The competition for a bullpen spot on the Cleveland Guardians is intense, and it isn’t limited to what happens at the big league club. There are talented arms in Double-A and Triple-A waiting for an opening to prove they are worthy of consideration.
And the beauty of baseball is that, sometimes, the guy people sleep on is the one running away with his opportunity if he gets it. There is no reason why Magnus Ellerts, one of the hardest throwers in the organization, can’t be this guy at some point. There is one key aspect of his game he will need to improve, though.
Picked in the 11th round of the 2022 MLB Draft, Ellerts has a big fastball that can touch the triple digits but sits in the mid-to-high 90s. He complements that with a cutter and a slider.
What’s the problem, then? Well, control. Ellerts walked a whopping 17.5 percent of the hitters he faced last year in Double-A, and he simply won’t have success with such a high rate. It led to a 4.71 in 42 innings in Akron.
While he struck out a whopping 63 hitters, big league hitters will feast on him if he can’t throw strikes with any semblance of consistency. It’s his main weakness as a prospect.
Cleveland #Guardians 24yr old RHP relief prospect Magnus Ellerts struckout a pair of Harrisburg batters tonight in a scoreless inning of work for Akron in the team's 7-to-3 win.
Line – 1.0(IP) 0H 0R 0ER 0BB 2SO
(13 Pitches 8 Strikes)
Ellerts now has 60 strikeouts over 40.0… pic.twitter.com/omVAxFWXpA
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) September 10, 2025
Ellerts, however, is still relatively young at 25. He had a solid spring, posting a 3.86 ERA in 2.1 frames, with four strikeouts and, more importantly, no walks.
He has already made his Triple-A debut, and he wasn’t fazed by the advanced level. He completed 0.2 innings, facing three hitters, striking out one of them, and conceding a hit, but no runs in the process.
With Ellerts, the Guardians need to be patient. Throwing first-pitch strikes is very important for him, as is trusting his stuff. That’s how he and the organization will know if he is good enough to make it at the highest level.
The ceiling is a hard-throwing multi-inning reliever with very high strikeout potential. He showed that for spurts in 2025, even if the final ERA in Double-A was a tad high.
For now, all we can say is that he’s off to a promising start if we count spring training and Triple-A. Mastering that level will open up plenty of avenues for a big league shot. Will he throw enough strikes to seize the opportunity?
NEXT: Chase DeLauter Is Changing Narrative Around Guardians
