The Guardians have a plan and have effectively executed it over the past several years. They stress pitching and hitters who can make contact and control the strike zone. The plan led to a 100-win season in the Major Leagues and plenty of young talent that could help in the next year or two.
Travis Bazzana wasn’t the most talented player in the 2024 draft, but he can hit, so the Guardians took him with the number one overall pick. I think we see him in Cleveland in 2026. Chase Delauter and Kyle Manzardo should play meaningful innings for the Guardians in 2025, both of whom have a chance to be impact performers. A little further away is Jaison Chourio Welbyn Francisca, who is one of my favorite players in the minor leagues.
The pitching depth looks a little light, but I always say that pitchers outperform their ceiling. A case in point is Austin Peterson. He doesn’t have a powerful arsenal, but he throws strikes and knows how to pitch.
Prospect Snapshot
- Top Prospect: Travis Bazzana
- Biggest Mover: Welbyn Francisca
- Biggest Disappointment: Kyle Manzardo
- Emerging Prospect: Juneiker Caceres
1. Travis Bazzana (2B, #1)
- Highest Level: Low-A ETA: 2026 Fantasy Ceiling: Top 15 2B
- Last Updated: 10/25/2024
- Tools Summary: High-floor player with average power and speed potential.
Travis Bazzana slashed .407/.568/.911 with 28 home runs and 16 stolen bases for the University of Oregon Ducks in 2024. He also walked twice as much as he struck out and only struck out 12.5% of the time. In watching a lot of his at-bats, he doesn’t expand the strike zone everything in the zone (91% in-zone contact.) While he posted a .911 SLG and 12 home runs, I think it’s primarily average power and above-average speed potential. In other words, he’s a high-floor player who could hit .300 with 100 points more for his OBP with 10 to 12 home runs and stolen bases.
After he signed, the Guardians sent Bazzana to Low-A, where he played well. In 27 games, he slashed .238/.369/.396 with three home runs and five stolen bases. He did strike out more than I would have thought (25.4%), but it was a small sample size after a long college season.
2. Chase DeLauter (OF)
- Highest Level: Triple-A ETA: 2025 Fantasy Ceiling: Top 45 OF with risk
- Last Updated: 10/25/2024
- Tools Summary: He has a plus hit tool with potentially above-average power. However, he’s played so little because of multiple issues with his foot; there are not enough at-bats to evaluate him properly.
Chase DeLauter tore the cover off the ball in Spring Training, and many fans want the Guardians to bring him North with the team. However, with 57 games of minor league experience, six over High-A, the Guardians decided to have him start the season in Double-A. That lasted for three weeks, and DeLauter fractured his foot, returned for one game in late June, and hurt his toe (turf toe). He finally started playing in games in late July.
What is disconcerting about DeLauter’s injury is that it’s the same foot he broke at James Madison two years earlier, and it’s still not right. He did have surgery to repair the problem with the hope that it would be solved permanently. However, the Guardians, not to mention fantasy managers, have got to be holding their breaths.
When he’s on the field, he looks great. It’s a hit-first profile with a tremendous understanding of the strike zone. He rarely expands the strike zone and, therefore, seldom strikes out. Since his swing plan is more built for contact, I was surprised when he showed as much power as he did in the Fall League in 2023.
But here’s the problem. We do not have a large enough sample size to assess him honestly. I think he will hit, but how much power he will have is an open question. If I were to guess, it’s 15 to 20, but it might come with a .300 batting average and a handful of stolen bases. But that’s a guess.
3. Jaison Chourio (OF)
- Highest Level: Low-A ETA: 2027 Fantasy Ceiling: Top 50 OF with upside
- Last Updated: 10/25/2024
- Tools Summary: He’s a switch hitter with an excellent understanding of the strike zone. He’s also a plus runner. He needs to add power.
Jaison Chouio might not have as loud of tools as his brother, but there is still a lot to work with. He’s a switch hitter with an excellent understanding of the strike zone and hits equally well against right and left-handed pitching. He’s a plus runner with 25+ stolen base potential. He currently has below-average power, but that should improve as he fills out and gets stronger. There’s plenty of bat speed to project average future power. I don’t see a star, but he might develop into a nice top-of-the-order bat with high OBP skills and speed.
4. Juan Brito (2B/3B)
- Highest Level: Triple-A ETA: 2025 Fantasy Ceiling: Top 15 2B/3B
- Last Updated: 10/25/2024
- Tools Summary: He makes excellent contact with above-average power potential.
The Rockies and Guardians made a prospect challenge trade in 2022, exchanging Nolan Jones for Juan Brito. At the end of 2023, it looked like the Rockies had gotten the best of the deal when Jones went all Mike Trout on everyone. However, things look a little different now.
Brito is more the type of player the Guardians like to roster. He controls the strike zone extremely well, walking nearly as much as he strikes out. He’s also a solid defender and can play anywhere in the infield. He would work perfectly at second base. He has more power than you think and could even profile as a 15 to 20-home run hitter. Speed will not be a big part of the equation, but there’s enough to be a full-time regular with some impact.
5. Welbyn Francisca (2B/SS)
- Highest Level: Low-A ETA: 2026-27 Fantasy Ceiling: Top 15 2B
- Last Updated: 10/25/2024
- Tools Summary: He makes excellent contact with more power potential than his diminutive size would indicate.
The Indians have made it clear that they want players who can hit. To that end, they signed Welbyn Francisca, one of the better contact hitters in the 2023 International class. He’s done just that. In his three stops in the minor leagues, Francisca has never hit under .300. He struck out more in Low-A than expected (20.5%) but only played in 29 games and just turned 18 in May. I think I view that as noise.
While Francisca hasn’t shown much power, he is short to the ball and impacts the ball more powerfully than a kid who is 5-foot-8 would indicate. He will never be a power hitter, but he could pop 8 to 10 home runs with plenty of doubles and double-digit stolen bases. I continue to maintain my Top 15 second base ceiling.
6. Angel Genao (SS)
- Highest Level: High-A ETA: 2027 Fantasy Ceiling: Middle Infielder
- Last Updated: 10/25/2024
- Tools Summary: He makes elite contact with excellent speed. The power is light.
Angel Genao is a light-hitting middle infielder who will likely have to move to second base long-term. He makes excellent contact; it would not surprise me if he hits near .300 throughout his development process. He needs to get stronger, but I’m not sure there will be much over-the-fence power even if he does.
He feels like a tweener to me. I’m not sure he’s good enough defensively to stay at shortstop, so that makes him a stretch as a utility player. But he can hit, and that’s the most significant part of becoming a Big Leaguer.
7. CJ Kayfus (1B/OF)
- Highest Level: Double-A ETA: 2025-26 Fantasy Ceiling: Corner Infielder
- Last Updated: 10/25/2024
- Tools Summary: He does an excellent job controlling the strike zone with average to above-average power.
CJ Kayfus quietly had a great season. Across High and Double-A, he slashed .291/.393/.511 with 17 home runs. His approach looks solid, but I’m not convinced that the bat speed will allow him to hit for more than average over-the-fence power. However, this is the model for the Guardians. They look for high-floor players that can hit.
I will put his ceiling as a corner infielder with 15 to 20 home run pop, high average, and OBP skills.
8. Ralphy Velasquez (1B/C)
- Highest Level: High-A ETA: 2027 Fantasy Ceiling: Top 15 C or Top 15 1B
- Last Updated: 10/25/2024
- Tools Summary: There is plus power potential (maybe more), but he’ll likely have some swing-and-miss in his game.
Ralphy Velasquez was the Guardians’ first-round pick in 2023 with intriguing power potential. He’s a big guy who should produce above-average exit velocities, but with his size, his game will also have some swing-and-miss. Interestingly, in his first full season in Low-A, the power was modest, and the strikeout rate was better than the scouting report suggested. Adding more interest is that he didn’t have a high ground ball rate. Instead, he hit a lot of balls into the air. It’s something we need to monitor and get better data on.
He’s not yet a great target for pitchers behind the plate but has a strong arm and enough athleticism that most evaluators believe he’ll be able to stay there long-term. However, the Guardians might have other plans, as they have yet to play him behind the plate in 2024. If they have decided on a position change, he could move through the system more quickly.
9. Joey Cantillo (LHP)
- Highest Level: Majors ETA: 2024 Fantasy Ceiling: Top 50 SP or High-Leveraged Reliever
- Last Updated: 10/25/2024
- Tools Summary: He’s improved his change-up in 2024 but is still not throwing enough strikes.
I’ve been writing about Joey Cantillo for a long time. The Padres drafted him in 2017, and after a trade to the Guardians and a lot of time on the IL, he finally made his MLB Debut in 2024.
His play was inconsistent. He got hit hard when facing top competition and took a perfect game into the sixth inning against the White Sox. He doesn’t have an overpowering arsenal with a fastball that averages 92.3 MPH and has more two-seamer characteristics than four-seamer. His curveball, particularly his change-up, looked excellent, and he missed plenty of bats.
Can Cantillo be a successful Starting Pitcher, pitching backward with an A-typical fastball? Maybe, but he needs to throw more strikes to have a chance. In his ten starts in Triple-A, he walked nearly six per nine.
10. Austin Peterson (RHP)
- Highest Level: Double-A ETA: 2026 Fantasy Ceiling: Top 60 SP with upside
- Last Updated: 10/25/2024
- Tools Summary: He has the size and throws strikes, but the arsenal points to a back-of-the-rotation starter or reliever.
Austin Peterson was the Guardians’ ninth-round pick in 2022 and led the minor leagues in innings pitched at 160 in 2024. He’s a big kid at 6-foot-6 but doesn’t have an extensive arsenal with a fastball that will touch 94 MPH and an average slider and change-up. He does pound the strike zone, and that helps everything play up. Across High and Double-A, he’s walked 21 while striking out 159.
His arsenal and delivery, while not flashy, point to a number four starter, maybe more if he can find a little more juice.
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