Sorry this place has been kind of quiet in the new year. The lack of news and Guardians prospect participation in the international winter leagues, and people needing to prioritize their health and other work (including myself with Locked On Guardians) has made it tougher to keep up.
But with spring training ramping up next week, rest assured we will be back to daily content here quickly!
Good news – I am working on my 2026 Cleveland Guardians prospect rankings, profiles and another full digital guide. So as soon as that is done, I’ll be able to do much more.
But since we have SOME news, let’s get this place going again!
First, injury news.
Aaron Davenport posted on his Instagram story this week that he had Tommy John surgery and will miss the 2026 season. The right hander out of Hawaii did get a spring training invite this year and is entering his age 26 season and a year away from minor league free agency. He saw a bit of a bump in control last year by switching to pitching out of the stretch full time. He doesn’t have much fastball but has a beautiful curve, but now he’s facing the clock with age and minor league free agency so he’ll need to find a new deal for his age 27 season in 2027. Best of luck to Aaron.
Speaking of:
RHP Tanner Burns: At age 27, the 2020 CB-A pick out of Auburn is also running out of time and has yet to find his footing above High-A as a starter or a reliever. There’s a lot of pitching competing for spots at Triple-A, so who knows what his future holds.
RHP Trenton Denholm: His knuckleball didn’t really stand out results wise in the AFL, I am always curious to see what the control specialist can do with his pitch mix, especially with a knuckleball. It will be fun to get spring training data on it at least.
LHP Will Dion: Falling into the same category as his 2021 draft-mates. I had high hopes for Dion’s curve/change and command but the fastball velocity was never able to find the right gear and he’s also running short of time like Davenport, Burns and Denholm.
RHP Jack Leftwich: The 2021 draft class did produce Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee, but the rest of that pitching class didn’t catch on like we hoped. Leftwich is much like Burns too where he hasn’t found a role or footing that has secured his future.
RHP Tommy Mace: Now 27 and getting a $1.1M signing bonus, the clock is ticking here too. The fastball has yet to find enough life. Hasn’t missed enough bats or thrown enough strikes. His bonus and the need for depth might have kept him around this long.
RHP Jake Miller: Ironically, the Guardians LAST pick of the 20 round draft in 2021 has the best odds at being the next pick from that class to make the majors. He had a nice breakthrough as a reliever at Akron last year with a sinker/changeup combination that really works. He struggled in the transition to Triple-A with the MLB baseball (still can’t answer why they’re different other than cost to produce) as many have. So he’ll need another year to see if he can make that adjustment before saying what his future looks like.
LHP Steven Perez: Back on a minor league deal after being a minor league free agent. The short lefty also found a new gear last year with a mid-90s fastball and slider. I think only being in Double-A is the only thing that kept him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. He’ll be a fun relief option to get a look at in spring training.
LHP Ryan Webb: After leading the AFL in strikeouts in 2024, I had high hopes for Webb. But the lack of fastball utility hold him back. Perhaps there is still hope for a bullpen role since he has some solid secondaries.
C Cameron Barstad: Resigned to catch because the system lacks some depth and has some good defensive qualities.
C Jacob Cozart: This is a good spring opportunity for Cozart to get some big league coaching and exposure. He has all the physical tools to catch. Bigger body for a catcher but a great arm. He gets his first big league camp invite because you always need catchers and Bo Naylor is playing in the World Baseball Classic for Team Canada, so that will allow Cozart some real reps with MLB pitchers and against them.
C Kody Huff: Still a good defender with framing/blocking. The arm is pretty good too. He still hasn’t figured out how to parlay decent exit velocities into better production at the plate. He will also likely get a decent share of playing time with Cozart and Ingle with Naylor out.
C Cooper Ingle: This is also a big spring for Ingle. It’s his second camp invite. He’s due to be on the 40 man roster at the end of the year. He’s shown he can draw a walk and frame a little bit, but blocking and throwing haven’t been great for him. His exit velocities and performance vs. LHP also create some clouds for his offensive future. I would expect he will be seeing a lot of time behind Austin Hedges with Naylor out and it will be a big year for him and where his future goes.
2B Travis Bazzana: The 2024 first overall pick earns his first big league camp invite, but he won’t be there long as he leaves for Team Australia in the World Baseball Classic. Basically the early invite to camp was necessary to get ready, not that it wasn’t warranted. But we’ll see how long he’s gone, what kind of impression he can make on the team and how soon he can push himself into the lineup in 2026.
INF Dayan Frias: Like Bazzana, he’s off to the World Baseball Classic for Team Colombia. I liked Frias once as a nice defender at short, great arm for the left side of the infield and some pop, but better breaking stuff has exposed him. He did re-sign as a minor league free agent.
INF Milan Tolentino: Cleveland simply doesn’t have much at shortstop in camp. Tolentino can play short quite well. He benefitted greatly from the friendly confines of Huntington Park in Columbus, so I don’t buy his offensive season plus he strikes out a ton. But, great defender.
1B Ralphy Velazquez: Coming to MLB camp at age 20 for the first time should be quite the experience for Velazquez. He made a lot of noise with his bat last summer. Now he needs to prove it wasn’t a fluke and big league exposure will be good for him.
OF Wuilfredo Antunez: Hit a homer in his lone AFL game before a shoulder injury. He came back on a minor league deal as well and avoided being selected in the Rule 5 draft. Curious to see what time he gets in big league camp.
OF Alfonsin Rosario: Rosario replaced Antunez on the AFL roster and he really struggled to hit. Not a great sign because the AFL is usually light on pitching and the ball flies there. But he had a nice year in Lake County, and struggled in Akron when he got there. Fun tools and talent, but what playing time he gets this spring, I am not sure what to expect.
Pitchers
LHP Matt Wilkinson: Nice opportunity for Tugboat. He struggled last year with his stuff and control, and got hit hard at times. He’ll get a real test in the WBC and see how his deception and arm slot plays with control and changeup. He will likely pitch in the bullpen for Canada.
LHP Ryan Prager: Going back to Texas A&M in 2025 was a mistake for Prager. But Cleveland maybe bought low on the lefty. He’s only got four pro innings and who knows how many he’ll get on Team Israel but he’s got very little pro experience and heads to the world’s stage.
RHP Dylan DeLucia: I thought DeLucia was a fringe-40 man candidate last year. But he’s likely too small to start and has a big delivery. I imagine he’ll be a reliever for Team Italy, which actually might be a good role for him with his fastball traits, curve and change.
In addition to working on my Guardians prospect rankings and scouting reports, that I hope to have done later this month in full, I am also trying to re-launch Guardians of the Future this year too in concert with Spring Training. I’m working on finding a new platform to record on and some production, plus a format/guests to make it as good as it once was. To be, if it’s not worthwhile and good, it’s not worth doing. So my hope is that when I bring it back, which I intend to, I want to make it worth your time and attention.
Thanks for reading and get ready for the return of more Guardians prospect content.