The Cleveland Guardians outfield of the future is finally coming together

Oscar Gonzalez, OF, Cleveland Indians / Cleveland Guardians

While George Valera has received a bit more hype and expectations, Oscar Gonzalez is probably much closer to arriving in Cleveland. Turning 24-years old in January, Gonzalez has been surging this season and could be in Cleveland as soon as Opening Day 2022, if not before. He was somehow left off the club’s Top 30 prospect list, but what he’s doing on the field is speaking for itself.

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Starting the year out in Double-A Akron, Gonzalez put on a show over 49 games. During that span, he slashed .330/.367/.601 with 12 doubles, 13 home runs and 41 RBI. He was then called up to Triple-A Columbus and there was a reasonable expectation that his numbers would settle a bit. That was wrong.

Over 43 games now with the Clippers, Gonzalez is replicating those numbers at the next level. He’s slashing .322/.356/.526 with nine doubles, a triple and eight home runs to total 21 RBI. The RBI are down a bit, but the rest of the line is pretty close to the same.

Gonzalez isn’t currently on the 40-man roster, so a September call-up might be hard to do, but he’s certainly making the case. If anything he should have a strong shot at making the Opening Day roster next year and adding another piece to making the club’s future outfield, the current outfield.