One Guardians prospect, pitcher and position player to watch at spring training

After a long and never-ending offseason, the Cleveland Guardians are back in action. Well, sort of. Later today the Guardians will start their spring training slate with split squad showdowns between the Cincinnati Reds and the Milwaukee Brewers.

One of the starters in those games will be Joey Cantillo, who will take take the mound for the Guardians in their game against the Brewers.

While he's someone to watch in Guardians camp, there are plenty of other players worth keeping an eye on. He is someone to watch at camp. That said, who are one prospect, one pitcher and one position player that fans should watch at Guardians camp?

These three Guardians players are worth paying attention to in spring training

Prospect: Chase DeLauter

It shouldn't come as a surprise that DeLauter is the position player prospect we're focusing on the most.

DeLauter has had an up-and-down start to his career that's included numerous career-changing injuries. While he's only played in 138 minor games over the past three seasons, he has 30-plus homer potential.

He recorded 20 homers, 70 walks, and 80 strikeouts with a .302/.384/.504 slashline over those 138 games, which is a clear indicator of how good he can be.

He made his MLB debut last season postseason with two starts in center field, though the Guardians announced earlier this week that Steven Kwan will see some time in center this spring, which could help DeLauter's chances of making the team

If Kwan can stick it out in center, having so much success in left field, this could help out DeLauter stay fresh in a less demanding position.

Pitcher: Joey Cantillo

The main pitcher to watch during camp is Cantillo, who is coming off a season where he bounced between the rotation and bullpen.

He finished that eye-opening season with a 3.21 ERA in 95 1/3 innings (13 starts). Compare that to a 2024 season where he finished 4.89 ERA, and it was a season with a nice little jump.

There was a lot to like about Cantillo's 2025 season under the hood as well.

Along with finishing in the 80th percentile in whiff rate (29.7%), he also ranked in the 79th percentile in strikeout rate (29.7%) along with being in the top percentile in extension, which measures how close a pitcher is to the mound when they release a pitch.

If Cantillo is able to carry over what he did last September (where posted a 1.55 ERA with 28 strikeouts and just six walks), he could be a solid third or fourth starter in the rotation behind Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams.

Position Player: Bo Naylor

The last player to keep an eye on is catcher Naylor, who is coming off a complicated 2025 season.

Although he hit just .195, he recorded new career highs in home runs (14), RBI (47), walks (45), and bWAR (1.5) while finishing in the 78th percentile in walk rate along with cutting down on his whiff rate (22%) and chase rate (25.5%).

In a recent appearance on the "Baseball is Dead" podcast, Guardians manager said that Naylor worked hard on adjusting his swing this season, which could lead to a big season.

Naylor put together a breakout campaign for the Guardians in 2023 (.237 batting average, 11 home runs), and a season similar to that would go a long way toward helping the Guardians compete for a third straight division title.