The Cleveland Guardians have recently waived their center fielder of the last couple of seasons, Myles Straw.
He wasn’t claimed and will remain in the organization, but he won’t be the team’s center fielder anymore.
The organization appears determined to go with Tyler Freeman as their Opening Day center fielder.
Freeman doesn’t have Straw’s glove, but he offers a much higher offensive floor without projecting to be a star.
The stars, for Cleveland, are on the way.
The minor league system has a lot of center fielder types, and most of them have enough talent to be regulars one day.
Guardians Prospective listed a number of center fielders in the Guardians’ system, and there is a lot of talent.
“Possible future CF options for the #Guardians and ETA: Chase DeLauter 2024, Angel Martinez 2024 *, George Valera 2024, Jake Fox 2025, Petey Halpin 2025, Joe Lampe 2025, Kahlil Watson 2025 *, Wuilfredo Antunez 2026, Guy Lipscomb 2026, Jaison Chourio 2027, Esteban Gonzalez 2028, Robert Arias 2029, Yerlin Luis 2029, Jose Pirela 2029 *. Both Martinez and Watson have seen time in CF this spring and could spend time in the minors this year learning the position,” they tweeted.
Possible future CF options for the #Guardians and ETA
Chase DeLauter 2024
Angel Martinez 2024 *
George Valera 2024
Jake Fox 2025
Petey Halpin 2025
Joe Lampe 2025
Kahlil Watson 2025 *
Wuilfredo Antunez 2026
Guy Lipscomb 2026
Jaison Chourio 2027
Esteban Gonzalez 2028
Robert Arias…— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) March 25, 2024
There are 14 names on that list.
Obviously, not everyone on that list will make the majors, let alone become everyday contributors.
But there is a lot of talent ready to receive a chance.
Guardians Prospective names DeLauter, Martinez, and Valera as candidates to be considered for a promotion this year.
DeLauter in particular has all the tools to be a star, but all these names show that outfield is not necessarily a problem in the Guardians’ system.
There is also Freeman and Estevan Florial, and some talented corner outfielders such as Jhonathan Rodriguez.
The 2023 version of the Guardians evidently lacked power, especially in the outfield, but better days are definitely ahead on that front.
NEXT: Tyler Freeman Positioning Himself To Start At A Key Outfield Spot
