The main reason why the Cleveland Guardians haven’t lived up to expectations in 2025 thus far has been the lackluster offense, which features the lowest team batting average in the league and ranks in the bottom third in many other offensive categories.
The worst unit of the offense has been the outfield, which has generated arguably the worst production in the league outside of Steven Kwan, which is why the team is being urged to call up one of its best prospects.
John Sabol of Fox 8 News took to X on Friday and pushed for the Guardians to call up star outfield prospect George Valera, who has been hot in Triple-A of late and hit for the cycle on Friday.
“Guardians should probably call George Valera up before he suffers another injury lol. Broken hand (2023) and Ruptured Patellar Tendon (2024) derailed his once No. 1 prospect rating in the Guards’ system. Now he’s back to raking in Columbus. Time to give this kid a call!” Sabol posted on X.
#Guardians should probably call George Valera up before he suffers another injury lol.
Broken hand (2023) and Ruptured Patellar Tendon (2024) derailed his once No. 1 prospect rating in the Guards’ system.
Now he’s back to raking in Columbus. Time to give this kid a call! https://t.co/ncBTSHTa98
— John Sabol (@John_Sabol) August 23, 2025
The injuries affected Valera’s standing as a prospect significantly, as he no longer ranks even in Cleveland’s top 30 prospects on MLB.com.
However, the 24-year-old has a 1.027 OPS in the minors this year and has looked every bit like a former No. 1 prospect over the last six weeks or so since coming back from his most recent injury.
The Guardians have watched their outfielders flounder at the plate all year, as Angel Martinez, Nolan Jones, Jhonkensy Noel, David Fry, and Lane Thomas have all had abysmal seasons at the dish.
Fellow prospect C.J. Kayfus was recently called up and has done a solid job so far, but the Guardians shouldn’t stop there if they want to make a late playoff push.
NEXT: Analyst Reveals Guardians' Playoff Chances
