Cleveland Guardians infield prospect a hidden gem?

It was not that long ago that the acquisition of Juan Brito by the Cleveland Guardians was met with intense scrutiny. Cleveland traded away top prospect Nolan Jones for Brito, an infielder, when the Guardians' biggest need was in their outfield, the exact position of the player they traded away. Now that time has passed, and Jones is back with the Guardians, Brito will be looked upon more favorably by those who were not thrilled upon his initial arrival.

When evaluating Cleveland's top prospects, there are plenty of others who get mentioned before Brito does, and for a variety of reasons. Whether it is draft status, prospect ranking, or position(s) played, Brito usually ends up as an overlooked individual in Cleveland's prospect pipeline, giving him the appearance of a diamond in the rough or a hidden gem, if you will.

Brito was included on a list of non-top prospects for each team appearing on MLB.com as the Guardians' entry, with his recent track record being emphasized, "After leading the Triple-A International League with 40 doubles, 61 extra-base hits and 244 total bases last season, he slashed .291/.406/.491 in 16 games in his return to the circuit before injuring his right thumb in mid-April and requiring surgery.". It is a pretty impressive stretch at the plate for the 23-year-old switch hitter, and hopefully, this level of performance can follow him when he gets his chance in the majors.

There was a chance for Brito to make the big league roster out of spring training, as he was in a position battle for the starting second base job with Gabriel Arias following the offseason trade of Andres Gimenez. It was Arias who won out in the end, and has since slid over to the other side of second base to take over for the struggling Brayan Rocchio. Technically, this creates an opening, but not really.

The versatile Daniel Schneemann has proven he can handle the duties for now and should continue to do so until his play warrants replacement. Also, as mentioned above, Brito is not playing right now, having undergone surgery on his right thumb. Once he returns from the injured list and returns to playing at a high level, the Guardians will have no choice but to bring him up to the majors, hopefully providing a nice jolt of offense upon his arrival.