The Cleveland Guardians rely heavily on having the prospects in their system develop into good MLB players. Sometimes, that development actually takes place when they are in the major leagues.
Several Guardians are proving that to be the case this season, coming into their own in their second, third, or fourth seasons. It has allowed Cleveland to stay in first place in the AL Central for most of the year, and it looks like it may give them a chance to pull away from their division rivals.
On Sunday, some of those players, notably Angel Martinez and Brayan Rocchio, helped the Guardians easily defeat the Cincinnati Reds. With its fifth win in the past six games, Cleveland moved four games over .500 for the first time this season.
Kyle Manzardo hit two home runs in the latest victory against the Reds, and the third-year player said he loves what he’s seeing from his fellow members of the young Guardians core.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that haven’t necessarily done it for a super long time, but a lot of us got these big league reps. You’re seeing different guys kind of blossom into who they are, which is, I think, really cool. It’s tons of fun. With that being said, just trying to make sure we stay taking it one day at a time,” Manzardo said.
"You're seeing different guys kind of blossom into who they are which is, I think, really cool."#Guardians Kyle Manzardo on the team's young core starting to hit its stride offensively and how fun it is imagining the capabilities they have. #GuardsBall @WEWS https://t.co/JNRgTvGOaP pic.twitter.com/tNyA2jE8Z2
— Mason Horodyski (@MasonHorodyski) May 18, 2026
No one liked what they were seeing from Manzardo earlier this season. The 25-year-old first baseman got off to a horrible start, and he was batting below .220 with just one home run in 86 at-bats when May arrived.
However, he has since raised his batting average to .223 from a low point of .061. He also has a .958 OPS this month with nine RBIs.
Fortunately, breakout seasons from Martinez and Rocchio, and the arrival of rookie Chase DeLauter, allowed the Guardians to weather the slumps by Manzardo and veteran All-Stars Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez. Rookie second baseman Travis Bazzana also recently made his MLB debut and is showing why he was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft.
Playing his third season, Martinez leads the Guardians with nine home runs. Rocchio, in his fourth season, is second on the team with 26 RBIs, two behind DeLauter.
With four of the five pitchers in their starting rotation 26 years old or younger, the future looks bright for the Guardians, as does the present.
NEXT: Guardians Catching Prospect Continues To Show Off Power
