CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Guardians will send eight prospects to the Arizona Fall League in October, including former first-round draft pick Daniel Espino, who hasn’t pitched in a minor league game in nearly three years due to injuries.
Guardians vice president of player development Stephen Osterer spoke with reporters Thursday about the organization’s plans for the developmental league, highlighting the opportunity for players like Espino to gain valuable game experience.
“There’s a lot of benefit,” Osterer said. “The biggest thing is the exposure to game opportunities. So someone like Chase DeLauter, obviously, and Daniel Espino getting more reps, being in game, being competitive, they’re all highly valuable.”
Espino, who has dealt with various injuries including major shoulder surgery, is currently in Columbus preparing for his first AFL appearance. Osterer described him as “an incredible human being who’s got a ton of grit and determination” through his lengthy recovery process.
“He’s ready to pitch, he’ll be ready to go,” Osterer said, though the team hasn’t determined his exact role yet. “We’re thinking less about the total innings and the volume and the workload… thinking just about how do we get him into games, face hitters, make sure he is recovered for the next one.”
DeLauter, another top prospect whose season was derailed by injury, is also headed to the AFL for the third time. He’s currently in Arizona “building up, getting prepared for the AFL, taking swings and getting into live at-bats,” according to Osterer.
The Guardians executive indicated both DeLauter and Espino will likely follow a similar program to what DeLauter did last year – playing a couple games weekly in the AFL while continuing training in Goodyear.
For DeLauter, Osterer emphasized that staying healthy is the primary goal. “Continue to face good pitching… that obviously will breed more opportunity to learn about himself, learn about what the things he needs to work on.”
Other prospects heading to the AFL include pitcher Trenton Denholm, who has been developing a knuckleball over the past few months. “He’s been throwing it for a while and we just decided to throw it in game about a couple months ago because we thought, ‘Hey, why not?’” Osterer explained.
The Guardians are also sending outfielders Wuilfredo Antunez, who Osterer called “one of our better hitters over the last year and a half,” and Juan Benjamin, a younger prospect who has performed well in High-A this season.
Notably absent from the AFL roster is the organization’s top prospect, Travis Bazzana, the club’s No. 1 overall draft pick in 2024 who will instead return to his native Australia for part of the offseason before training in Arizona for 2026.
“We mutually came to the conclusion after some conversations around it that not going to the AFL is the best choice for him,” Osterer said. “He’ll spend a good chunk of time with us in Arizona this offseason as well as go back home to Australia for a little bit.”
Bazzana has accumulated approximately 80 games and 400 plate appearances this season and has shown improvement at Triple-A Columbus recently blasting three home runs in his first six September games. “I know the outcomes have been a lot better over the last few weeks,” Osterer noted.
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