Guardians' youth movement is very real as another top prospect makes case for MLB

While the Cleveland Guardians’ big league roster is littered with young players like Travis Bazzana, Parker Messick and Chase DeLauter, there’s still a plethora of exciting, young prospects waiting in the minors. 

The most MLB-ready of that list is catcher Cooper Ingle, who has been turning heads all season at Triple-A Columbus and seems poised for an MLB opportunity whenever the situation arises. 

But it may not be long until he forces the Guardians into a decision, as he’s slashing .330/.485/.610 this year with eight home runs and 32 RBI. 

In other words, he’s been providing the exact kind of offense the Guardians have desperately needed from their catchers. 

Cooper Ingle could make a push for a big league debut before the season is over

Ingle started his season on the right foot with a head-turning performance at spring training, and he’s carried that over into his time at Triple-A. 

He bumped those numbers up yesterday with a 2-for-6 performance that included a three-run home run. 

The biggest thing standing in Ingle’s way when it comes to a big league promotion this year is the fact the Guardians have two bonafide MLB catchers in Austin Hedges and Patrick Bailey.

The 33-year-old Hedges is on a one-year deal and isn’t going anywhere, while the Guardians just traded for Bailey. They’re about as entrenched as two catchers can be. 

But so much of both of their skillsets is based around what they do behind the plate, not at it. Hedges has cooled off after his strong start and has hit just .167 in May, whereas Bailey’s posted a .120 batting average in nine games since being acquired by the Guardians. 

The Guardians went all-in on catching defense when they acquired Bailey and sent Bo Naylor down to the minors, but Hedges being on a one-year contract makes it seem like this is a one-year experiment. 

After this season they could let Hedges walk in free agency and decide to go with a catching tandem of Bailey (who won’t be a free agent until 2030) and Ingle. 

But Ingle’s dominant showing in Triple-A should at least change that equation a little bit. 

Earlier today The Athletic’s Zack Mesiel published a mailbag and answered a question about Ingle’s position, where he wrote the Guardians want Ingle to solely focus on catching (though he takes groundballs and shags fly balls pregame).

He should be a quick study should the Guardians choose to move him to the outfield given he split his time between the catching and the outfield during his time at Clemson in college. 

The Guardians have shown some much-needed aggressiveness with their prospects over the past eight months ranging from calling up Chase DeLauter and Travis Bazzana to promoting new top prospect Angel Geano to Triple-A. 

Ingle’s clearly part of the Guardians’ future, but he’s also pushing to be a part of the present as well. 

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