The Cleveland Guardians are one of the best teams in baseball when it comes to developing young talent into productive MLB players. It’s what has kept them a perennial playoff contender despite a payroll that doesn’t necessarily match that status.
As one of the best overall organizations, the Guardians, of course, have some talented individual players. Several of them are recognized as standouts when compared to their peers.
Five Guardians players have landed on a list of top MLB prospects put out by Keith Law of The Athletic: No. 31, SS Angel Genao; No. 51. 2B Travis Bazzana; No. 81. OF Chase DeLauter, No. 84. RHP Joey Oakie; and No. 92. LHP Parker Messick.
“This isn’t just a ranking of which prospects had the best seasons in 2025. There are players on my list who had worse statlines than some players who weren’t on the list. This ranking is about future potential, about how I think these players and others will grow and develop over the next several years, how their skills and bodies will change over time for better or for worse. That means looking at their performance, at the underlying data, watching players live and on video, talking to scouts and analysts and more to try to come up with coherent projections for their near- and long-term outlooks,” Law wrote.
Among the Guardians who are listed, only Messick has played in an MLB regular-season game. He was promoted last August and lived up to the hype as part of manager Stephen Vogt’s unique six-man rotation. In seven starts, Messick was 3-1 with a 2.72 ERA, which helped Cleveland make history by overcoming the largest deficit to ever win a division.
That allowed DeLauter to create some history of his own by becoming one of the few players to make his MLB debut in a postseason game. Now, he is expected to be a fixture in the lineup and become a strong contender for AL Rookie of the Year.
Bazzana, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, is expected to make his long-awaited debut after injuries have delayed it somewhat. Though there are some concerns about his hitting approach, he displayed enough talent in limited Triple-A action to become part of the current plans.
Genao has made a steady climb through the minor leagues since joining the organization as a 17-year-old international signing prospect in 2021. Oakie was a third-round pick in 2024 as a high school player and passed on playing in college to come on board.
Those two, like many players before them, will hopefully someday find their way to the majors as well and will keep the Guardians among the best teams in the American League.
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