at all- he still can’t play defense, and his acceptable OPS is heavily propped up by the one trait we KNOW doesn’t translate to MLB- walk rate. Brito doesn’t have power outside that little league field in Columbus, he doesn’t have an elite hit tool, and there is no place to hide him on defense. If he can’t hit well enough to justify DH (ie better than Manzardo), he doesn’t have a future with this team. Finally, playing Kayfus in AAA and bringing up Brito is absurd. Kayfus was a better offensive player at every level than Brito and it wasn’t close (much of that playing in the same lineup as each other). Switching them does nothing but destroy Kayfus’ confidence and praying Brito has way more ability than he’s shown. There is zero logic behind that. Only way Brito plays 1B over Kayfus is if DeLauter or Valera gets hurt and Kayfus needs to play RF.

  10. I think if we are out of the playoff race and Ralphy has a solid season, he will probably debut this September. The FO will want to see what he has before the 2027 strike stops everyone’s progression.

  11. Armstrong worries me. In general, signing a guy coming off a career year isn’t smart, and a 35yr old guy coming off a career year is even more concerning

  13. Great show gentlemen. Im really excited about Ralphy Velazquez but I have a hard time seeing him on the Guardians this year. I'm even seeing Brito on the roster as difficult unless someone is traded or let go. Bench currently looks like Fry, Hedges, Jones, Martinez, and Schneemann. I wonder if they would drop Jones to fit Brito or send down one of Martinez and Schneemann.

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