Cleveland Guardians 2025 MLB Draft Class Already Adjusting Well to Pro Baseball

The Cleveland Guardians put together an incredibly strong and deep class of first-year professionals in the 2025 MLB June Amateur Draft.

By selecting players who filled key needs throughout the minor league system, along with others who simply possessed undeniable talent, with outfielder Jace LaViolette coming to mind, Cleveland built one of the organization’s most intriguing draft groups in recent memory.

And to begin the 2026 minor league season, many of those selections are already starting to stand out.

On Thursday, May 8, I had the opportunity to travel out to Eastlake, Ohio, to catch a doubleheader between the Lake County Captains and Great Lakes Loons. The Captains, the High-A affiliate of the Guardians, and the Loons, the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, battled one another for nearly seven hours of baseball.

When all was said and done, the two sides ended up splitting the doubleheader, with the Captains winning game one on a walk-off, 15-13.

JEFFREY MERCEDES ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! 🚀

HE LAUNCHES ONE TO RIGHT, AND THE PICANTES WIN A ROLLERCOASTER OF A GAME!! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/BY9CJr1K3h
— Lake County Captains (@LCCaptains) May 7, 2026

Chatting with infielder Luke Hill, who was a part of that 2025 draft class, he mentioned that he was just happy to see the team split the series. He obviously would've loved to have won game two, though, which they lost, 7-2.

"It sucks we didn't get the win in game one, but we got one out of two today," Hill said. "Hopefully we can get two out of two next time."

I went on to ask Hill about what it has been like to settle into the 2026 campaign. He played with the Lynchburg Hillcats last season, posting a remarkable .347/.459/.510 slashing line in his first 15 games of professional ball.

"It's been awesome," he said about the first 30 games of the minor league season. "I think we have the best team ever, both on the field and off the field. We're a ton of fun guys. We've had some bumps in the road, but we're going to get rolling. It's been a good season so far, and it's going to get even better as we go on."

Hill's draft class is a talented one, a group that, in just a couple of years, could feature the Guardians' first four selections dominating the upper levels of the farm system.

Alongside Hill, who was taken in the fourth, first-round pick LaViolette, second-round selection Dean Curley and third-rounder Nolan Schubart have already formed a tight bond, one that has helped fuel their strong contributions for the Captains.

"It's been really easy. We came in together in Arizona, so we've kind of been together," he said. "This whole entire road, which has just made the transition for me, and I feel like I'm speaking for a lot of the other guys, it's been really easy for us, and it's awesome having guys like us just around and just get to smile with and being one of the people."

Each of them brings a different skill set to the organization, but one trait consistently stands out across the group: their ability to blast the baseball.

LaViolette and Hill have led the core four so far, launching five home runs apiece this season. Schubart has added four of his own, while Curley rounds out the group with two. Each player has also driven in more than 10 runs, proving their offensive impact extends far beyond just the deep ball.

Although they may be a young bunch of prospects, if they can keep this up, there's no telling what this Captains team can do as the year continues to trudge along.

While it's always difficult to get excited about where a player is at in the minors, especially because they can be bumped up or down on any given day, Hill and the rest of the team have a good mindset in place. At the end of the day, they just want to play ball.

"[We will] Just smile, have a good time, and just try to hit the ball hard," Hill concluded.

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