Cleveland Guardians fans have been hearing about how stacked the minor league system is over the last few years, but all that talent is starting to surface and make a huge impact on the big-league roster in 2026. Even after their seven-game winning streak ended on Saturday, the Guardians are still in first place in the AL Central largely thanks to the early-season performances of guys like Chase DeLauter, Travis Bazzana, Parker Messick, Joey Cantillo, and Angel Martinez.
Typically when a team graduates a handful of its star prospects, there is a lull that can last at least a year or two before the next big wave of young talent surfaces. That may not be the case in Cleveland, as there are still a number of high-pedigree talents pushing to make their way to Cleveland soon.
One of those talents is 22-year-old former first-round pick Jace LaViolette, who has a fairly similar profile to DeLauter and fell to the Guardians with the 27th pick in last year’s draft despite being in the mix to go first overall in the months leading up to draft day. Guardians Prospective shared a clip of his recent moonshot, which was his seventh of the year and extended his hitting streak to six in a row.
“Lord Tubbington! Cleveland #Guardians 22yr old OF prospect Jace LaViolette hits an absolute bomb in the 7th inning for his 7th HR of the season a 3-run shot for Lake County vs Lansing! The HR extends LaViolette’s hitting streak to six straight games,” said Guardians Prospective.
Lord Tubbington!
Cleveland #Guardians 22yr old OF prospect Jace LaViolette hits an absolute bomb in the 7th inning for his 7th HR of the season a 3-run shot for Lake County vs Lansing!
The HR extends LaViolette's hitting streak to six straight games.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/nQIU5lMRum
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) May 24, 2026
For Guards fans who are not yet too familiar with LaViolette, the ‘Lord Tubbington’ nickname stems from his days at Texas A&M, where he is the program’s all-time leader in home runs with 68. A teammate who transferred to the program decided one day that he felt the 6’6″ 230-pound LaViolette resembled a Teletubby, which served as the origin for the Lord Tubbington nickname.
If he keeps hitting bombs like this, Guardians fans will call him whatever he wants, because this is the kind of power this city hasn’t seen in quite some time. It’s not going to be the easiest outfield to crack given how deep the Guardians are with lefty outfielders at the big-league level, not to mention fellow prospects CJ Kayfus and George Valera on the brink of establishing themselves as well, but this type of power is undeniable.
He’ll earn a spot one way or another if he keeps raking, but for now, he still has work to do. He has 60 strikeouts in 148 plate appearances and is still only hitting .227 in High-A, so it would be encouraging to see him work on those numbers and earn a promotion or two before the season is over.
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