Chris Antonetti just hinted Guardians are eyeing aggressive plan for 2026

This season has been a masterclass for the young players’ on the Guardians roster.

While José Ramírez continues to break team records and Steven Kwan has been a mainstay on the top of the team’s lineup, part of the reason they entered the week with the best record in the American League is due to contributions from young players like Chase DeLauter and Parker Messick. 

And it seems like the youth movement isn’t going to stop with them. 

Earlier today, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal put out a new notebook going over some of the biggest trends in MLB and included an interesting passage about the Guardians’ young players. 

The Guardians’ youth movement is in full effect 

In his story, Rosenthal spoke with Guardians’ president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti about the team’s plethora of young hitters in the minors. And, according to Rosenthal, he rattled off a list of “eight” prospects who could reach the majors at some point this year. 

One of those players was Juan Brito, who was called up to the majors last week and has posted a .278/.350/.389 slashline in five games since being called up. 

And it seems like it won’t stop with him, as Rosenthal mentioned George Valera, Travis Bazzana, Ralphy Velazquez, Petey Halpin, Angel Genao and catcher Cooper Ingle as some other minor league options who could make a big league impact at some point this season. 

The biggest name of that group is Bazzana, who Cleveland took with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. While he still has plenty of hype around him, he’s still in the minors while six of the eight players picked behind him have already made their big league debut. 

He impressed in spring training and for Team Australia during the World Baseball Classic but has gotten off to a slow start at Triple-A. We’ll see him in the big leagues at some point, but the best case scenario would be for him to get called up while he’s in the midst of a hot streak. 

Valera is the likeliest option to join the Guardians next given he played well for the Guardians in the final month of last season and likely would have been on the Guardians’ big league roster had he not suffered a calf strain toward the end of spring training. 

Valera’s recorded 12 RBI in eight rehab games with Triple-A, so he should be back with the Guardians as soon as the team feels he’s at a point where he can play everyday. 

Halpin also made his debut for the Guardians last season primarily as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement, but he also impressed in the spring and should be one of the first depth options called upon should there be an injury in the outfield. 

Velazquez, Genao and Ingle being included is a bit interesting considering none of them have made their big league debuts yet, but it’s easy to imagine how they could help the Guardians thanks to their strong offensive skillsets. 

The 20-year-old Velazquez has gotten off to the best start of that group and has been tearing the cover off the ball at Double-A (.344 batting average, seven RBI) despite being nearly three years younger than most of the pitchers he’s facing off against. 

Last fall the Guardians' front office showed an uncharacteristic display of aggression by promoting DeLauter for his big league debut in the postseason. It looks like that aggression may not stop there, which should put a smile on Guardians’ fans' faces. 

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