CLEVELAND, Ohio — Guardians No. 4 prospect C.J. Kayfus was in the lineup for his major league debut as Cleveland’s right fielder Saturday against the Twins at Progressive Field.

The Florida native has been on a tear through the minor leagues this season, starting with Double-A Akron, where he posted a .364 batting average and 1.066 OPS in 18 games before earning a promotion to Triple-A Columbus on April 28.

Kayfus continued his strong performance with the Clippers, hitting .283 with 14 doubles, 13 home runs, 43 RBI and an .893 OPS in 68 games, prompting calls for his promotion over the last two months as the Guardians’ offense floundered at the major league level.

At the time of his call up to Cleveland, he led the Guardians’ player development system in several offensive categories, including slugging percentage (.539), OPS (.929), hits (95), triples (8) and total bases (171).

“It was an unbelievable feeling,” Kayfus said of learning about his promotion during a meeting with Triple-A manager Andy Tracy. “We started off talking about (my hitting) approach. But when it really sunk in was when he said, ‘You think it’ll work tomorrow when you’re in the lineup in Cleveland?’”

Kayfus immediately called his father, who was driving from West Palm Beach to Jacksonville to watch the Columbus Clippers play.

“I told him turn around and get a flight to Cleveland,” Kayfus said. “He had to pull over and let my stepmom start driving; he was really excited.”

His mother, a nighttime nurse, was harder to reach.

“She didn’t pick up because she sleeps during the day,” Kayfus explained. “I had to call her a couple times to wake her up. I think she probably jumped out of bed the fastest she’s ever gone there.”

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt expressed enthusiasm about adding Kayfus to the roster.

“He’s had a great start to his season in the minor leagues, and we know he can help us offensively, and he’s versatile on defense in the outfield, at first base, and he can DH a little bit,” Vogt said.

While primarily a first baseman, Kayfus has been developing his outfield skills.

“Last year I was playing once or twice a week out in the outfield, but getting into this year had jumped up from three to four, and there was a week where I played every game out in the outfield,” Kayfus said. “That’s where it really got comfortable for just the consistency of play.”

Vogt acknowledged the adjustment to major league outfields can be challenging.

“For C.J., getting him here and seeing that third deck and getting used to that, it can be daunting,” Vogt said. “But JT Maguire is the best outfield coach in baseball, and if there’s anybody that can help, it’s him.”

Kayfus, ranked as the 66th best prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline’s top 100, will join a crowded Cleveland roster where playing time will be shared.

“No one’s going to play every day,” Vogt explained. “We’ve got two guys (José Ramírez, Steven Kwan) that play every day, and everybody else is going to share time.”

Despite travel delays due to storms in Charlotte that had him arriving at 3 a.m., Kayfus was too excited to sleep well before his debut.

“It took me a little while to fall asleep. I was rolling around, too excited,” he said. “It felt like Christmas.”

As for joining a team in the thick of a wild card race, Kayfus kept his focus simple: “My goal is just to come and help win however I can.”

Generative AI was used to organize information for this story.

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