Top 10 Guardians Prospects

How I view the current top 10 prospects in the Guardians’ system

1. 2B Travis Bazzana- No player in the Guardians system has a better combination of ceiling and floor than #1 overall pick Travis Bazzana. He truly has no holes in his offensive game. At his best, he rarely whiffs, has elite plate discipline, hits for plenty of power, and runs well. Defensively, he has the athleticism to play an above average 2B and could likely even move to the OF.

2. OF Chase DeLauter- With DeLauter it all starts with the health, he’s missed a ton of time over the last few years with multiple foot injuries to both of his feet. He’s never played in more than 60 games in a season, so it is definitely concerning. That being said, I believe that he has the highest upside in the entire system. When healthy, he’s an absolutely electric talent that runs well, hits for contact, power, and rarely expands the strike zone. He has looked good in CF when he’s played there but I fear the injuries will make him a full time RF. If it all works out for DeLauter, we’re looking at a true 5 tool player with superstar upside.

3. 1B Kyle Manzardo- Similarly to Travis Bazzana, Kyle Manzardo also has very few holes as a hitter. While he may not have any elite traits, he is really good at just about everything. Despite his struggles in his short stint in the majors, he hits for contact, power, and rarely chases. He’s been one of the best hitters in minor league baseball again this season, and has more than deserved another chance at the big league level. Hopefully by the time you’re reading this, he’ll have been called up.

4. 1B Ralphy Velazquez- Ralphy Velazquez is one of the most exciting prospects in the organization. He plays the same position as Manzardo, but they are very different hitters. At this stage of his development, Ralphy does not have the same level of contact skills and plate discipline as Manzardo, but what he does bring, is elite raw power at age 19. He has had some eye popping power metrics. He has had exit velocities up to 113 mph which is insane for a kid that started the season at 18 years old and doesn’t whiff that often. I think Ralphy has the potential to be a special bat with 35-40 HR power if he is able to reach his ceiling.

5. SS Angel Genao- Angel Genao is a very exciting young prospect. His production as a 19/20 year old SS has been insanely impressive. He posted a 165 WRC+ in Low-A Lynchburg and hasn’t slowed down since being promoted to High-A Lake County, slashing .326/.371/.474 with a 140 WRC+. While he may not have the defensive upside that former top prospects like Brayan Rocchio and Gabriel Arias had, I believe he has a good chance to be the best hitter of all of them. Genao doesn’t have elite power, but he definitely hits the ball hard enough. He doesn’t walk much because he is an aggressive hitter, but he doesn’t chase much to this point, posting a chase rate of just 22.4% since being promoted to High-A. I’m so excited to see how Genao develops as he moves up levels to more advanced pitching in AA and AAA.

6. OF Jaison Chourio- I’d argue there is no player more deserving of a promotion right now than Jaison Chourio. He has an unbelievable feel for the strike zone for a kid who was 18 years old at the start of the season. He is one of just three teenagers in all of minor league baseball to have walked more times than striking out this season. With Chourio, it’s all about the elite contact skills, plate discipline, and speed. He has recorded 41!!! stolen bases this season, tied for 15th in all of minor league baseball. The power is definitely lacking at this point, but he is only 19 years old and has plenty of time to fill out his 6’1 frame and add impact.

7. 1B/OF CJ Kayfus- Simply put, CJ Kayfus has not only been the best hitter in the Guardians system this year, he’s been one of the best hitters in all of minor league baseball, posting a WRC+ of 173 on the season between High-A and AA. Kayfus is similar to Manzardo in that he doesn’t have elite raw power, so he optimizes his power using his contact skills to pull fly balls in the air. The contact rates have gone down since his promotion to AA, striking out more often and whiffing a good bit more, but he’s still raking, and he’s not chasing much, posting a really good chase rate of 21.5%. He should reach AAA by the end of the season and could debut for the Guardians next season if he continues to hit like this.

8. SS Welbyn Francisca- Welbyn Francisca might be my favorite prospect in the system, I’m likely higher on him than most everyone else. He was the Guardians top international signing in 2022, and has done nothing but rake ever since then. We should take complex league stats with a grain of salt, but I’ve adored his swing ever since he hit a HR in his first ever AB in the Dominican Summer League last year. The contact skills are the calling card right now, but I think he has some pretty underrated pop, already hitting 9 HRs in around 400 plate appearances at ages 17 and 18. He’s going to be someone to keep an eye on in Lynchburg, and by this time next season, could take off and be a consensus top 100 prospect like Jaison Chourio this year.

9. INF/OF Juan Brito- Juan Brito has been about as good as we could have hoped after acquiring him for Nolan Jones in 2022. I’m lower on him than most other places, mostly due to the lack of defensive value. I think he’s probably best suited to play 3B at the big league level, which obviously will never happen here. His future defensive home is a huge question mark in Cleveland. The bat is definitely real, though. While his exit velocities are a bit underwhelming, he pulls the ball a ton and has had a big uptick in power this year, already hitting 15 HRs when his previous career high was 14. The contact skills and plate discipline are both awesome, I definitely think he will be a good hitter at the MLB level. The big question will come down to where he will play defensively.

10. OF George Valera- I think George Valera has become incredibly underrated as a prospect. I have seen a lot of people extremely low on Valera and I just do not agree. The injuries have been very often and frustrating, and the overall production hasn’t been great, but when he is healthy, he is still a really good hitter against right handed pitching. He is slashing .296/.360/.525 with an .885 OPS and a 20.6% K rate against RHP this season. His IZ-Contact% is over 80% on the season, a huge improvement from last season, and he has always had elite plate discipline, rarely ever expanding the zone. The power is very real, posting a max EV of 112.4 and a 90th percentile EV of 106.3 this season, with a 46.1% hardhit% and a 10.8% barrel rate, all really good numbers. Valera is out of minor league options next year, I think it’s time to call him up and see if he can hit RHP at the major league level.

Just missed- Joey Cantillo, Braylon Doughty, Parker Messick