Farm system of the Cleveland Guardians ranked among the best in baseball

It sure seems like the future of the Cleveland Guardians is in good hands. The next generation of Guardians to make their debut and impact the major league club is near, and it appears that there is a good group waiting in Cleveland's minor league system.

A ranking of MLB's farm systems was put together by The Athletic's Keith Law (subscription required), and the Guardians are considered to have one of the best in the sport. Law ranks the Guardians as the fifth-best farm system, just outside of Tier 1, and the first team in the second tier of farm systems in his rankings.

It is the high volume of hitting prospects that propelled the Guardians into the fifth spot for Law, "Nine of their top 10 prospects right now are hitters, six of whom made the top 100, while their remaining pitching prospects are more back-end starters who don’t have much velocity … well, not yet.". The lack of top-of-the-rotation arms with velocity is new for the Guardians, as they have relied on their pitching factory to endlessly produce them for a long time, but no one is going to be mad about having multiple high-ranked hitting prospects in their place.

As Law notes, Cleveland has six hitters in his Top-100 prospects list, Travis Bazzana (25), Angel Genao (54), Cooper Ingle (67), Jaison Chourio (69), Ralphy Velazquez (73), and Chase DeLauter (90). Of this group, DeLauter is the closest to making his debut and could do so rather early on in the 2025 season for Cleveland. The Guardians' outfield could use some help, and if DeLauter plays well in the spring, he may force his way onto the Opening Day roster.

Bazzana is also expected to debut this season, but it is more of a question of when rather than if. It seems like his debut is going to be delayed while the Guardians work a few things out with their current major league options at second base. During that time, Bazzana will have the opportunity to continue his development in preparation for his inevitable debut. The success or failure of Cleveland's second base options will have either further delay or speed up when that day comes.