Surging Guardians prospect earns Futures Game nod amid breakout year

The Cleveland Guardians have sent plenty of future stars to the Futures Game. 

Jason Kipnis earned a nod in 2011 and smashed a leadoff home run. A year later, Francisco Lindor earned the nod while with Lake County. And, more recently, Ralphy Velazquez and Jaison Chourio played in the game last year despite only being at High-A. 

On Monday, MLB announced this year’s rosters, which features two key parts of the Guardians’ future in CJ Kayfus and Parker Messick.

Surging Guardians prospect earns Futures Game nod amid breakout year

Kayfus’ nod is a long time coming for one of the fastest-rising prospects in Cleveland’s system. The No. 5 prospect in Cleveland’s system per MLB Pipeline, Kayfus is slashing .319/.414/.574 this year with 11 home runs, 44 RBI, and eight triples across Double-A and Triple-A. He’s currently playing first base for Triple-A Columbus, though Cleveland has been trying to teach him the outfield in the hopes that he could help fill the team’s black hole in right field. 

Kayfus has already racked up a home run off a future Hall of Famer this year (Max Scherzer), and is beginning to show off plate discipline that’s well beyond his years. 

The Guardians are still trying to figure out the future at first base (Kyle Manzardo’s currently in a timeshare with Carlos Santana), so this will be Kayfus’ first chance to show his stuff on a national stage.

The Guardians are widely known for being one of MLB’s best at developing pitching talent, and Messick is on the cusp of being the newest graduate of their pitching program. 

The 24-year-old left-hander has posted a 3.71 ERA this year in 68 innings, though it’s worth noting that his ERA would be even lower had he not allowed seven runs in 1 2/3 innings in his start on Sunday. 

Messick, Cleveland’s No. 12 prospect per MLB Pipeline, hasn’t gotten a chance to make his MLB debut this year in large part because the Guardians’ rotation has been pretty solid and hasn’t been struck too heavily by the injury bug. 

They’ll be part of a stacked roster that features plenty of the game’s top prospects. Padres shortstop Leo De Vries is the top ranked prospect participating, while the American League’s team will be led by Tigers outfielder Max Clark, who will be the highest-ranked prospect from the junior circuit. 

Kayfus and Messick are both poised to be big parts of Cleveland’s future, and the Futures Game seems like the perfect opportunity for them to show that to the rest of MLB.