The 2025 MLB Draft started this past weekend, and teams are taking advantage of a golden chance to replenish their farm systems with high school and college talent.
The Cleveland Guardians, of course, are no exception.
In fact, you can argue about the quality of their top picks, but you can’t deny they entered the event with a clear mission: finding impactful, near MLB-ready power.
“The Guardians used four of their five picks tonight on college hitters with big frames. Jace LaViolette: 6-foot-6, 230, Dean Curley: 6-foot-3, 218, Aaron Walton: 6-foot-3, 219, Nolan Schubart: 6-foot-5, 223,” team insider Tim Stebbins posted on X.
The Guardians used four of their five picks tonight on college hitters with big frames.
Jace LaViolette: 6-foot-6, 230
Dean Curley: 6-foot-3, 218
Aaron Walton: 6-foot-3, 219
Nolan Schubart: 6-foot-5, 223— Tim Stebbins (@tim_stebbins) July 14, 2025
The industry is split on whether their first-round pick (taken with the 27th selection), Jace LaViolette, can overcome some strikeout issues to succeed at the major league level.
Still, there is no denying he has impact pop.
“We’re really excited about him and just the package,” said Paul Gillispie, the Guardians’ senior vice president of scouting, to MLB.com. “We were really excited that he was there when we picked at 27.”
LaViolette slashed an incredible .305/.449/.726 with 29 round-trippers, 78 RBIs, 64 walks, and 81 strikeouts in 68 games last year, taking his team, Texas A&M, to the College World Series final.
Curley, Walton, and Schubart are also powerful hitters with MLB potential.
Evidently, the Guardians identified an organizational need and aggressively attacked it at the very beginning of the draft.
They rank near the bottom of the league in nearly all offensive categories.
Sandwiched between those first few picks was right-hander Will Hynes, taken with the Competitive Balance Round B (Pick No. 70 overall).
Cleveland hopes to have most of these players contributing in the majors in a year or two.
NEXT: Insider Sends Warning To Guardians About Trading Emmanuel Clase
