These 3 unsung Guardians could be postseason heroes this year

The postseason is almost here, and the Cleveland Guardians are knocking on the door. While they dropped their series finale to the Tigers on Thursday, they still have a 90% chance of making the postseason.

And although the Guardians have plenty of superstars who will be at the center of any success, they also have plenty of unheralded players who have a chance to become household names thanks to a big October. 

These three Guardians seem set for a big October 

Jakob Junis 

I wavered between a couple bullpen options here but eventually settled on Junis. While Cade Smith and Hunter Gaddis will get plenty of run against this postseason, they aren’t exactly “unheralded.” Junis, meanwhile, has arguably been the third-best reliever in the Guardians’ bullpen despite not getting the kind of attention of Smith or Gaddis. 

But the biggest reason why Junis could end up being a postseason hero is his ability to work multiple innings. He’s not a pure longman in the same vein as Kolby Allard (who also has a case for being a postseason hero), but he’s just as dangerous as a multi-inning weapon as he is a one-inning option. 

Junis has a 2.71 ERA in 66 1/3 innings this year, and has a 1.69 ERA in 21 1/3 innings since the start of August. 

While late inning relievers get a ton of attention in October, you can’t get to the World Series without getting some key contributors from the middle-inning relievers. 

Expect to see Junis come out of the bullpen early and often this October. 

Angel Martínez

Martínez has all the makings of a postseason star. He’s quick, he can play a variety of positions and he has some pop in his bat. Sure, his defensive metrics are horrible and he can swing and miss with the best of them, but he’s been a key player for the Guardians all year and should be a mainstay in the Guardians’ postseason lineups this October. 

Although he’s only hit two home runs over the past two months, he tends to rack extra-base hits up in bunches. And, even if he doesn’t start, he could end up being a valuable bench bat — a role that produces postseason heroes every October. 

Martínez only had one at-bat last year in the Guardians’ quest toward the American League Championship Series. We should see much more of him this year.  

Joey Cantillo

In case you haven’t heard, the Guardians are currently using a six-man rotation. And while that group has had some success, they won’t need a six-man rotation in the postseason, which means that they’re going to need to get creative if they want to get all their pitchers on the roster. 

Of those six, Cantillo has the best chance to work in a bit of a different role given how the year has gone from him. After starting the year in the bullpen, he shifted to the starting rotation after Luis Ortiz’s suspension. He’s gotten better as the season has gone on, as he’s posted a 1.34 ERA across his last six starts (34 innings). 

The Guardians sent Cantillo down to Triple-A Columbus twice this year to encourage him to attack the strike zone, and he’s done just that. 

Cantillo will be a big part of the Guardians’ postseason plans regardless of whether he’s working as a reliever or starter.