On talent alone, Cleveland Guardians right-hander Daniel Espino is a top ten pitching prospect in baseball.
He has it all: a big fastball, excellent secondaries, command, an idea of how to pitch, and the right mentality.
Injuries, however, have bumped him out of most top 100 prospects lists.
Basically, he didn’t pitch in the minor leagues from April 2022 to September 2025.
Almost four years lost to shoulder issues and other ailments have negatively affected Espino, but the kid just won’t quit, and his desire to make it in the big leagues is what drives him forward.
“Every day while I was driving into the complex for rehab, I’d think about it just to give me hope. I would put like what I thought was going to be my walk-up song in the car. I’d get chills thinking about how that day could be. I’d dream about us winning the championship and World Series as well,” Espino told Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com.
Espino is the definition of resilience.
When you want something as much as he wants to become a major leaguer, fighting and overcoming the obstacles becomes much easier.
And the best news for Guardians fans is that Espino has recovered his velocity, as he has been hitting the triple digits ever since returning last September.
The 2026 campaign will be a big one for Espino, but the priority is not necessarily getting called up this year.
The organization wants to get him some innings in semi-controlled environments, walking before he can run.
They will probably assign him to Double-A or Triple-A and leave him there for a few months, getting his feet wet after such a long layoff.
If he reaches a point in which he becomes comfortable throwing every five days and proves he can stay healthy for a long stretch, the Guardians might consider bringing him up, so long as he is effectively retiring hitters.
He does have sky-high potential and could be the X-factor in the Guardians’ quest for the World Series, though.
Make no mistake: Espino still has a future with the Guardians, and it could be a bright one if the health gods finally take his side.
NEXT: Guardians Get Good Injury News Update On Chase DeLauter
