The Cleveland Guardians’ MLB team is often criticized for its lack of power. The murmurs and the criticism are, as the numbers show, well deserved.
Before Friday’s game in Colorado, the Guardians are next-to-last in total home runs with 120, just one more than the last-place team in the stat, the Milwaukee Brewers (119). Cleveland is also dead last in slugging percentage, with a .368 mark.
It’s not just a 2026 thing, either. This has been the case for a while, and even though the equation probably won’t change much this year, the future seems to be bright.
The Guardians’ farm system is brimming with promising power hitters these days. Ralphy Velazquez is breaking out in Triple-A, and the same can be said about Ryan Cesarini in Double-A, but there’s more.
“In 2025, the Cleveland Guardians had six players hit 15+ HR’s during the minor league season. So far in 2026, the Cleveland Guardians have doubled that number with 12 players reaching the 15+ HR total,” Guardians Prospective posted.
In 2025 the Cleveland #Guardians had six players hit 15+ HR's during the minor league season.
So far in 2026 the Cleveland #Guardians have doubled that number with 12 players reaching the 15+ HR total. https://t.co/aQ1n4idaku
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) August 21, 2026
Those players are Nolan Shubart (26), Velazquez (24). Jace LaViolette (20), Kody Huff (18), Cooper Ingle (18), Aaron Walton (18), Reiner Herrera (17), Alfonsin Rosario (17), Cesarini (16), Welbyn Francisca (16), Milan Tolentino (16), and Kahlil Watson (15).
The best thing of all is that most of those players are already in the upper minors, which means Double-A and Triple-A. The vast majority of them are relatively close to the majors.
It’s nice to see some high draft picks in this group, such as Velazquez, Schubart, LaViolette, and Watson. However, it’s even nicer to look at the list and see unheralded names that slipped in their respective drafts, like Cesarini (14th-round pick in 2024). There are some trade acquisitions and amateur free agent signings developing nicely too.
If there wasn’t so much uncertainty about the looming 2027 lockout, we could see many of these potential power contributors in the MLB lineup this year. However, since 40-man players won’t be able to play minor league games next season in the event of a lockout, most of them will likely stay down as the organization prioritizes their development.
It’s refreshing to think that the days in which the Guardians are ridiculed for their lack of power have an expiration date.
NEXT: Guardians Make Big Slide In Latest Power Rankings
