3 overreactions from the first weekend of Guardians’ spring training 

Cactus League action is officially here, which means we finally have baseball to talk about. Even though the results may not matter in the grand scheme of things, this is the time where the focus of conversations around the Guardians can shift from the abstract to the slightly less abstract. 

But just because the games don’t matter doesn’t mean that we can fire up the overreaction machine and extrapolate far too much from games that were primarily played by guys who are going to spend most of the 2026 season in the minors. 

So let’s peer into our crystal ball and see what we can pull away from Cleveland’s first weekend of playing in Arizona.

3 overreactions from the first weekend of Guardians’ spring training 

Nolan Jones has finally figured it all out

Last year the Guardians traded for Jones at the end of spring training in the hopes that he’d be the final piece of their outfield puzzle. Instead he ended up making things work thanks to a disastrous season that ended with him going on the injured list with an oblique injury. 

While the Guardians still tendered Jones a contract for 2026, he doesn’t have a great hold on a roster spot thanks to the number of MLB-ready outfield prospects the Guardians have lurking behind him. 

But he did a great job putting in the rearview mirror on Saturday by launching a 421-foot homer against the Brewers on Saturday in his first at-bat of the spring. He also recorded a 109 mile per hour double later in the game. 

For all of Jones’ struggles last season, he still finished the year in the 70th percentile in hard-hit rate, so exit velocity has never been his problem. But the sweet spot for him will be if he’s able to continue to hit the ball hard while also avoiding the strikeout problems that have plagued him in the past. 

Cooper Ingle and Ralphy Velazquez are going to lead the Guardians’ lineup for years to come 

What a spring debut it was for Ingle, who got a strike call reversed via the Automated Ball-Strike system before smashing a go-ahead three-run home run later in the at-bat. 

“I had a month in (Triple-A) Columbus last year with the challenge system to get used to it,” Ingle said, via Cleveland.com’s Paul Hoynes. “It was one of those leverage counts to get me back into the advantage. To even that count was huge for me. It was one of those 50-50 pitches, and it was a good time to use it.”

While Ingle isn’t on the Guardians’ 40-man roster, catcher is one of the most physically taxing positions in baseball, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Bo Naylor or Austin Hedges could suffer an injury that could open the door for Ingle. 

And, if that’s the case, he used his first opportunity this spring to show what he can bring to the table. 

The same can be said for Velazquez, who started at first base on Sunday and made a sparkling play in the field while also going 2-for-2 with two RBI. 

The 20-year-old Velazquez has looked ready for the moment at every level of the minors he’s played in, and hasn’t seemed overwhelmed so far this spring. Even if he and ingle aren’t going to start the season with the Guardians, they could both accelerate their big league timelines with a strong spring. 

No one is ever going to get a hit off Cam Schuelke

On Saturday, Vogt called on Schuelke to get out of a bases-loaded “jam” in the seventh inning of the Guardians’ game against the Reds. 

And Schuelke responded by putting up one of the most entertaining pitching appearances you’re going to see in a long time. 

While Schuelke’s always been known for throwing from interesting arm slots, his at-bat against Cam Collier was him at his best. 

After opening the at-bat with a curveball at the top of the zone that he let loose from a three-quarter arm slot, Schuelke threw a variety of junk from various angles. At one point, he let loose a curveball from a true submarine slot à la Tyler Rogers before coming back and striking out Collier with a 68 mph slider. 

The 24-year-old Schuelke is entering his third season with Cleveland after the team drafted him in the 19th round of the 2024 MLB Draft, and has posted a 2.97 ERA in 36 1/3 innings since. 

Schuelke still needs to put together some more consistent results in the minors to truly jump onto any big league radar, but his battle against Collier was a fun reminder of just how interesting his arsenal is.