Two Cleveland Guardians prospects highlighted by MLB executives

Two Cleveland Guardians prospects have been highlighted by baseball executives for having some of the best tools in the game.

Jonathan Mayo on MLB.com wrote an article highlighting players across baseball who baseball executives have highlighted as having the most potential in different areas.

The first tool highlighted was ‘The Best Hit Tool.’ Leading this in a runaway was Detroit Tigers’ prospect Kevin McGonigle at 57.8%.

Guardians’ prospect Travis Bazzana also received votes for this, which only speaks to his potential.

Travis Bazzana

Bazzana missed a large portion of the 2025 season due to oblique injuries. Still, in 302 at-bats, Bazzana had a .245 average and an .813 OPS. He had nine home runs, 39 RBI, and 12 steals. He certainly showed that he can hit the ball, and hit it a long way. Bazzana also has speed to turn hits into extra-base hits and also steal bases, causing chaos on the basepaths.

If Bazzana can stay healthy, he will make a really good argument to see playing time at second base over the likes of Brayan Rocchio at some point this season.

Chase DeLauter

The next category featuring Guardians prospects is ‘Best Usable Power.’ Pirates’ prospect Konnor Griffin led this one with 25.6% of the votes, but both Chase DeLauter and Travis Bazzana received votes under this category.

The reasoning for Bazzana is above. He did not have the highest average, but his OPS was still over .800, and he had nine home runs. He was fighting injury all of last year, struggling to find any sort of consistency. With him being healthy, having an offseason to get right, it is easy to see why executives are excited about what Bazzana can bring to the table for the Guardians.

As for Chase DeLauter, the Guardians clearly love him. He was called up to make his MLB debut during the playoffs, and now it is highly expected that DeLauter is an everyday player in 2026.

DeLauter was fighting injuries during 2025 as well, which is why he was not called up until the postseason, but the fact that he was shows how much this team values what he brings to the table.

In those two playoff games, DeLauter had one hit in six at-bats, along with one walk. He got a taste of the pressure right off the bat, which could only benefit a player in the long run.

In the minors in 2025, DeLauter had a .264 average, a .852 OPS with seven home runs and 24 RBI in 148 at-bats.

The numbers are there, the potential is there, and baseball executives across the game all agree to some degree that Travis Bazzana and Chase DeLauter are good hitters. Not only can they hit, but they can also hit for power, which is something the Guardians desperately need.

If either player can even come close to 20 home runs, that will be a massive boost. Jose Ramirez will continue to be pitched carefully until someone in this lineup can prove they can do damage with one swing consistently.

Hearing other teams’ executives talk highly about these players should excite fans. These players are actually good and have a track record of being good. Sure, the majors are different from any other level, but the potential is there.