It hasn’t been a pretty past few weeks for the Cleveland Guardians, and there are plenty of reasons why.
To start, the Guardians’ offense is horrible at times, and that’s been evident over their past four games. The Guardians only scored three runs against the Detroit Tigers and were shut out in their final game against the Chicago Cubs last Thursday.
It’s been as bad as it gets offensively, and until something changes, it’s almost impossible to suggest that the Guardians will have an opportunity to compete for a playoff spot.
It’ll take time for Cleveland to figure things out, but if it wants to improve, it’ll have to hit the MLB draft out of the park. MLB.com recently predicted the Guardians would do just that with the 27th overall pick by selecting Ethan Conrad, a former Marison stud who transferred to the ACC and played for Wake Forest in the 2025 season.
“Led by Conrad and Fischer, college bats come up most frequently with the Guardians. Also mentioned: outfielders Devin Taylor (Indiana), Cam Cannarella (Clemson) and Mason Neville (Oregon), and catchers Bodine and Luke Stevenson (North Carolina),” they wrote.
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Going from the MAAC to the ACC certainly isn’t an easy task, but Conrad did that at a high level before going down with an injury.
Prior to being injured, he appeared in 21 games and hit seven home runs, driving in 27. He had a 1.238 OPS, which is as elite as it gets, but it’s also fair to suggest whether he has the talent to hit at the highest level due to limited at-bats against big-name arms.
Fortunately for the Guardians and Conrad in that regard, he proved to be one of the better players in the Cape Cod League in 2024. He posted a .920 OPS in the best summer league in the world.
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