Preseason prospect rankings are very useful because they allow MLB evaluators, media, coaches, and fans to have a concrete idea of the best and most talented young players in the minor leagues or making their way through the majors at that specific moment, before the start of the new campaign.
It’s important, however, to update these rankings regularly because prospects evolve during the season. Some of them improve, others regress. It’s part of the game.
That’s why Bleacher Report published their list of top 100 prospects at the 2026 quarter mark. And a specific member of the Cleveland Guardians caught their attention.
“Cooper Ingle has some of the best on-base ability in the minors with a 17.9 percent walk rate and .418 OBP over 1,064 pro plate appearances. The 24-year-old also profiles as a solid defender, and with a .370/.558/.685 line through 20 games at Triple-A, he is making a case to debut in the near future,” Joel Reuter, who ranked him 77th, wrote.
Ingle has been one of the best players in the minor leagues this season, not just in the Guardians but in the league as a whole. He has played two more games after that spot-on assessment by Reuter, and is now hitting .339/.523/.629 with five homers and a 201 wRC+ in 86 plate appearances in Triple-A Columbus.
That’s a huge improvement over last year’s line of .207/.383/.329 at the same level. You can see that not only has Ingle improved his already solid on-base skills, but he is also hitting the ball with authority and in the air.
Ingle, however, still has a lot to learn defensively. His bat could help Cleveland right now, but he needs to improve defensively, as assistant GM James Harris recently said.
There’s no question that he is on the radar as a potential call-up option soon. There aren’t many hitters in the Guardians who could offer his combination of contact, power, and discipline.
It’s important to note that the sample might not be big enough to conclude that he is a 200-wRC+ hitter. In all likelihood, he isn’t, because that’s a high bar that only Aaron Judge has cleared in recent seasons. But he appears to be the best offensive catcher in Cleveland, and that includes Austin Hedges, Patrick Bailey, and Bo Naylor.
He might be comparable to David Fry as a hitter, if not slightly better already. But none of these attempts to rank and compare him with others on the team will matter until he proves his worth on the field at the highest level.
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