Grading the Guardians’ last 5 first-round draft picks

As a small market club, the Cleveland Guardians have a long list of impact prospects who have made an impact for the club. Whether it be Jason Kipnis, Francisco Lindor or CC Sabathia, some of the best teams in recent Cleveland baseball history have been led by homegrown players. 

With that in mind (and with this year’s draft just days away), here’s a look at how the Guardians did with their last five first round picks. 

Grading the Guardians’ last 5 first-round draft picks

2024: 2B Travis Bazzana (No. 1 pick) 

Last year the Guardians got the No. 1 pick in the draft thanks to some ping pong ball bounces and they pounced on their guy by selecting Bazzana out of Oregon State. 

Bazzana hit .407 in his final season in Corvallis, and those strong bat to ball skills have carried over to his minor league career. He’s hit .252 in 33 games at Double-A Akron this year, and just began a rehab assignment with the Arizona Complex League after he sustained a right oblique injury earlier this year.

While Bazzana’s batting average leaves a bit to be desired, he was starting to heat up prior to the injury, and should get back to raking once he’s healthy again. 

The Guardians also still think highly of him, and they showed that in the offseason when they traded Andrés Giménez to the Blue Jays to clear second base for Bazzana. He should work his way into the MLB picture at the start of next season. 

2023: Ralphy Velazquez (No. 23 pick)

The Guardians selected Velazquez in 2023 and were able to get him away from his college commitment to Arizona State despite signing him for a below-slot $2.5 million. He was initially thought of as a catcher as a prospect but he’s played mostly as a first baseman and designated hitter in the minors. 

He’s currently at High-A Lake County, where he’s hitting .219 with 11 home runs in 68 games. His path to MLB will be paved by his power, but he’s viewed as a subpar defender by most prospect experts, so there could be a chance that he could end up being the prototypical first base masher with subpar defense.

He represented Cleveland in the Futures Game last year, but likely won’t be in the Guardians’ MLB plans until 2027. 

2022: Chase DeLauter (No. 16 pick) 

Anyone ever heard of this guy before? 

Before DeLauter became the most important player in the Guardians’ system, he was a standout collegiate player at James Madison University where he rose his draft stock before being drafted in the first round by the Guardians. 

He missed all of the 2022 season with a broken foot (which has become a trend throughout his time in Cleveland) and didn’t make his professional debut until midway through the 2023 season after he underwent surgery on the injury in the offseason. 

He ended up hitting .355 across three different levels in 2023 and slashed .261/.342/.500 last season despite only being able to play in 39 games due to injury.

He’s hit .281 and in 31 games with Triple-A this year and would be a clear fix for Cleveland’s sluggish outfield, but Cleveland’s front office has elected to keep him in Triple-A. He should still make his MLB debut later this year so long as he’s able to stay healthy. 

2021: Gavin Williams (No. 23 pick)

The lone player on this list to have made it to MLB in their career, Williams broke through in 2023 after just 175 1/3 minor league innings and has been an MLB mainstay since. 

Williams posted a 3.26 ERA in 88 innings in his rookie season before having an up-and-down 2024 season due to injury. He joined Cleveland’s rotation in June and posted 4.86 ERA in 76 innings before getting rocked in his lone postseason appearance. He’s been much better this year, as he has a 3.61 ERA in 92 1/3 innings despite leading MLB with 52 walks. 

He’s been able to limit the longball thanks to the introduction of his cutter, which has helped him look more and more like a piece of the team’s future despite his struggles with command. 

2020: Carson Tucker (No. 23 pick) 

Our only dud of the list. 

The then-Indians drafted Carson Tucker, the younger brother of Cole Tucker in the 2020 draft out of Mountain Pointe High School in Arizona. They signed him to a $2 million signing bonus, but he didn’t get a chance to play in a professional game in 2020 because of the canceled minor league season. 

He made his professional debut in the Rookie Complex League in 2021, but only managed to play in six games before he broke his hand. He spent the 2022 and ‘23 seasons with the Low-A Lynchburg Hillcats but only hit .165 across 67 games before being released. 

While the 2020 draft was weird because of COVID (it’s only produced five All-Stars so far), Tucker has joined the long line of heralded Cleveland prospects who failed to pan out.