Which Cleveland Guardians prospects are considered to be in the Top 100?

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The calendar has flipped over to 2024, making it the perfect time to look at the future of the Cleveland Guardians franchise, the top prospects in their organization, to be specific. Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter put together a Top 100 list at the start of this year, and the Guardians have three entries into this group.

Honorable Mentions

Before we get to the players making the Top 100, there were two Guardians prospects who just missed the cut, falling into the group of 50 honorable mentions, Juan Brito and George Valera.

The 22-year-old switch-hitting Brito appeared in games for Lake County, Akron, and Columbus this season, slashing .271/.377/.434 with 31 doubles and 14 home runs while driving in 75 along the way. It is possible for Brito to make his big league debut relatively soon, but it seems like Cleveland wants to explore the other options available to them at the moment, such as Tyler Freeman, Brayan Rocchioo, and Jose Tena.

2024 should see Valera have a chance to be part of Cleveland's outfield mix this season. The Guardians' outfield situation is far from good, with the recent acquisition of Estevan Florial from the New York Yankees showing their level of desperation. Valera could be the power-hitting outfielder the Guardians desperately need, but his injury frequency and high strikeout rate may prevent that from happening.

79. Chase DeLauter - Outfielder

The first round pick of the Cleveland Guardians in the 2022 June Amateur Draft, outfielder Chase DeLauter is ranked 79th in this list.

DeLauter fits the profile of players the Guardians have preferred lately, having high contact and low strikeout rates. The 22-year-old outfielder struck out just 30 times in 242 plate appearances last season. DeLauter's strikeout rate of 12.3% is much more palatable than the 27.2% from the previously mentioned George Valera.

Cleveland's number four ranked prospect per MLB Pipeline, DeLauter is their highest-rated outfield prospect and is projected to debut in 2025. Hopefully, by that time DeLauter will be able to tap into his raw power potential and experience an uptick in his home run totals. With his 6-foot four-inch and 235-pound build, DeLauter is expected to be able to provide some much-needed power to the Guardians' outfield by the time he reaches the major leagues. The young outfielder is just going to need more time in the minors to see his potential become realized on the field. Should this happen, it will only be a matter of time until DeLauter is a middle-of-the-lineup regular in Cleveland.

61. Daniel Espino - Pitcher

The only Guardians' pitcher on this list, Daniel Espino is ranked as the 61st overall prospect in this list.

Espino missed all of the 2023 season after undergoing surgery on his right shoulder, and is expected to be out of action somewhere in the range of 12-14 months. This came after being shut down after four starts in 2022, missing the majority of the season with the afrorementioned shoulder injury.

While there is some level of concern about the long-term health of Espino's shoulder moving forward, there is no question about his performance when he is available. Espino struck out 35.6% of batters faced in his 10 starts with the Lynchburg Hillcats and 45.1% in his 10 games with the Lake County Captains. Even though this is a small sample size, was in 2021, and was at two different levels of Single-A, this is still something to point toward as a reason to be optimistic in the future.

It is going to come down to whether or not Espino is able to stay healthy and if he can pitch at the level that saw him be ranked as the Guardians' third-ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline. If he is able to accomplish that, it would not be out of the question to see Espino become another key cog on Cleveland's major league pitching staff.

50. Brayan Rocchio - Shortstop

Cleveland's final and highest-rated prospect on this list, shortstop Brayan Rocchio, comes in at number 50.

Unlike the Guardians' other prospects appearing in the Top 100, Rocchio is the only one to have made his major league debut. Appearing in 23 games during the 2023 season, Rocchio collected 20 hits in 86 plate appearances, slashing .247/.279/.321 during that span. Only possessing an average amount of power, Rocchio has 47 minor league home runs in 485 games over five seasons. Cleveland does not need him to be a big-time power threat in their lineup but rather be capable of three home runs that former shortstop Amed Rosario hit in 94 games last season.

Rocchio is going to have his chance to be the starting shortstop for the Guardians this season, with the likes of Gabriel Arias, Tyler Freeman, and Jose Tena trying to do the same. The soon-to-be 23-year-old switch-hitting shortstop saw his fair share of playing time during the pivotal month of August, which unfortunately saw the Guardians fade in the standings, but was able to collect 13 hits in 52 at-bats in his 15 games played (14 starts). It would not be all that surprising to see Cleveland's top prospect take the starting shortstop gig and run with it, considering the inability to do so by anyone else at the moment.