Guardians Receive Optimistic Grade for First Round Draft Pick

The Cleveland Guardians needed more offensive-minded outfielders in their farm system, and addressed that need, selecting Jace LaViolette with their first-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.

There are definitely some concerns with LaViolette and his swing-and-miss rate, but one MLB analyst is rather optimistic about his potential to be a big league slugger.

R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports gave the Guardians a grade of "B+" for selecting LaViolette No. 27 overall.

"LaViolette entered the spring in the running for the top selection. He then suffered through a tough year that culminated with a fractured hand in his second-to-last game. He has extreme power and discipline and equally extreme swing-and-miss tendencies," wrote Anderson.

"There's some tantalizing right-tail outcomes in play here, but there's at least an equal amount of barren left-tail possibilities. Given that it's the last pick of the first round, I don't have much issue with the swing."

Jun 23, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; Texas A&M Aggies right fielder Jace Laviolette (17) hits a home run against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first inning at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

LaViolette is coming off his third season at Texas A&M, where he had a slash line of .258/.427/.576 with an OPS of 1.003. These stats include 18 home runs and nine doubles.

The power is there for LaViolette, there's no denying that.

If the Guardians had a top-10 pick and used it to select LaViolette, many more questions would be raised about what the front office was thinking.

However, as Anderson points out, the Guardians selected a player who was once viewed as a possible top-five pick a year ago.

It's a risk, but one worth taking for Cleveland.

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