It certainly is an exciting time to be a Cleveland Guardians fan. Yes, there are questions about how healthy Jose Ramirez, the star of the team, is, and whether the offense has enough power to sustain a long postseason run, but there’s enough talent to be optimistic about 2026 and, particularly, the future.
The offense is far from a top unit. It has actually been quite bad this year as a whole. However, it’s starting to get underrated. If everybody is healthy and on top form, it can be a top-ten unit for years to come.
It may sound surprising, given how things have unfolded this year and how unproductive the offense can be, but there’s a lot of impactful young talent on the roster, and more to come in Triple-A and Double-A. If these players follow the natural learning curve, most of them should be even better in 2027.
Cleveland sports analyst Bruce Drennan is already looking forward to next season, no matter how optimistic he might be about the 2026 Guardians.
“I’m really looking forward to next season. I mean, with all these kids getting this Major League experience, they’re going to do nothing but get better. And the Guardians, the front office has got all these guys locked into contracts for years to come,” Drennan said.
Is this Year One of a loooooong stretch of good Guards baseball? #GuardsBall@Bruce_Drennan says the future is here. https://t.co/2QSbr2aGCF pic.twitter.com/MZVuSGjkS1
— BIGPLAY Cleveland (@BIGPLAYcle) August 27, 2026
The core of the 2027 is incredibly promising, and most of them are young and controllable over a long time. Chase DeLauer is sporting a 130 wRC+ and is 24; Travis Bazzana has a 101 wRC+ and is 23; and Brayan Rocchio, at 25, has racked up 2.8 fWAR.
22-year-old infielder Angel Genao has posted a 108 wRC+. Even the ‘veterans’ Steven Kwan and Jo Adell are 28 and 27, respectively, still in their prime. Both are under control through 2027.
All of them will be led by, hopefully, a much healthier Jose Ramirez who, soon to be 34, might start to decline soon if he hasn’t already.
It’s not just the position players, though. AL Cy Young candidate Parker Messick, who has a 2.50 ERA, is 25, the same age as Daniel Espino and just a year younger than Gavin Williams, Joey Cantillo, and Franco Aleman.
Additionally, power prospects like Ralphy Velazquez and Ryan Cesarini are in the upper minors, getting ready to contribute next year barring any issues. This is an impressive collection of talent, so if you are excited about the fact that the 2026 Guardians are working on a seven-game winning streak and have a Wild Card spot at the moment, wait until 2027.
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