Spring Training, A Stoic Closer and Khal Stephen's Journey to the Big Leagues

The Cleveland Guardians have countless prospects itching to make it to the big leagues, but not many seem to be on such a quick path as Akron Rubberducks starter Khal Stephen.

Akron RubberDucks pitcher Khal Stephen answers questions from reporters during media day April 1, 2026, at 7 17 Credit Union Park in Akron. | Andrew Dolph / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Khal Stephen's path to becoming a member of the Cleveland Guardians put a lot of pressure on him.

After injuries kept him off the field for many of the recent years, the Guardians opted to trade away once-ace Shane Bieber to the Toronto Blue Jays. The deal, in return, brought the Guardians Stephen, who has been a highly-ranked prospect throughout his time in professional baseball.

Since settling in, Stephen has flashed many of the traits that made him such an interesting and sought-after addition for Cleveland.

He's a strikeout machine, has great control of the ball and most of all, has a very deep arsenal.

This offseason, both he and the Cleveland Guardians focused on refining a few specific parts of his game. They know he has all the tools needed to succeed, but the key now is sharpening his pitch mix and finding more consistency.

"Arsenal-wise and pitching, it's just finding consistency in all my stuff and being able to know and replicate the same spin, the same shape in my spin pitches," Stephen said in an exclusive interview with the BIGPLAY Sports Network/SI back on Thursday. "So that was the biggest thing for me, and just getting back in the spring training, being able to work with the team and see some numbers, see the iPad, and that kind of thing was definitely really good for my development."

To begin the 2026 campaign, the 6-foot-4 Stephen has looked solid. Playing in Double-A Akron, he currently has a 2-2 overall record and an ERA of 3.82. He also has 37 total strikeouts, which is good enough for a 10.1 strikeouts per nine-inning mark.

Being so young, just 23 years old, he has a lot of time to continue developing.

However, his talent has helped put him on a fast-track to a potential big league appearance in the next few years. He earned a call to participate with the team in spring training before the year began, something that allowed him to build confidence and learn from some of the organization's current major leaguers.

"The biggest thing is, I feel like with the Guardians, they do a really good job of implementing different players with different players," Stephen began. "So it's like you kind of mingle with some of the big leaguers, some of the Triple-A guys. We're very intertwined together through spring training.

"That's really nice, just getting to be comfortable around those guys and getting to talk to them a little bit."

Stephen was able to talk to one player in particular, closer Cade Smith, who has been an incredible talent at the major league level. Smith is stoic, calm and effective when on the mound, making him a perfect player for Stephen to learn from.

He complimented the willingness of Smith to be so open with a youngster like himself.

"Cade Smith, my first day, he reached his hand out, shook my hand, introduced himself," he said. "And so, just like them not... being bigger than they are or something like that. It just builds a little bit of a relationship and eases yourself into the organization and into spring training in general."

Stephen went on to say that his time in Arizona allowed him to learn more about himself, realizing just how close he is to taking the next step in his development.

For many prospects, that stretch of the spring months serves as a measuring stick, giving them a chance to see how they stack up against others within the organization who are competing for the same opportunities.

"The goal is to continue developing, but go out and win and prove yourself to continue to move up the system," Stephen said about leaving spring training and preparing for a new season of minor league ball. "So there's a lot of edge to the players on this team. Like, you can kind of feel how close it is as you continue to progress. So definitely just... doing what you can to win, but also to prove that you have what it takes to continue to climb."

Day by day, start by start, Stephen has continued to show that he deserves to continue climbing the ladder of the minor league systems.

In due time, which could be in just a few months, he could end up seeing time in Triple-A.

But for now, he will just continue to show that he has what it takes to compete with some of Cleveland's best arms for time at the big league level eventually.