Everything You Need To Know About Guardians' Newest SP Prospect

With the 2025 MLB Trade Deadline amongst us, the Cleveland Guardians' front office did not hesitate to make big move on Friday.

The ball club announced earlier today that they have traded star pitcher Shane Bieber to the Toronto Blue Jays, with the return price of rising RHP prospect Khal Stephen.

We have acquired RHP Khal Stephen from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for RHP Shane Bieber.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/3799gfyNkt
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) July 31, 2025

After a strong season with the Mississippi State Bulldogs last year, Stephen would be selected in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft by Toronto. In his first season within the Blue Jays' minor league system, the 22-year-old prospect has lived up to the hype. Stephen currently holds a 9-1 record, along with a 2.06 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP through 17 starts in 2025. His incredible run thus far allowed him to quickly navigate through the organization's farm this season, as he was recently promoted to the Double-A level.

At 6-foot-4, 215 lbs., Stephen has been able to find success so far due to a nice four-pitch mix. His fastball tends to sit in the 92-94 range, while reaching up to 96 MHP. This is perfectly complimented with a mid-80s changeup to keep hitters off balance. His efforts this season earned him the No. 5 spot in the Blue Jays' top 30 prospects, along with him being a top-80 prospect in the minors, according to Fangraphs.

Cleveland getting Khal Stephen into their pitching development pipeline only means one thing.

He's going to be elite, for a very long time. pic.twitter.com/HD3CqBZESg
— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) July 31, 2025

Looking ahead at the future rotation for the Guardians, Stephen has a projected ETA to the majors in 2027, according to MLB.com. However, this could change if the young right-handed pitcher continues to develop. Depending on when Cleveland promotes him, Stephen will likely slide into a back-half of the rotation, with the possibility of him becoming a top-three arm in the future.

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