Why the Cleveland Guardians Are Promoting No. 2 Prospect Angel Genao Right Now

The Cleveland Guardians are still looking for offense after the MLB trade deadline.

So, they’ve decided to tap one of their top prospects.

According to The Athletic’s Zack Meisel, the Guardians plan to call up Angel Genao on Wednesday. He’s The Athletic’s No. 14 ranked prospect in baseball. Genao is Cleveland’s No. 2 ranked prospect behind only Ralphy Velazquez, who earned that spot after No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana debuted with the Guardians this year.

And the Guardians will hope that Genao is as big of a success as Bazzana has been for the club.

Why promote Genao right now?

At the deadline, the Guardians proved they want this American League Central Division. The Guardians are three full games behind the Chicago White Sox for the top spot in the division. Last year, Cleveland erased a 15.5 game deficit, taking down the Detroit Tigers to win the division.

Three games is a much simpler mountain to climb, and the Guardians will hope Genao’s bat can help their anemic batting lineup. He’s widely considered as the most promising power bat in the organization. If the 22-year-old can provide an instant spark to Cleveland’s offense, he’ll become a mainstay fixture in the batting lineup.

Genao is an infielder, and could take some at-bats away from Gabriel Arias, who has been bad. This call up could also mean that Jose Ramirez’s wrist soreness is a concern, and the legendary third baseman might need more time on the sideline.

But Genao will join a new-look Guardians batting lineup consisting of Jo Adell, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Angels and Nathaniel Lowe, who was acquired from the Cincinnati Reds.

The Guardians rank near the bottom (or at the bottom) of every major statistical hitting category. But their moves over the last few days prove how serious they are about fixing the lack of offensive production.

And this is now a team with so many rookies on it.

All season, the Guardians have leaned on Bazzana and fellow rookie Chase DeLauter to provide runs. Ramirez hasn’t been himself and has dealt with injuries. Angel Martinez has dealt with his share of injuries, also. Cleveland’s home run leader, Kyle Manzardo, was supplanted by Adell’s 16 home runs at the deadline. Manzardo and David Fry have been struggling at the plate, and were both optioned to Triple-A Columbus to get right for a playoff push and to make room for Cleveland’s new additions.

Typically, manager Stephen Vogt and the Guardians organization like to ease young players into action. But at the end of last season, they learned they could find instant big league production from their promising youth movement. This season, it’s paid wonders with Bazzana and DeLauter both bearing fruit.

If Genao is a hit – and can hit the baseball – the Guardians completely overhauled their league-worst batting lineup just in time for a serious postseason push.

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