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GOODYEAR, ARIZONA – FEBRUARY 12: Cooper Ingle of the Cleveland Guardians poses for a portrait at Cleveland Guardians Photo Day during 2026 Spring Training at Goodyear Ballpark on February 12, 2026 in Goodyear, Arizona. (Photo by Russell Lee Verlinger\/Cleveland Guardians\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
Cleveland Guardians fans should be excited about the future of Cooper Ingle.<\/p>\n
Ingle, 24, is a catcher in the Cleveland Guardians development program.<\/p>\n
Cooper Ingle can flat out hit.<\/p>\n
baseballreference.com<\/a> lists Ingle to be 5-9, 190 pounds, which isn\u2019t a very large frame for a catcher.<\/p>\n At the close of play April 20, Ingle was hitting .357\/.617\/.786\/.1.403, with four homers and 12 RBIs in 47 plate appearances.<\/p>\n The left-handed hitting Ingle is another in the vast array of left-handed hitters in the Guardians organization.<\/p>\n At the big league level this year, the Guardians have right-handed hitting David Fry, and Austin Hedges, as well as left-handed hitting Bo Naylor handling the catching at the major league level.<\/p>\n All three are veterans, with Hedges providing tremendous leadership and outstanding defensive abilities behind the plate.<\/p>\n Fry and Naylor have started slowly at the plate, but there is no indication any of the Guardians catchers are in immediate jeopardy of being replaced.<\/p>\n But strange things happen in baseball.<\/p>\n A bat like the one Ingle is flashing in his development becomes more intriguing with each passing game.<\/p>\n DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – MAY 28: Cooper Ingle #12 of the Clemson Tigers stands on the field during an official play review against the Miami Hurricanes in the ninth inning during the ACC Baseball Championship game at Durham Bulls Athletic Park on May 28, 2023 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Eakin Howard\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Getty ImagesAbout Cooper Ingle:<\/p>\n Ingle was selected by the Guardians with the team\u2019s 4th pick in the 2023 Major League Baseball draft.<\/p>\n Chosen out of Clemson University, Ingle received a $400,000 signing bonus from Cleveland.<\/p>\n The Guardians may have gotten a clear bargain when they signed Ingle, as MLB had indicated a value of $526,200 for Ingle\u2019s draft slot. <\/p>\n At the time of the draft, MLB.com<\/a>\u2019s Jam Callis indicated, \u201cIngle was a \u201ccontact hitter, athletic for his position, flashes solid speed, average arm.\u201d <\/p>\n That was fair at the time. But Ingle has really improved in all phases of his game since.<\/p>\n The praise for Ingle\u2019s game is fairly widespread.<\/p>\n On April 20, nextyearincleveland.substack <\/a>said, \u201cIngle continues to make his case to be behind the plate for the Cleveland Guardians in the near future after a two-home run game in the series finales against Iowa.\u201d<\/p>\n