Under is an evaluation of the prospects within the farm system of the Cleveland Guardians. Scouting studies have been compiled with data supplied by business sources in addition to my very own observations. That is the fifth yr we’re delineating between two anticipated aid roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see within the “place” column under: MIRP for multi-inning aid pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning aid pitchers. The ETAs listed usually correspond to the yr a participant needs to be added to the 40-man roster to keep away from being made eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Guide changes are made the place they appear acceptable, however we use that as a rule of thumb.
A fast overview of what FV (Future Worth) means might be discovered right here. A a lot deeper overview might be discovered right here.
All the ranked prospects under additionally seem on The Board, a useful resource the location gives that includes sortable scouting data for each group. It has extra particulars (and up to date TrackMan knowledge from varied sources) than this text and integrates each crew’s record so readers can evaluate prospects throughout farm methods. It may be discovered right here.
Different Prospects of Word
Grouped by kind and listed so as of choice inside every class.
Protection-Aided Profiles
Kody Huff, C
Alex Mooney, INF
Dayan Frias, INF
All three of those guys can form of play a premium place and do at the least one different factor properly. Huff, a Phoenix native who went to Stanford, is a mean defender who’s hitting the ball more durable than he ever has earlier than, however his strikeouts are extreme. He may very well be a high quality third catcher on a 40-man. Mooney is a plus athlete with a strong high hand and bend-y decrease physique. He’s tough across the edges on protection however may have a related power-hitting peak down the road due to how athletic his swing is. Frias has plateaued as a defender. He as soon as appeared like a future plus third base glove, however as a substitute he’s merely common. He nonetheless has good lefty bat pace, switch-hitting utility, and defensive versatility.
Daniel Espino
Daniel Espino, RHP
We’re now at some extent the place Espino, who was as soon as possibly one of the best pitching prospect within the sport, wants to point out that he’s wholesome earlier than it’s cheap to challenge a practical huge league future for him. He was as soon as touching 102 mph and bending in big secondary stuff, however he hasn’t pitched in a number of years because of a number of extreme accidents.
Mushy-Tossing Depth Starters
Ryan Webb, LHP
Rodney Boone, LHP
Aaron Davenport, RHP
Webb is a slider-heavy 26-year-old lefty out of Georgia who entered 2025 coming off two consecutive years of robust statistical efficiency within the mid- and upper-minors. He has a cricket bowler’s arm motion and pitches closely off a low-80s slider. As soon as a part of an incredible faculty rotation at UC Santa Barbara, Boone’s sneaky fastball, above-average changeup and plus command have allowed the 25-year-old to pitch properly up by Double-A. Davenport has been tremendous sturdy (he’s thrown 100 or extra innings every of the final 4 seasons) and is pitching properly in Double-A off the again of his invisible 89 mph fastball. None of his secondaries are plus.
Energy Sleepers
Jorge Burgos, 1B/OF
Jonathan Martinez, INF
Luis Merejo, 1B/RF
Burgos has plus lefty bat pace, and his swing is geared to get to all of his energy. He hit 18 bombs final yr however struck out almost 30% of the time, which is an excessive amount of for a poor 1B/OF defender. Martinez is one other of the numerous fascinating Guardians infielders of their complicated group; he has plus bat pace however below-average really feel for contact. Merejo is an 18-year-old righty slugger who’s struggling to make contact in full season ball to this point in 2025, however he has plus-plus bat pace and has a 50% hard-hit fee as of record publication.
Bat-to-Ball Sorts
Christian Knapczyk, 2B
Yeiferth Castillo, LF
Maick Collado, 1B
Bennett Thompson, C
Knapczyk is a hitterish second base-only defender with out the facility to play there day-after-day. He’s carried out properly in A-ball, which is to be anticipated as he’s a 23-year-old who comes out of the ACC. Castillo is a stocky, 18-year-old Venezuelan outfielder whose listed top and weight (5-foot-8, 155 kilos) represent a comical underestimation of his measurement. He has an incredible rookie ball contact monitor file, however he’s a maxed out 1B/LF kind of athlete who must hold his strikeout fee within the single digits to maintain climbing the record. Collado is a switch-hitting first baseman with good really feel for contact however not sufficient energy for a primary base-only bat. Thompson was a Day Three select of Oregon in 2024 ($150,000) who has had offensive success at Low-A to this point in 2025. He has a punchy swing and good power for his measurement. I’m skeptical of his swing’s long-term viability, however he’s accomplished sufficient to this point to be on the radar.
Additional Relievers
Magnus Ellerts, RHP
Bradley Hanner, RHP
Tyler Thornton, RHP
Jake Miller, RHP
Ellerts is a 6-foot-5 righty with a 92-95 mph fastball that performs up due to his almost seven toes of extension. He’ll flash a great slider however hangs too a lot of them. He has middle-inning aid ceiling if he can polish his management. Usually low-slot pitchers have longer, swooping arm actions, however Hanner is a low-release man with an ultra-short, shot-putter’s stroke. It imparts bizarre angle on his 92 mph fastball and late lateral motion on his exhausting slider, however Hanner’s management most likely wants to enhance for him to play an enormous league function. Thornton is an open-striding righty with a flat-angled, 94-96 mph fastball and 30-grade command. He’s not too long ago again from the IL and pitching in Akron. Miller solely throws 89 on common, however he has actually misleading arm pace and a right-freezing slider. The 24-year-old is off to a good begin at Akron.
System Overview
That is an above-average farm system due to the half dozen Prime 100 prospects spearheading the record, and since the 45 FV tier is especially deep on this org. Lots of the high-profile gamers above are off to gradual begins or are injured, which has stopped the blokes who arguably have the expertise to be 55- or 60-grade prospects from ascending into that tier a bit greater than a month and a half into the season. Accidents are rampant right here. I depend 13 gamers on the primary part of the record who’re both damage proper now, or are rehabbing from harm. It creates some volatility within the evaluation of this method as a complete to have seems at that many gamers impacted by their well being.
Has the bloom come off the pitching improvement rose a bit bit right here? Whereas there are a number of latest late-round draftees who’ve improved sufficient to make the reduce for this rating, there is no such thing as a apparent, Tanner Bibee-ish mid-rotation kind who has added big velo and is rocketing by this org proper now. There are many former non-prospects who’re abruptly 35+ or 40 FVs, however much less in the best way of the really impression pitching we’re used to seeing on this system. Final yr’s Guardians draft class, which introduced three high-profile highschool pitchers into the fold (Braylon Doughty, Joey Oakie, Chase Mobley), seems like a deliberate try to alter that, however two of these three guys have been gradual out of the gate.
As an alternative, the core of this method proper now rests with the place gamers, typically contact-oriented prospects who get a bit bit stronger and begin to swing extra aggressively as soon as they flip professional. Cleveland’s strategy to beginner scouting is exclusive. Like numerous groups, they rely closely on knowledge and modeling, particularly in relation to massive convention faculty gamers. They famously not often ship scouts to Division-I faculty video games till late within the season so the scouts can spend extra time turning over rocks in locations the place the information is much less accessible, like excessive faculties and junior faculties. That’s how you find yourself with Matt Wilkinson and Cooper Ingle in the identical draft class. Cleveland additionally has a monitor file of concentrating on the youngest gamers in a given draft class, in addition to faculty gamers whose sophomore season and Cape Cod efficiency have been higher than their junior season output (a sign of regression mannequin use).
They’ve behaved equally internationally, as Guardians scouts have been on the early facet of monitoring amateurs’ swing choices and get in touch with charges in that market. Previously, they’ve gravitated to short-levered, compact athletes on the worldwide facet. Whereas that is nonetheless true to a level, there have been extra bigger-framed, high-variance athletes rolling by the decrease ranges of the system over the past couple of years, 6-foot-2 prospects quite than 5-foot-9 fellas. Buying and selling off hit device danger for energy potential is one thing a small market org like this must be doing at the least a bit bit, and it appears like Cleveland has made that adjustment.