Guardians Prospect Selected To Represent Colombia in World Baseball Classic

The Cleveland Guardians are going to be represented by a good chunk of players on the 40-man roster and those in the farm system at the World Baseball Classic (WBC).

On Monday, Feb. 2, infielder prospect Daiyan Frias was informed that he was selected to play for Team Colombia in the WBC. The 23-year-old is coming off a 2025 campaign where he suited up for both the Double-A Akron Rubberducks and Triple-A Columbus Clippers, slashing .216/.318/.318 for an OPS of .636.

It wasn't an impressive season, but year after year Frias is showing growth in different areas.

Being able to play for his home country will be an excellent opportunity, as being able to participate in a high-level competition like the WBC gives him a chance to both play with and take on some of the world's best athletes. He was also recently given a non-roster invite to join the Guardians' spring training camp.

Over the past two seasons, Frias hasn't been listed as one of the Guardians' top 30 prospects, with 2026 expected to be a year where all eyes fall on him. He'll need to show this season that he's ready to either maintain pace in Triple-A or be given a major-league shot.

Guardians 23 year old INF prospect Daiyan Frias will play for Colombia in the World Baseball Classic 🇨🇴 #GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/OpatqTZjPv
— SleeperGuardians (@SleeperGuards) February 2, 2026

Frias' Time in Cleveland

It's been a rocky road for the native of Cartagena, Colombia, slashing .236/.342/.352 across six seasons of minor league ball. He's still young and unpolished, with some of his tendencies that cause issues at the plate able to be broken with time.

The front office obviously believes he has the strengths to someday be a fairly consistent contributor, or they wouldn't have kept him around this long.

The first time they saw the potential in Frias was way back in 2018, when the front office decided to offer him an $80,000 deal. Across his teen years, he spent time with Cleveland's fall-ball and rookie teams, while also getting reps in international play. He had his fair share of ups and downs, but back in 2019, he was electric for Cleveland. That season, at just 19 years old, he was remarkable at the plate, slashing .322/.420/.520 for an OPS of .940 across 42 games.

That set the stage for him to get his first real minor league look in 2022, suiting up for the Lynchburg Hillcats. He wasn't putting up numbers like the Guardians saw in rookie ball, but it wasn't bad.

However, his development began to slow, and while he was able to get on base in 2022, 2023, and 2024 very frequently, his hitting just couldn't get into a groove. He consistently posted a .300 on-base percentage, but his batting average remained under .260, dropping as low as .209 in 2024.

Back in 2024, he was aware of what he needed to fix. In an interview with MLB.com, he spoke to his hope for trying to cut down on swinging and missing.

“If you don’t see anything, then you can’t hit and nothing happens,” he said. “I try to find a pitch that I know I’m going to hit well and execute it …Trying to miss less is what I’m looking for at home plate.”

He played over 100 games in each season as well, so it wasn't a case of being injured or not getting chances; it was just a lack of production. His fielding has never been in question, putting up fielding percentages of 99.4% at first, 98.7% from second and 93.1% from third. It's just his play at the plate that remains rocky.

In foreign play, he's been much better, a testament that either comfort or the strength of competition is favoring him. The WBC will be a chance to see if Frias is better competing with players he's comfortable with, as the competition they'll face is very high.

Either way, the chance for Frias to step into a batters box at this big of a stage is important for his development, especially if Cleveland's front office has plans of keeping him around longer than 2026. He's young, impressionable and still able to be molded, it's just putting the right things around him to get the most out of his bat.

The first game for Colombia in the WBC will be on Friday, March 6, against Puerto Rico, with first pitch set for 6:00 p.m. EST. Frias will have a chance to represent his country on a national stage and prepare for the start of the 2026 regular season.