Ten Guardians Prospects to Watch in 2025
Guest post from site contributor, Michael Mahoney
Editor’s Note: My friend Michael Mahoney who does some side-work for Lake County in the stat-keeping department kindly provided this excellent article outlining ten names to look for among Guardians’ prospects in 2025 with insights from his time spent watching many of them. Thank you, Mike!
Welcome back, everyone. Spring Training has started. Let’s ignore the major league team and talk about prospects! Here, I hope to draw your attention to 10 players worth keeping an eye on as the season evolves. First, let me outline who I am, where I’m coming from, and how I’m trying to make this something different from a normal prospect list (despite being totally devoid of data).
-I have been a regular assistant in the press box at Lake County for 3 seasons. I want to draw your attention to players who impressed me in 2024. I want to limit these players to those I saw in my own eyes during the past calendar year in lieu of throwing too many numbers at you.
-Much like the analysis itself, this list is not an objective ranking of the system or of the players; I feel unqualified to speak to pseudo-objective measures of skill. The only criteria are how excited I am for these players to advance to the Majors, and their likelihood to contribute to a team, hopefully Cleveland, in the near future.
-Comparisons are a rough business that makes prospect writers look foolish. They can be useful for setting expectations and benchmarks for others, but take these with a grain of salt. I am terrible at comparisons with position players, but I have decided to expose you all to some pitcher comps.
-Remember that the future is unpredictable. These players are talented professionals that work hard - that’s true for everyone they’re facing, as well as their teammates. They’re also human, and nothing about their development as pro players is guaranteed to happen.
With this all in mind, let’s begin:
10: Trenton Denholm, SP (Right): Denholm was older for the level, a 24 year old righty with a small frame (5’11”), a good changeup he throws to righty and lefty batters, and a passable slider. These work off a fastball that averages about 90mph. Denholm has been durable as a pro, and he took the ball regularly throughout 2024. He limits walks and strikes out a respectable amount of batters despite the lower velocity.
The question of Denholm’s career has been whether he will add and maintain enough velocity to stick as a starter. While he has stayed in the rotation, I feel his best fit is in the bullpen, where hopefully he can reach back and improve his velocity. I imagine his ceiling is a multiple inning/middle reliever in the mold of Eli Morgan.
9: Dylan DeLucia, SP (Right): a 2022 draftee, DeLucia finally recovered from post-draft Tommy John and debuted professionally last year. Delucia has a standard mix of a fastball, curveball, slider, and changeup, with his fastball and slider being the best two offerings. He was still getting his feel for pitching back for most of his time in High-A, but DeLucia went from his fastball sitting at 92-94 to flashing 98 in the postseason. Even if that never becomes the norm for him, being able to find that extra velocity in a starting role is an indicator that he can throw harder if he needs to convert to a bullpen role. Due to the circumstances of his career so far, keep him circled as a potential breakout candidate, and try not to look at his fall league stats. The hope is that he can be a swingman/back of the rotation starter, but think of Hunter Gaddis in terms of future projections.
8: Matt Wilkinson, SP (Left): Tugboat is an interesting case study. He carved through Lynchburg and was quite successful in Lake County despite averaging 88 on his fastball, mostly due to a uniquely low approach angle and a deceptive release point. Wilkinson mixed in two secondary pitches (especially the changeup), showed an ability to command to both sides of the plate, and demonstrated a willingness to throw any pitch in any count. Arguably, he had the best line numbers of any starting pitcher in the system, and he was young for High-A. So why is he 8?
I don’t know where he can go from here if he hopes to start. Wilkinson’s stuff tended to fade through an outing, with velo sitting 85-87 the second time through the order. He only has 3 pitches, and while they’re all serviceable, he will need more than these if he wants to make this velocity work against better hitters who get to see his release point. I won’t write off the possibility that he improves and sticks in the rotation. Right now, I see Wilkinson as a future relief pitcher in a similar mold to Andrew Chafin (again, an incredibly valuable player).
7: Ralphy Velazquez, 1B/OF, L/R: The Guardians’ 2023 first round pick, Velazquez put up some gaudy exit velocity numbers at the Futures Game last year. He came up for a few weeks at the end of 2024, and he struggled to make consistent contact. He showed a patient approach and incredible power, but he rarely pulled the ball in his High-A time. When he did, you could see that the power was as advertised.
As a bonus, Velazquez showed an impressive amount of versatility, playing a good outfield with a few spectacular plays despite being drafted as a catcher. Keep an eye on him, but a word of caution- Velazquez is extremely young, and it would not be surprising to see him take a full year at High-A to get his sea legs. This is more of a slow burn for a player that projects to be an absolute masher.
6: CJ Kayfus, 1B/LF, L/L: CJ Kayfus had an incredible season with Lake County, seemingly hitting everything thrown his way with surprisingly consistent power. Kayfus also showed he may be able to handle the outfield, but the power and the patience were his most impressive traits. Based on the stat lines, this ranking might seem a bit too tempered. However, to my eye, Kayfus seemed to struggle with breaking pitches in the zone. I have no deep insights on the process here, but if I had to guess, he saw spin and assumed he would be better off taking that pitch and swinging at something straight. Often, those pitches were mistakes that good hitters can convert into extra bases or home runs. As the season wore on, he did begin to chase breaking balls, and this was especially true at AA. Time will tell for Kayfus, but his torrid start was very exciting, and if he can control the strikeouts and keep the power production up, then he will be a major leaguer in short order.
5: Travis Bazzana, 2B, L/R: I know, shocking: The #1 overall pick from 2024 should be circled? Hear me out. Bazzana is a pro who should be able to contribute to an MLB team very soon. He demonstrated good range, a good enough arm, and good instincts at second base. He combined those defensive traits with good patience, approach, and pitch recognition at the plate, average power, and good feel to hit. He is a gamer - he played his best baseball in the Captains’ playoff series against Dayton and Wisconsin. Bazzana showed all the traits that made him the 1/1 selection for Cleveland, and he’s certainly worth tabbing.
4: Parker Messick, SP (Left): Messick should have been in Akron to start the season. He is a burly lefty that throws a fastball (up to 94), an above average circle-changeup, and a passable slider and slurve. Messick and Wilkinson have similar strengths as lefties with shallow vertical approach angles and pitchability. Messick will walk more hitters, but he shows the same fearlessness with all his pitches, and the velocity to get away with mistakes. Messick is a safe bet to be a back of the rotation pitcher if he can continue to limit walks and put hitters away. If all goes according to plan, he should be an option in 2026; I would feel comfortable with him debuting in 2025 if there is an emergency. Messick is comparable to Logan Allen in terms of ceiling and floor.
3: Cooper Ingle, C, L/R: Cooper Ingle Helium is everywhere. Along with most others who saw his pro debut in 2023, I’ve been in on him for a while. Ingle receives pitches well, is athletic behind the dish, and blocks almost everything. He has a fringe-average arm, although he dealt with an arm injury for most of 2024 that may have affected his throwing. The key for Ingle, though, is his approach. He has incredible bat control, a good eye, modest power to the pull side, and a willingness to take what he’s given and slap a single with two strikes. Ingle was the most complete hitter I saw in Lake County for his entire tenure, and he should be in the mix for playing time as soon as September if needed.
2: Austin Peterson, SP (Right): Austin Peterson is the truth. Coming into 2024, I had no expectations for the 6’6” hurler, other than eating innings. He certainly threw many innings (160 in 27 starts, roughly 6 ip per start), efficiently carving through lineups two to three times in a game. Peterson throws a fastball, changeup (maybe a split change), slider, and curveball. His velocity is average, but his ability to work deep into games is predicated on the way he limits walks - 6 batters in 85 innings at Lake County, and 15 in 75 innings at Akron. If he can continue avoiding hard contact, this is a back-end starter with upside to be a 3 (think Jake Westbrook). Much like Messick, he should be considered an option for 2025 if depth becomes an issue, but I expect him to debut in 2026
1: Angel Genao, SS/2B, S/R: Genao was the best player on the field during the second half for Lake County. Genao showed a combination of speed, power, and ability to make contact with a max-effort swing from both sides of the plate. He also demonstrated that he will take walks and can identify good pitches to hit. Genao combined this with decent play at shortstop, although he may slow down and need to move off the position as he gains muscle. I believe Genao is the best overall prospect in the Guardians system, and he is someone who deserves your attention as the season progresses.
HONORABLE MENTION: The 2024 UDFA starting pitchers, Rorik Maltrud and Carter Spivey (SPs, Right). These are not names to know for a possible MLB role in the next year or two. However, they are names you should expect to see in the role formerly held by Jaime Arias - these are your journeymen organizational starters. Of the two, Spivey was the most consistent, although Maltrud showed more life on his fastball, a more consistent slider, and struck out more hitters. With the MLB draft being constrained to 20 rounds, there will likely be four-year college starters and independent ball players filling out roles in Low-A and High-A rotations in years to come. Some may break out and debut, as we have seen with late rounders like Cody Allen or Daniel Schneemann. Between the two, circle Maltrud as my guy to break in with a bullpen role if given the chance, but I would expect both players to be in pro ball for years to come.
Folks, above all else, do try to enjoy the season as it happens. I hope this list helps you find a new player to follow and connect with, or perhaps it inspires you to adopt another minor leaguer and make your case for them. Maybe it becomes some discussion piece about how misguided these choices are. Maybe the rankings rankle you. Whatever it is, have fun with it, don’t take it too seriously, and let’s make an effort to reconnect with the game we love.