Cleveland Sports Forum

3 Guardians prospects who could find their way to the bigs in '26

CLEVELAND -- We’re only a few weeks away from the Guardians’ first full-squad Spring Training workout on Feb. 17, which will officially open a camp that will feature plenty of up-and-coming players competing for a spot on Cleveland’s Opening Day roster.

Chase DeLauter, George Valera, C.J. Kayfus and Parker Messick (all of whom got a taste of the Majors in 2025) headline the youngsters who will be vying for a big league job this spring. But you’ll also hear plenty about intriguing prospects beyond that quartet, some of whom could impact the Guardians’ big league roster this season.

Here are a few other names to keep an eye on once camp opens.

INF Juan Brito (Guardians' No. 14 prospect, per MLB Pipeline)

Brito, 24, was optioned to Triple-A Columbus amid one of the Guardians’ final rounds of roster cuts in 2025 Spring Training. He was poised to make his MLB debut at some point last year, but tough injury luck scuttled those plans.

Brito underwent right thumb surgery on April 25 for a high-grade ligament sprain, and he did not return to Triple-A Columbus’ lineup until June 25. He later suffered a left hamstring strain in July, and ultimately underwent season-ending surgery in September. All said, he was limited to 31 games.

Brito has long been one of the Guardians' most intriguing position-player prospects. The switch-hitter has a career .273/.382/.449 slash line over six seasons in Cleveland’s organization, and he can play around the diamond. He played at second, first and right field in the Minors last season, while also playing at second and first in winter ball this offseason with Toros del Este in the Dominican Republic.

The Guardians gained a fourth Minor League option on Brito due to his injuries last year. If he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster, he’ll be one of the top initial candidates for a callup from Columbus.

RHP Khal Stephen (No. 6 prospect)

It’s hard, if not foolish, to try to directly compare one prospect’s timeline with another. But if things go well, could Stephen (whom Cleveland acquired from Toronto in the July 31 Shane Bieber trade) follow a similar trajectory in 2026 as Messick did in ‘25?

The Guardians have good starting rotation depth, and they must sort through six viable guys for five rotation spots this spring. But Cleveland almost assuredly will need to tap into its depth this summer, and Stephen could be ready to contribute, as Messick was this past season.

Messick opened 2025 with Triple-A Columbus. He made seven big league starts down the stretch, including his Aug. 20 MLB debut.

Stephen is ranked as the Guardians’ top pitching prospect by Pipeline. The 23-year-old is 6-foot-4 and wields a five-pitch mix, led by his four-seamer, slider and changeup. He opened 2025 with Toronto's Single-A affiliate and was promoted to Double-A on July 20.

Stephen reported to Akron after the Guardians landed him, though a right shoulder impingement limited him to four starts. Nonetheless, he showed a lot of promise in his first professional season that could serve as a springboard in 2026. In 103 innings over 22 games (21 starts), he logged a 2.53 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP with 110 strikeouts compared to only 20 walks.

OF Kahlil Watson (No. 18 prospect)

Watson has followed a path taken by many Guardians prospects before him. Drafted 16th overall by the Marlins in 2021 as a middle infielder, he fully transitioned to the outfield this past season. Watson played all three spots with both Akron and Columbus.

Watson (whom Cleveland acquired in the Aug. 1, 2023, trade for Josh Bell) made his outfield debut in ‘24. Cleveland was pleased with his progress in ‘25, and the club added him to its 40-man roster on Nov. 18.

“He worked tremendously hard,” manager Stephen Vogt said last week. “To see his progression from where he was last Spring Training, where he was still fairly new, and then to see video and to hear from our [player development] staff on his development in the outfield over the course of the season in 2025, has us very excited about Kahlil in the future for us.”

Watson will be among a long list of outfielders whom the Guardians will get a look at in camp. There is some swing and miss in his game, but he has an interesting skill set between his power and baserunning.

In 102 games between Akron and Columbus this past season, Watson slashed .250/.346/.467 with 20 doubles, six triples, 16 home runs, 61 RBIs, 17 stolen bases and 48 walks with 119 strikeouts.

Tim Stebbins covers the Guardians for MLB.com.

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Guardians News and Notes - At Least We Have Prospects

According to Baseball America, the Guardians, Mets, and White Sox have the most Top 100 prospects in the league.

by Deborah Williams

Jan 22, 2026, 7:00 AM CST

There’s no doubt that the Guardians organization is capable of drafting and developing prospects. I wish there was a place where the fans could meet the young talent before the make it big. Something like Colorado’s Rockies Fest. Why don’t more teams do these events? Seem like they could be a hit.

Cody Bellinger is back with the Yankees.

Freddy Peralta is rumored to be heading to the Mets.

Netflix Japan released this great WBC trailer.

https://twitter.com/i/status/2013786122736787553

Baseball is almost here folks.

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Guards land six players among Top 100 Prospects, led by Bazzana

January 23rd, 2026

CLEVELAND -- The Guardians’ roster is annually fueled by homegrown players, and 2026 will be no different. Within its pipeline, Cleveland also has an intriguing collection of prospects who are vying to be part of the club’s next wave of talent this season and beyond.

In that vein, MLB Pipeline unveiled its Top 100 Prospects list for 2026 on Friday, which includes six Cleveland farmhands. That put the Guardians in a tie with the Mets for the second-most players in the Top 100, behind the Mariners (seven). They are:

No. 20: Travis Bazzana, 2B
No. 46: Chase DeLauter, OF
No. 66: Angel Genao, SS
No. 89: Ralphy Velazquez, 1B/OF
No. 95: Parker Messick, LHP
No. 99: Cooper Ingle, C

This marks the second-most prospects the Guardians have landed on Pipeline’s preseason Top 100 list, behind 2023 (seven). That group included Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, Bo Naylor and George Valera.

This year’s group is an exciting mix, but let’s start with Bazzana. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft will be in big league camp this Spring Training, and he’s set to play for Australia in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. Bazzana is one step from the Majors after he was promoted to Triple-A Columbus on Aug. 10.

Bazzana, 23, slashed .245/.389/.424 in 84 games in the Minors in 2025. He missed nearly two months in the first half with Double-A Akron with a right oblique strain and the final week with the Clippers due to left flank soreness. Before the latter ailment, Bazzana enjoyed one of his best offensive stretches of the season. He hit .290 with four homers and a 1.163 OPS over nine games with Columbus in September.

Bazzana will likely open 2026 in Triple-A, and the Guardians won’t rush anything. But his timeline and readiness to take over second base in Cleveland will be a continued storyline this year.

“He's having a great offseason, and I'm excited just to watch him play,” manager Stephen Vogt said last week. “I'm really excited to see what Travis has done and the growth that he's had. The learning experience from last year alone -- dealing with not being able to play [the full season] -- is going to go a long way for him.

“I continue to believe the sky's the limit for Travis, and he's going to be a big part of our team in the future.”





The Guardians’ belief in DeLauter is also evident. Last year, the 24-year-old became only the sixth player to make his MLB debut in the postseason, which came despite DeLauter missing the final two-and-a-half months of the Minor League season following right wrist surgery for a hamate fracture.

DeLauter (who started in center field in Games 2 and 3 of the American League Wild Card Series) has a special blend of power and plate discipline. He will compete for a spot on Cleveland’s Opening Day roster this spring, and he is set to receive reps in center and right field.

The Guardians will be mindful about DeLauter’s workload in Spring Training given his physical history; various injuries have affected his time in the Minors. But he could be a Day 1 contributor in the Majors this season.

“We’re really excited about the thought of Chase being able to contribute for a full season,” Vogt said.






Messick made a strong impression in 2025 after the Guardians promoted him from Columbus on Aug. 20. Over seven big league starts, the lefty logged a 2.72 ERA with 38 strikeouts and just six walks over 39 2/3 innings.

Messick will be in competition for a spot in the Guardians’ starting rotation this spring, and he has Minor League options remaining. Whether or not he makes the Opening Day starting five, you can expect to see him in the Majors this year.






Genao was limited to 85 games in the Minors in 2025. He opened the season on the injured list with a right shoulder strain and ultimately recorded a .714 OPS. The switch-hitter (whom Cleveland added to its 40-man roster in November) had a stellar ‘24 with Single-A Lynchburg and High-A Lake County, hitting .330 with an .878 OPS over 110 games.






Velazquez had a breakout 2025. The 20-year-old and 2023 first-round Draft pick led Guardians prospects in homers (22) and RBIs (85), and he hit .265 with an .839 OPS between Lake County and Akron. That included a .994 OPS in 28 games after Velazquez was promoted to the RubberDucks on Aug. 10.






Ingle (Cleveland’s fourth-round pick in 2023) slashed .260/.389/.419 over 120 games with Akron and Columbus. The 23-year-old was promoted to the Clippers alongside Bazzana on Aug. 10 and figures to open ‘26 with them.

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bASEBALL America; MLB and Keith Law are all completing their prospect ratings. All with slightly different opinons. Law is also a bit of an iconoclast, e.g. for this year's Guardians, he rates Genao is their highest ranking prospect [31] on his Minor League top 100,followed by Bazzana [50 far behind his spot on the other 2 lists]. Next on his 100, from the Guardians he has DeLauter [81],he's never liked his swing and of course has serious concern about his ability to stay on the field Oakie [84] , Messick [92]. Velazquez [No.3 Guardians prospect for BA is on his "just missed" list of 15, His full Cleveeland top 20 comes out next week.

a summary of his writups at the Athletic:

Messic: He looks like a high-floor fourth starter and could creep up to more than that with further develoment of either or both of the breaking balls or another increase in his overall velocity

Oakie: His arm is loose and very quick with everything coming out hot, while he still has to work on his control and needs to develop a changeup. He isan't as safe a bet as Doughty who is more polished and has a hammer curve ball right now but he has a much higher ceiling. He has huge upside given how he's barely scratched the surface of what he can do.

DeLauter: The preponderance of evidence we have says he will hit with some power and will not stay healthy.

Bazzana: He's still plays 2nd base where his defense isn't great but might be adequate. He's got to hit and he's got to stay healthy and I'm not sure how much the second variable affected the first last year., [NOte: a 26.7% strikeout rate in AAA]

Genao: He played better defense last year with second base still more likely but SS still a possibility jn the long term. His 2025 was mostly a lost year but given the injury s the likely cause of the reduced output I'm not lowering my expectations for him as an above-average regular somewhere in the middle infield.

Consensus opinion on the Guardians is none of the very top prospects but one of the deepest if not the deepest system overall. BA provides a list of all prospects who made any one of their contributors individual top 100 lists before they complied the consensus and Cleveland had 11 players who someone named on his list One team had more. By contrast Tigers had only 4 but 3 of them rate among the top 20 overall.