Format = Position Player | Age on 4/1/2025 | Highest Level Played | Estimated Time of Arrival 1. 2B Travis Bazzana | 22 | A+ | 2026 Bazzana has gotten stronger throughout his career in college ball and added significant impact to his plus-contact profile, homering 28 times in his junior season after hitting 11 as a sophomore and six as a freshman. It’s a real mark of his hitting prowess and upside that he went first overall as a college second baseman. As far as I can recall (which ain’t far, tbf), he’s the first number one overall pick of that type, and a cursory search revealed nothing to disagree with that. For a human-sized (6’ 199 lbs) lefty learning his way through the game, Cleveland seems like the perfect landing spot. His timeline looks wrong to me at a glance here, but then I try to think Cleveland thoughts, and I see a river of fire that suggests anything sooner than 2026 would be optimistic, and rivers of fire rarely portend optimism among the people. 2. OF Chase DeLauter | 23 | AAA | 2025 A left-handed hitter at 6’4” 235 lbs, DeLauter has struggled to stay healthy as a professional but retains rare, middle-order upside that demands dynasty attention. He played just 39 games in 2024, so the numbers don’t seem super relevant. 22 strikeouts and 19 walks is cool when it comes with eight home runs, of course, but it’d be even cooler to see the five-tool talent stay on the field for a full season. Could create quite a buying opportunity wherever someone is feeling impatient. 3. 2B Juan Brito | 23 | AAA | 2025 A selective switch-hitter with contact skills from both sides, the 6’ 202 lb Brito slashed .256/.365/.443 with 21 home runs and 13 stolen bases in 144 Triple-A games. He struck out just 105 times (16.1%) against 88 walks (13.5%), so the batting average has typically landed a bit higher than his .280 BABIP allowed in 2024. With Andres Gimenez out of town, Brito figures to get his chance to take the job in spring training, and as he was the return for Nolan Jones, the front office has plenty of incentive to see him succeed. 4. SS Angel Genao | 20 | A+ | 2026 Here’s what I wrote on May 19 for Prospect News: We All Scream For Paul Skenes: “Guardians SS Angel Genao (20, A) fits the Cleveland prototype of a switch-hitting middle infielder with good plate skills and excellent hands in both the field and the batter’s box. He returned to Low-A to start the season after getting eight games there in 2022 and another 72 games there last year. He’s at 32 games played this year with a slash line of .313/.357/.531 with five home runs and four stolen bases. Probably won’t be in Low-A much longer. Also it’s his birthday today. Happy Birthday, Angel!” A couple weeks later (June 3), Genao was promoted to High-A, where he slashed .322/.377/.463 with four home runs, 13 stolen bases and a 16.3 percent strikeout rate across 66 games. Brayan Rocchio looked better late in the season, and Angel Martinez has a lot of talent, and I really like Welbyn Francisca, but Genao has a pretty clear lane on that long-term shortstop job if he keeps hitting like he has while getting a shade or two sharper on defense. 5. SS Welbyn Francisca | 18 | A | 2027 Here’s what I wrote on July 10 in Prospect News: Angel The Guardian or Jesus Made Me Do It: “Coming off an impressive debut season in the DSL in which he started hot but faded late, switch-hitting Guardians SS Welbyn Francisca (18, CPX) has flipped the sequence this season. He was okay early but has heated up with the weather, slashing .442/.520/.674 with three home runs and three steals in his last ten games. He’s on course to be a near-consensus Top 100 prospect heading into 2025.” First takeaway here is I hope you added Jesus Made that day where he was available. Though if you only had one spot and chose Francisca, you did just fine. He made the jump to Low-A on July 30 and slashed .325/.402/.402 with one home run and nine stolen bases in 29 games, good for a 141 wRC+. Depending on how the weight-training goes this winter, Cleveland might wave him right along to High-A, but as he’s listed at 5’8” 148 lbs, they might want to pump the brakes a bit and give him time to add strength. 6. LHP Joey Cantillo | 25 | MLB | 2024 At 6’4” 225 lbs, Cantillo relies on a plus changeup and four-seam fastball that works well when placed well. He mixes in a slider and curve and has been mostly successful throughout his minor league life, and while his ERA wasn’t great at 4.89 ERA in 38.2 MLB innings, his xFIP landed at 3.46 and his WHIP was 1.29. Pretty easy to bet on Cleveland to get the most out of a lefty with a four-pitch mix. 7. 1B CJ Kayfus | 23 | AA | 2026 A six-foot, 192 lb third-round pick in the 2023 draft, Kayfus isn’t the kind of guy who generates big coverage in the prospect-sphere unless he hits well every step of the way and forces a big-league look. Safe to say he’s in the process of doing so after slashing .291/.393/.511 with 17 home runs and five stolen bases in 107 games across two levels this year. He’s blocked by Naylor and Manzardo at the moment, but this is Cleveland, where a guy can go from blocked to penciled in at the push of a button. 8. 1B Ralphy Velazquez | 19 | A+ | 2027 The 23rd overall pick in 2023, Velazquez is a 6’3” 215 lb left-handed slugger whose dynasty value might be a little inflated by the catcher-eligibility tag he carries on fantasy sites. Cleveland seems to have left that dream behind, at least on game days, but the headline here is still that Velazquez looks like a steady bet for our game with an intriguing blend of power, patience and contact skills. He posted a solid 131 wRC+ to graduate Low-A in 82 games but face-planted a bit at season’s end in High-A, slashing .176/.275/.250 in 19 games that are all but irrelevant in the long arc of player development. 9. OF Jaison Chourio | 19 | A | 2027 A 6’1” switch hitter listed at 162 lbs, Chourio doesn’t bring the swing speed of his older brother and approaches the game with a little more patience at the plate. I’ve long been wary of the Named Guy tax as far as our game goes, but it’s impossible to deny that Chourio’s 44 steals and .414 on-base percentage across 98 Low-A games is an impressive feat. 10. RHP Daniel Espino | 23 | AA | 2024 Talent is not a question here. Espino’s stuff is top shelf. Trouble is he threw just 18.1 innings in 2022 before injuries (knee and shoulder) ended his season. The shoulder injury did not go away, and Espino did not throw a pitch in 2023 after a March surgery to repair his anterior capsule. In January of 2024, he was diagnosed with a subscapularis strain and an anterior capsule tear in his right shoulder that would eventually require surgery. He did not pitch all year, but if he comes back healthy, and that’s a Jupiter-sized IF, he’d be a hot property in fantasy leagues. Thanks for reading!

Cleveland Guardians Top 10 Prospects For 2025 Fantasy Baseball

Format = Position Player | Age on 4/1/2025 | Highest Level Played | Estimated Time of Arrival 1. 2B Travis Bazzana | 22 | A+ | 2026 Bazzana has gotten stronger throughout his career in college ball and added significant impact to his plus-contact profile, homering 28 times in his junior season after hitting 11 […]

Format = Position Player | Age on 4/1/2025 | Highest Level Played | Estimated Time of Arrival

1. 2B Travis Bazzana | 22 | A+ | 2026

Bazzana has gotten stronger throughout his career in college ball and added significant impact to his plus-contact profile, homering 28 times in his junior season after hitting 11 as a sophomore and six as a freshman. It’s a real mark of his hitting prowess and upside that he went first overall as a college second baseman. As far as I can recall (which ain’t far, tbf), he’s the first number one overall pick of that type, and a cursory search revealed nothing to disagree with that. For a human-sized (6’ 199 lbs) lefty learning his way through the game, Cleveland seems like the perfect landing spot. His timeline looks wrong to me at a glance here, but then I try to think Cleveland thoughts, and I see a river of fire that suggests anything sooner than 2026 would be optimistic, and rivers of fire rarely portend optimism among the people.

2. OF Chase DeLauter | 23 | AAA | 2025

A left-handed hitter at 6’4” 235 lbs, DeLauter has struggled to stay healthy as a professional but retains rare, middle-order upside that demands dynasty attention. He played just 39 games in 2024, so the numbers don’t seem super relevant. 22 strikeouts and 19 walks is cool when it comes with eight home runs, of course, but it’d be even cooler to see the five-tool talent stay on the field for a full season. Could create quite a buying opportunity wherever someone is feeling impatient.

3. 2B Juan Brito | 23 | AAA | 2025

A selective switch-hitter with contact skills from both sides, the 6’ 202 lb Brito slashed .256/.365/.443 with 21 home runs and 13 stolen bases in 144 Triple-A games. He struck out just 105 times (16.1%) against 88 walks (13.5%), so the batting average has typically landed a bit higher than his .280 BABIP allowed in 2024. With Andres Gimenez out of town, Brito figures to get his chance to take the job in spring training, and as he was the return for Nolan Jones, the front office has plenty of incentive to see him succeed.

4. SS Angel Genao | 20 | A+ | 2026

Here’s what I wrote on May 19 for Prospect News: We All Scream For Paul Skenes:

“Guardians SS Angel Genao (20, A) fits the Cleveland prototype of a switch-hitting middle infielder with good plate skills and excellent hands in both the field and the batter’s box. He returned to Low-A to start the season after getting eight games there in 2022 and another 72 games there last year. He’s at 32 games played this year with a slash line of .313/.357/.531 with five home runs and four stolen bases. Probably won’t be in Low-A much longer. Also it’s his birthday today. Happy Birthday, Angel!”

A couple weeks later (June 3), Genao was promoted to High-A, where he slashed .322/.377/.463 with four home runs, 13 stolen bases and a 16.3 percent strikeout rate across 66 games. Brayan Rocchio looked better late in the season, and Angel Martinez has a lot of talent, and I really like Welbyn Francisca, but Genao has a pretty clear lane on that long-term shortstop job if he keeps hitting like he has while getting a shade or two sharper on defense.

5. SS Welbyn Francisca | 18 | A | 2027

Here’s what I wrote on July 10 in Prospect News: Angel The Guardian or Jesus Made Me Do It:

“Coming off an impressive debut season in the DSL in which he started hot but faded late, switch-hitting Guardians SS Welbyn Francisca (18, CPX) has flipped the sequence this season. He was okay early but has heated up with the weather, slashing .442/.520/.674 with three home runs and three steals in his last ten games. He’s on course to be a near-consensus Top 100 prospect heading into 2025.”

First takeaway here is I hope you added Jesus Made that day where he was available.

Though if you only had one spot and chose Francisca, you did just fine. He made the jump to Low-A on July 30 and slashed .325/.402/.402 with one home run and nine stolen bases in 29 games, good for a 141 wRC+. Depending on how the weight-training goes this winter, Cleveland might wave him right along to High-A, but as he’s listed at 5’8” 148 lbs, they might want to pump the brakes a bit and give him time to add strength.

6. LHP Joey Cantillo | 25 | MLB | 2024

At 6’4” 225 lbs, Cantillo relies on a plus changeup and four-seam fastball that works well when placed well. He mixes in a slider and curve and has been mostly successful throughout his minor league life, and while his ERA wasn’t great at 4.89 ERA in 38.2 MLB innings, his xFIP landed at 3.46 and his WHIP was 1.29. Pretty easy to bet on Cleveland to get the most out of a lefty with a four-pitch mix.

7. 1B CJ Kayfus | 23 | AA | 2026

A six-foot, 192 lb third-round pick in the 2023 draft, Kayfus isn’t the kind of guy who generates big coverage in the prospect-sphere unless he hits well every step of the way and forces a big-league look. Safe to say he’s in the process of doing so after slashing .291/.393/.511 with 17 home runs and five stolen bases in 107 games across two levels this year. He’s blocked by Naylor and Manzardo at the moment, but this is Cleveland, where a guy can go from blocked to penciled in at the push of a button.

8. 1B Ralphy Velazquez | 19 | A+ | 2027

The 23rd overall pick in 2023, Velazquez is a 6’3” 215 lb left-handed slugger whose dynasty value might be a little inflated by the catcher-eligibility tag he carries on fantasy sites. Cleveland seems to have left that dream behind, at least on game days, but the headline here is still that Velazquez looks like a steady bet for our game with an intriguing blend of power, patience and contact skills. He posted a solid 131 wRC+ to graduate Low-A in 82 games but face-planted a bit at season’s end in High-A, slashing .176/.275/.250 in 19 games that are all but irrelevant in the long arc of player development.

9. OF Jaison Chourio | 19 | A | 2027

A 6’1” switch hitter listed at 162 lbs, Chourio doesn’t bring the swing speed of his older brother and approaches the game with a little more patience at the plate. I’ve long been wary of the Named Guy tax as far as our game goes, but it’s impossible to deny that Chourio’s 44 steals and .414 on-base percentage across 98 Low-A games is an impressive feat.

10. RHP Daniel Espino | 23 | AA | 2024

Talent is not a question here. Espino’s stuff is top shelf. Trouble is he threw just 18.1 innings in 2022 before injuries (knee and shoulder) ended his season. The shoulder injury did not go away, and Espino did not throw a pitch in 2023 after a March surgery to repair his anterior capsule. In January of 2024, he was diagnosed with a subscapularis strain and an anterior capsule tear in his right shoulder that would eventually require surgery. He did not pitch all year, but if he comes back healthy, and that’s a Jupiter-sized IF, he’d be a hot property in fantasy leagues.

Thanks for reading!