3 Cleveland Guardians prospects to be on the lookout for

2. Joey Cantillo: Triple-A Columbus Clippers

Cantillo actually started his career with the San Diego Padres in the 2017 MLB Draft where he was taken in the 16th round with the 468th pick. While he fell an awfully long way, his production since joining the Guardians has drastically helped his level of worth grow.

After being involved in the Josh Naylor trade in 2021, Cantillo was placed on the Double-A roster with the Akron RubberDucks. That season he would make five appearances, one start, for an overall record of 0-2. Cantillo's ERA sat at a fairly average 4.50 while allowing eight hits and walking 10. However, he was able to counteract those walks by recording 12 strikeouts. While 2021 showed some struggles with a new team, he drastically improved his game in 2022 as the organization elected to keep him in Double-A.

For most of his career, his fastball sat in the high 80's, but in the 2022 season, he boosted it to 91-93, even touching 95 on occasions. That improvement alone helped him strikeout batters at a more consistent rate, recording 87 through 13 starts and also dropped his ERA to 1.93 to go alongside a 4-3 record.

After an impressive 2022 season, the Guardians orgainzation added him to the 40-man roster this past November signaling that the 23-year-old may have the ability to receive time in the majors in the near future. Unfortunately, the impressive play of Bibee and Allen will hinder that timeframe, but if injuries were to hit the major league roster, he will most certianly be towards the top of that list to be called up.