Cleveland Guardians land seven prospects on updated MLB Pipeline top 100

These days, the Cleveland Guardians are no strangers to loading up top prospect lists with players from the organization.

The trend continues with MLB Pipeline's updated list of top 100 prospects heading into the 2023 season, as the Guardians have seven players featured, tying them for the most with the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers.

The players on the top 100 list include righty Daniel Espino (#16), righty Gavin Williams (#42), outfielder George Valera (#51), catcher Bo Naylor (#64), righty Tanner Bibee (#65), infielder Brayan Rocchio (#75), and outfielder Chase DeLauter coming in at #82.

The Guardians also had seven players featured in Baseball America's recently updated list of top prospects, but the only difference here is that MLB Pipeline swapped out pitcher Logan Allen for DeLauter. DeLauter was Cleveland's first-round pick in last year's draft, but has yet to make his professional debut after reinjuring his foot coming out of James Madison University.

The 21-year-old offers an intriguing promise of power, but it's likely the plate discipline that Cleveland coveted given the team's recent shift in offensive philosophy. In DeLauter's three seasons at James Madison, he hit .402/.520/.715 with 15 home runs, 70 RBIs, 27 doubles, and 24 stolen bases in 323 plate appearances, walking 62 times to only 45 strikeouts. A career like that earned him the distinction of being the first first-rounder in team history.