The Cleveland Guardians want to keep adding more youth and talent to their farm system.
They just signed young SS prospect Angel Abreu out of Maracay, Venezuela.
The Yorman Rodriguez Academy product was supposed to sign earlier in the year, but an issue with his visa delayed his arrival.
Now, according to a report by Guardians Prospective on X, they’re looking to double down on the position and the country by bringing in another Venezuelan stud into the mix.
They’re reportedly leading the race to sign switch-hitting SS prospect Jostin Melo.
Melo was born in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, and he currently trains at Salas Baseball Academy.
Cleveland #Guardians are favorites to sign switch-hitting (SS) prospect Jostin Melo out of Caracas, Venezuela. Melo trains at Salas Baseball Academy. He is not eligible to sign until the 1/15/26 International signing day.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/FHX8Rrlw8o
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) May 5, 2025
Per the report, he won’t be eligible to sign until the 1/15/26 International signing day.
You can never have too much youth, talent, and depth in the farm system.
The Guardians have had their fair share of success with Venezuelan players in the past, from Carlos Carrasco, Luis Aparicio, Alfonso ‘Chico’ Carrasquel, and the legendary Omar Vizquel.
Venezuela has also bred some of the best defensive shortstops of all time, such as the aforementioned Vizquel and Ozzie Guillén.
Building through the development system is fundamental to all teams, and especially for smaller-market teams like the Guardians.
Needless to say, it takes a whole lot to make it to the Majors, and the vast majority of players signed by MLB teams never actually get to play in The Show.
Hopefully, that will be the case with Melo, even if he doesn’t end up signing with the Guardians.
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