Rising Guardians prospect continues resurgence with Fall League All-Star Nod

For a long time, Daniel Espino was gone. One thousand two hundred fifty, to be exact.

But now he’s back. 

After missing more than three years with a variety of injuries, Espino returned to game action this September with an appearance at Triple-A before heading to Arizona to get some extra work in the Fall League. 

That work ended up netting him a cool accolade, as the 24-year-old was named a Fall League All-Star after pitching 4 2/3 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts across four outings. According to Guardians Prospective, Espino won’t participate in the game. 

Daniel Espino’s star continues to rise with the Guardians 

The Guardians picked Espino in the first round of the 2019 MLB Draft and he burst onto the scene in 2021 when he posted 152 strikeouts over 91 2/3 innings across Single-A and High-A. 

He made his debut for Double-A Akron in 2022 but went on the injured list a month into the season due to patellar tendinitis before having a shoulder injury pop up that eventually ended his season. 

That became the story of Espino’s career. In 2023, he was sidelined all year with a right shoulder injury that eventually required anterior capsule repair surgery. He had another right shoulder injury in 2024 (his first year on the Guardians’ 40-man roster) that eventually required season-ending surgery. 

He spent most of 2025 rehabbing at the team’s facility in Arizona before making his return to organized baseball with that appearance with the Clippers at the end of the season. 

That set up what was a dominant showing in the Arizona Fall League. His fastball has reached 100 miles per hour (and has sat around 98 mph), and he’s spent almost all of the fall overpowering hitters, which is exactly what you want from a player older than almost everyone else in the AFL. 

While banking on Espino to be a productive major leaguer is a dangerous proposition given his injury history, it’s also hard not to dream about how he could help the Guardians in 2026. 

Although he started his career as a starting pitcher, Espino could be a dangerous weapon out of the bullpen. As mentioned above, he has a plus fastball to go along with a wipeout slider and a plus curveball and changeup. 

He has a starter’s arsenal, but pitching him out of the bullpen would allow for Espino to give more on every pitch while also giving the Guardians an opportunity to control his usage a bit more than if he was a starter. 

After opening his career as the Guardians’ No. 2 prospect, he currently sits as Cleveland’s No. 29 prospect. If he’s able to carry his AFL success into the 2026 season, he has a chance to reach the heights projected of him when he was a top prospect.