Let’s Play Out of the Park Baseball: Episode Two — Condon Calling

A rough start becomes a rough season, but a power hitting college bat and Bo Naylor highlight the first half

Welcome back to Episode Two of our Out of the Park Baseball simulation series! We last left off with a lot of bad news, and folks, it’s not going to get much better!

— Tanner Bibee is back from his rehab assignment, meaning Tyler Beede has been DFA’d.

As June begins, the Guardians sit under .500, and after getting swept by Miami, they drop to 31-35.

— Scott Barlow and Shane Bieber have been placed on the trade block.

GOOD NEWS! Kyle Manzardo got white hot in Triple-A and has been promoted back to Cleveland. The corresponding move for this was demoting the struggling Tyler Freeman.

— Jhonkensy Noel has also been promoted as Josh Naylor deals with a day-to-day finger blister. Johnathan Rodriguez has been sent down to AAA. The all-powerful bat of Jhonk could prove to be just that or just another swing and miss bat in this lineup.

RESULTS
— Swept in two game series by Cincinnati
— Swept in three game set in Toronto
— A sweep of Seattle in Cleveland
— 2/3 taken against Toronto at home

OWNER REVIEW

Obviously, the team’s record stands out as the biggest disappointment. A team projected to win the division now sits in a war to avoid last place.

In regards to prospects, I’m less concerned. We have the first overall pick in the draft coming up, and that will essentially give us a top 10 prospect, and having the #1 overall pick, I’ve narrowed down who we’re taking in a few weeks: Charlie Condon.

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Getting back into the season, Will Brennan hits the IL with an ankle sprain, and George Valera has been demoted to Triple-A as he never really found his footing, and I couldn’t get him consistent AB’s. On top of that, Laureano has had a great season in Triple-A, and I’m hoping he can spark something in this anemic lineup to match what the pitching has done and maybe climb back into the division race before August. I’m also promoting Austin Hedges as David Fry has served more purpose in the outfield, and Bo needs breathers from time to time.

RESULTS
— Lost 2/3 in Baltimore
— Swept the Royals in Kansas City

JULY

The Guardians are sitting under .500 with a big series against the White Sox at home that could decide a some players’ fates on the roster.

— The Guardians take 2/3 from the White Sox.

EXTENDING SHANE BIEBER

— Shane Bieber, reacting to being placed on the trade block, has expressed his interest in wanting to remain with Cleveland. He is wanting 6 years, 132 million dollars. I am willing to give that to him.

Here is the offer I extended to Bieber:
NO TRADE CLAUSE
2025 (30): $18,000,000
2026 (31): $20,000,000
2027 (32): $21,000,000
2028 (33): $22,000,000
2029 (34): $25,000,000
2030 (35): $26,000,000 — player option

This is both a buying and selling move. Barlow had posted a 2.86 ERA with the Guardians while under a one-year deal. He was a prime candidate to move at the deadline or sooner considering how much this team has struggled, and putting him in a deal with a struggling Estevan Florial and our number six prospect, George Valera, will also allow us to make a move for our future as well.

In return, we are primarily getting Daulton Varsho, a glove-first centerfielder with power potential and plus speed. A huge need for this team has been a centerfielder, both in this sim and in real life, for quite some time. Varsho who is 28, had spent most of the season in Triple-A Buffalo, and was slashing .293/.355/.577 down there. The move away from Valera was easy to make as Chase DeLauter has quickly surpassed him in the system, and we are planning to draft Charlie Condon. Speaking of...

DRAFT DAY

Today is the 2024 MLB First Year Player Draft...

With the first pick in the 2024 Draft, the Cleveland Guardians select...OF Charlie Condon out of the University of Georgia!

Condon was very clearly the best prospect in this crop, sitting at 4.5 star potential with no one else above 3.5 stars.

Moving throughout the rest of the draft, Colby Shelton was our other first round pick. Shortstop is not a strong spot anywhere in the system, and Shelton’s power potential is eye opening. We’ll keep tabs on him throughout. Another couple names to keep an eye on are our two high school pitchers drafted in the first five rounds: William Schmidt and Tague Davis.

Schmidt boasts a double-plus curveball and 60-grade stuff, but command will naturally be a learning curve as he develops throughout the system. As for Davis, he projects to be a middle of the rotation arm with good, not great stuff and a plus changeup. His size creates good extension which could lead to better stuff development over the years.

Adam Haight is a high school third baseman who projects to have tremendous power, above average contact and defense skills, and a good eye at the plate.

Ryan Stafford is a good defensive catcher with good contact ability and doesn’t strike out often.

Nate Knowles projects to have a plus curveball, changeup, and cutter, but his fastball leaves a lot to be desired.

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We were successfully able to sign all of our draft picks!

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— Will Brennan has been activated off the IL; due to poor play, Ramon Laureano has been DFA’d and released.

RESULTS
Won 2/3 against San Diego
Won 3/4 against Detroit
Lost 2/3 at Philadelphia
Swept at Detroit

We did not make any deals at the Trade Deadline.

AUGUST

Andrew Walters has been promoted to Triple-A.

The Guardians went 10-18 in the month of August.

— Chase DeLauter will spend the rest of the season on the IL (foot fracture).

— Kyle Manzardo was named AL Rookie of the Month for August, posting a 242 OPS+ with 9 home runs and a 1.264 OPS.

SEPTEMBER

The Guardians go 10-15 in September.

2024 FINAL RECORD: 72-90

Our season score finished at 293, which is pretty bad.

— The Texas Rangers repeated as World Series Champions, sweeping the Cincinnati Reds.

— Carl Willis has retired.

— Steven Kwan and Andres Gimenez finish with Gold Gloves.

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Our next episode will be the entire offseason leading into the 2025 season! Stay tuned, some big moves are coming...