Guardians Linked To Intriguing OF Prospect In Latest Mock Draft

The Cleveland Guardians might already be thinking about the future.

Saving this season may not be in the cards, but with the MLB Draft just around the corner, they will have multiple chances to land some stars for the future of the organization.

With that in mind, MLB analyst Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report predicted that they will look to address some of their glaring needs in the outfield:

“To complete the first round—the next picks are prospect promotion incentive and compensation selections—the Guardians take outfielder Cam Cannarella. MLB Pipeline referred to the 21-year-old as ‘a no-doubt center fielder who covers plenty of ground.’ He also hit .353 with 22 doubles and 52 RBI in 61 games for the Clemson Tigers during his junior season. It’s hard not to like his overall profile. Cannarella could co-exist with Steven Kwan in the outfield, but the more likely scenario is he would help to replace the multi-time All-Star if the Guardians trade him as he gets more expensive later in the arbitration process,” Kelly wrote.

Of course, thinking about trading Steven Kwan might sound crazy right now.

Then again, this team has a long history of moving on from their stars as soon as they’re about to hit a big payday, and Kwan fits that mold.

He was considered to be one of the few untouchable players on the team, but he’s been tangled up in some trade rumors as the team continues to free-fall.

Even if they don’t trade him, which they shouldn’t, they need to do something about their lack of firepower in the outfield, even if it will take a while before Cannarella is ready to make an impact in the majors.

The Guardians have a solid farm and development system, and they also have a good eye for talent.

They claimed that they wouldn’t look to address positional needs early in the draft and that they would take a ‘best player available’ approach in the first round.

Nevertheless, this might be one of the few instances in which the best player available and the player they need happen to be the same guy.