4 Most Likely Cleveland Guardians Prospects to Be Called Up After the All-Star Break

The Cleveland Guardians are well represented in Philadelphia for the MLB All-Star Game.

Starting pitcher Parker Messick and closer Cade Smith both made the American League All-Star pitching staff while second baseman Travis Bazzana is an All-Star during his rookie season.

But the Guardians will return to action on Friday against the Pittsburgh Pirates tied for first place in the American League Central Division with the Chicago White Sox. There’s no telling what the team will decide to do at the MLB trade deadline, as it rarely feels like the Guardians are buyers.

This offseason, the Guardians consciously were inactive during free agency and trades because they didn’t want to block the talented young players in their farm system from developing. That was a key learning for the club last season.

After the All-Star break, these Guardians prospects could be called up to join Bazzana, Chase DeLauter and the other Cleveland rookies making major impacts throughout the roster.

Daniel Espino, Right-Handed Relief Pitcher (Triple-A Columbus)

Espino made his long-awaited debut with the Guardians this season. But in need of a fresh arm, the Guardians swapped Espino with Columbus Clippers right-handed relief prospect Franco Aleman on July 3. The day before, he had his longest outing since 2022. Since he wouldn’t factor into the bullpen rotation, he was sent down to Columbus ahead of the All-Star break.

But Espino was good enough in his short time in Cleveland to get another opportunity with the Guardians soon.

“Daniel was incredible when we talked to him, understanding,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “He knows he's going to be back to help us win.”

Andrew Walters, Right-Handed Relief Pitcher (Triple-A Columbus)

The Guardians have had an uncharacteristically shaky bullpen throughout the first part of the season.

Even though it took some time for Walters to make his season debut in late May, a call up after the All-Star break could make sense for the 25-year-old righty.

When activated from the IL back in May, Vogt shared that he believed Walters would be helping them out at some point soon.

"Yeah, it's great to see, you know, you never want guys on the injured list," Vogt said. "And so for Andrew to be activated, it's a good thing. That means he's ready to pitch, and so we know Andrew's going to help us a ton when it's his turn. But with the illness, we need to get him pitching more and get built back up and be ready to do back-to-backs and one-pluses and things of that nature."

As long as his arm holds up later into outings and brings some early-season concerns back down to Earth, it’s still realistic for Walters to debut this season.

Ralphy Velazquez, 1B (Triple-A Columbus)

Kyle Manzardo hasn’t provided the pop that the Guardians were likely hoping for out of their first basemen and Ralphy Velazquez has raked his way through Double-A Akron and into Columbus.

The 21-year-old first baseman has gotten some outfield work in.

But if the Guardians find themselves desperate for some late-season offense, perhaps they give Velazquez a cup of coffee before the end of the season. Last year, DeLauter debuted during Cleveland’s Wild Card series against the Detroit Tigers, so there’s certainly a precedent.

Angel Genao, INF (Triple-A Columbus)

Genao has been considered one of the most versatile bats in Cleveland’s organization. Similar to Velazquez, perhaps he can find a spot in Cleveland’s batting lineup if they are still desperate for some hitting at the end of the season.

Even though Angel Martinez’s return is on the horizon, and Genao is a no-doubt shortstop, he might be more fun than Gabriel Arias and is versatile enough to play third base while the Guardians wait for Jose Ramirez’s return.

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