Cleveland Guardians Front Office Praises Growth of the Team’s Top Prospects

2026 is the year of the prospects.

If there's any season where the Cleveland Guardians are going to see what they've got buried in the minor leagues, it'll be the upcoming campaign.

Towards the tail-end of the 2025 season, the team turned to numerous youngsters to light up the diamond when the team needed a bit of momentum, with outfielders George Valera and Chase DeLauter, multi-tool C.J. Kayfus, relief pitcher Joey Cantillo and starting pitcher Parker Messick. That type of production, the front office is hoping to see again in due time.

After sitting silent for practically the entire offseason, making very few moves for raw, questionable bullpen arms, the Guardians will have to rely on a plethora of prospect depth to lead them to success.

Speaking at the Akron RubberDucks’ annual Hot Stove Banquet, Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti highlighted the organization’s depth in the minor leagues. Entering the upcoming season, several national rankings list Cleveland with six or seven prospects among the top 100 in baseball.

"We are very fortunate that we have an extraordinary group of young players who have put in a lot of work," Antonetti said.

"We are very fortunate that we have an extraordinary group of young players that have put in a lot of work#Guardians President of Baseball Ops Chris Antonetti on the team's young core headed to Goodyear pic.twitter.com/VcUWhVXMTd
— Mason Horodyski (@MasonHorodyski) January 23, 2026

This season, Cleveland's coaching staff and front office are expected to do their due diligence on various young players. There's a belief circulating around the team that prospects like infielders Travis Bazzana and Juan Brito, and pitcher Khal Stephen, could end up on the major league roster by the end of the season.

Each prospect, even those outside of Bazzana, Brito and Stephen, brings a unique energy to Progressive Field when called up. In 2025, it was evident that whenever the club’s young talent appeared on the major league roster, the excitement was felt throughout the ballpark, from the players on the field to the fans in the stands.

The expectations for the team don't change, though, even with a young, inexperienced roster. Earlier this offseason, manager Stephen Vogt spoke to the team's goals for 2026, with a World Series title at the top of the list.

"We expect to go out and win every night," Vogt said. "We are trying to win as many games as we can so we can have a chance to win a World Series. I think when that's our expectation, whatever expectations or pressure is coming in from the outside, it's not as much as the pressure we put on ourselves."

Antonetti echoed the belief that Vogt has in his team.

"We're not satisfied," he said. "Our goal is clear. We want to win a World Series."

The Guardians' first chance to put those goals on display and show the rest of the league what youth to be on the lookout for will be on Saturday, Feb. 21. The team will take on the Cincinnati Reds in the first game of MLB Spring Training, with first pitch set for 3:05 p.m. EST.