3 prospects Guardians can't afford to leave unprotected before Rule 5 Draft deadline

The MLB offseason is beginning to heat up, and we’re about to hit another significant milestone tomorrow when teams have to finalize the list of prospects they want to protect from next months’ Rule 5 Draft.

If a team doesn’t add a prospect to its 40-man roster by the deadline, then they’ll enter the player pool for the Rule 5 Draft where they could be selected by any team with a pick.

If a player is picked then they are immediately added to the picking team’s 26-man roster, and can only be removed from the roster by being placed on outright waivers — they can’t be sent down to the minors. 

The Guardians are entering that roster deadline with plenty of prospects who need to be protected but with only three open spots on their 40-man roster. 

With that in mind, here’s a look at the three prospects we think the Guardians should protect from the Rule 5 Draft. 

The Guardians need to save these three prospects from the Rule 5 Draft

SS Angel Geano

Talk about a no-brainer. Geano is currently ranked as the No. 59 prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline and is getting closer and closer to working his way into the major league picture. 

Although his 2025 season wasn’t as good as his breakout 2024 season (.330 batting average, 71 RBI in 110 games), he made his Double-A debut later in the season after getting a late start due to a shoulder injury. 

He’s only 21 with above-average speed and pop, so losing him for nothing in the Rule 5 Draft wouldn’t make any sense. 

The Guardians are no stranger to storing prospects on their 40-man roster (they held Jhonkensy Noel on their 40-man roster for 2+ seasons before he made his MLB debut along with keeping Brayan Rocchio there for 1 1/2 seasons before he saw big league action), so adding Geano to their roster doesn’t guarantee that he’s going to make the big league club in 2026. 

The Guardians have some intriguing middle infield options in Rocchio, Gabriel Arias and Juan Brito, but none of them have done anything to confirm that they’re a bit of the long-term future. 

RHP Austin Peterson

The Guardians are among baseball’s best at developing pitchers, and Peterson is an obvious choice to carry on that lineage. 

Although Cleveland finished the year with a six-man rotation, they don’t have a ton of MLB-ready pitching depth thanks to Luis Ortiz’s indictment as a part of a sports betting investigation and Ben Lively’s injury (and subsequent outright off the roster), which is where Peterson could enter the picture. 

He’s 26 and just tossed 145 innings across Double-A and Triple-A so it shouldn’t take much for him to take over Lively’s role as an innings eater if needed. 

He may not have the same kind of upside as the stereotypical prospect who is protected from the Rule 5 Draft, but he fills an obvious need and would be a lock to be claimed by another team if left unprotected. 

OF Khalil Watson

The Guardians could go plenty of different ways with their final 40-man roster spot, but Watson offers the most upside of all of their options. 

The front office was playing the long game with Watson when they acquired Watson from the Marlins at the trade deadline in 2023 in exchange for slugger Josh Bell, and he’s made that move stand up so far. 

He’s hit .234 in 221 minor league games in the Guardians’ system to go along with 37 home runs and 43 steals. He’s also transitioned to the outfield after beginning his career as an infielder.

He’s not a perfect player (he strikes out a bit too much along with being a work-in-progress in the field), but he oozes potential and is only 22-years-old. 

Like Peterson, it wouldn’t take long for him to be scooped up if he was left unprotected in the Rule 5 Draft. Adding him to the 40-man roster is a bit of a gamble, but it’s the kind of aggressive move that could end up helping the Guardians for years to come.