Flame-throwing Guardians prospect posts lights out Spring Breakout performance

The annual Spring Breakout game offers fans of every MLB team a chance to get a first-hand look at the future of their respective franchise. 

The Guardians Spring Breakout team got their moment in the sun on Thursday via their game against the Angels’ Spring Breakout team, where the Guardians picked up a 4-2 win. 

The star of that show was pitcher Joey Oakie, who tossed two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. 

Guardians pitcher Joey Okaie is a rising star in the Guardians’ system 

Oakie threw 34 pitches in his dominant outing, and more than half of them were at least 97 miles per hour. The fastest pitch he threw was a 99.1 mph sinker. 

Last year was Oakie’s first year in the Guardians’ system after they drafted him out of high school in the 2024 MLB Draft. While he had a 5.31 ERA in 59 1/3 innings, he finished the year strong with a 2.22 ERA in 24 1/3 innings at High-a Lynchburg (which is now Hill City). 

Erlin Cerda (Hill City’s manager) also managed the Guardians in the Spring Breakout game and told reporters that Oakie was “only” hitting 95 miles per hour last year. 

“That means he's doing what he needs to do to put himself in a really good position,” he said, per MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins. 

The Athletic’s Ketih Law was also at the game (it was the first of the Spring Breakouts) and had rave reviews for Okaie’s outing, though he did say it looked like he was struggling to get to a consistent release point. 

Yorman Gómez got the start for the Guardians and tossed three scoreless innings. Gómez is likely ticketed to start the season at Double-A but could end up finishing the season at Triple-A, though he does have an outside shot to make his big league debut at some point during the season. The Guardians added him to their 40-man roster during the offseason. 

On the offensive side, Wuilfredo Antunez recorded the game’s only extra-base hit in the form of a three-run home run. Antunez finished last year with a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League after raking at Double-A, but the Guardians still decided to leave him unprotected in the Rule 5 Draft. 

No team selected him, however, so he’s back with the Guardians. He’s gone 4-for-14 for the Guardians this spring and will also likely start the season at Double-A. 

The bigger names in the Guardians’ lineup didn’t do much, as Cooper Ingle, Ralphy Velazquez, Kahlil Watson and Angel Genao combined to go 0-for-9 with three walks.