Guardians Draft in Review: 2024
· Yahoo Sports
As we continue our coverage of the upcoming 2026 MLB draft, which begins at 1 p.m. today, I’ll be reviewing the last four Cleveland Guardians drafts, which have added considerable depth to their minor league system.
Just FYI, the age listed below is the age of the players when they were drafted just about two years ago, so just add two years for their current age.
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1 (1). Travis Bazzana. 2B/LHH. Age 21. $8.95M bonus.
Bazzana was a standout second baseman from Oregon State. Here’s what Cleveland President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti had to say about him after Cleveland made him the No. 1 overall selection:
“We view Travis as a dynamic player. He’s a guy that makes really good swing decisions, controls the strike zone really well, rarely swings and misses and can really impact the baseball. We think he can impact the game in a variety of ways. As impressive as he is as an athlete and player, he’s just as impressive or more impressive as a person.”
Bazzana wasted zero time acclimating to pro baseball, joining High-A Lake County in 2024 and helping the team win a Midwest League Championship. He began 2025 at Double-A, where he posted a 136 wRC+ and earned a promotion to Triple-A before an oblique injury ended his season. He began 2026 at Triple-A and dominated there, slashing .287/.422/.511 and earning a promotion to Cleveland within a month. At the MLB level, Bazzana has been a sensation, already slugging seven home runs and swiping 12 bases while posting an above average 110 wRC+ and being named to the All-Star Team by his peers while taking over the leadoff position in Cleveland’s lineup. The sky is the limit for this kid.
2 (36). Braylon Doughty. RHP. Age 18. $2.57M bonus.
An established prep arm, Cleveland utilized its huge bonus pool to snag one of the top high school pitching prospects in the country in Doughty. Here’s what Guardians vice president of scouting Paul Gillespie had to say about him:
“He’s shown a really advanced feel for his delivery. He’s shown he can spin the baseball and throw it to both sides of the plate. We look at delivery and arm action as a good starting point for young pitchers. He already has a great feel for his delivery and arm action. He just picked it up naturally.”
Doughty was the lone prep arm to begin the 2025 campaign at full-season ball and he proceeded to post a 2.84 FIP over 22 starts spanning 85.1 innings. He began this year at High-A Lake County and saw all his numbers improve including strikeout rate, walk-rate and ERA, posting a 3.02 ERA over 14 starts. He recently was promoted to Double-A and could easily be considered the top pitching prospect in Cleveland’s system at the moment.
3 (48). Jacob Cozart. C/LHH. Age 21. $2.05M bonus.
Cleveland went with a glove-first catcher with its second round pick, although his offense has been a bit better than anticipated. Cozart began the 2025 season at High-A Lake County, where he posted a strong 13.3% walk-rate and earned a late-season promotion to Double-A Akron, where he surprisingly had a 113 wRC+. He’s repeating this year at Akron and has been average offensively with a 96 wRC+ through 66 games, but defense is going to be what eventually gets him to the big leagues.
4 (84). Joey Oakie. RHP. Age 18. $2M bonus.
Possessing lightning in his arm, Oakie was another elite high school pitcher that Cleveland was able to afford with its huge bonus pool. He showcased strong strikeout stuff in the Arizona Complex League last season, then went ballistic at Single-A, where he posted a 2.22 ERA over six starts and started getting hype as one of Cleveland’s top young pitching prospects. He is repeating at Hill City this year and has taken a major step backwards, ballooning his walks per nine innings to 8.3 while striking out the fewest batters per nine of his career. Hopefully he can figure it out in the season’s second half.
5 (113). Rafe Schlesinger. LHP. Age 21. $467K bonus.
A southpaw starting pitcher out of Miami, Schlesinger has slowly and steadily moved up the ladder in Cleveland’s system. He had an impressive 3.33 ERA over 16 starts at Single-A last year, earning a late season promotion. He began this year at High-A Lake County and was promoted to Double-A after posting a career-best 12.6 K/9 over 10 starts. Akron has been an adjustment for him as he’s getting hit hard with a 7.43 ERA through five starts spanning 23 innings.
6 (146). Aidan Major. RHP. Age 21. $425K bonus.
An intriguing starting pitcher out of West Virginia, Major didn’t make his pro debut until this season due to Tommy John surgery. He got off to a terrific start at Single-A Hill City, sporting a 3.10 ERA through his first eight starts, but in the first inning of his start May 26, he was struck in the head by a line drive in a scary moment. After missing a month and a half, Major was just cleared to begin a rehab assignment in the Complex League.
7 (175). Caden Favors. LHP. Age 22. $75K bonus.
A southpaw out of Wichita State, Favors, like Schlesinger has slowly and steadily crept up in Cleveland’s system as a starting pitcher. He spent his entire 2025 campaign at High-A Lake County where he posted a 4.08 ERA through 25 starts. Favors began this year at Double-A Akron, where his strikeout and walk ratios have remained solid and he’s actually been harder to hit, but his HR/9 has more than doubled. He currently has a 5.72 ERA through 17 starts.
8 (205). Cameron Sullivan. RHP. Age 18. $525K bonus.
Another strong high school pitching prospect, Sullivan had a fastball that flashed 97 mph when Cleveland drafted him. Unfortunately, he experienced a partial UCL tear in his elbow and has been on the 60-day injured list pretty much ever since Cleveland drafted him and he has yet to make an appearance in Cleveland’s minor league system.
9 (235). Donovan Zsak. LHP. Age 21. $200K bonus.
The first bullpen arm drafted by Cleveland, Zsak has showcased strong strikeout ability thus far and his control has been steadily improving. He’s dropped his walk-rate every season and after struggling to a 7.26 ERA in 2025 at Single-A, he currently has a 3.00 ERA with three saves for High-A Lake County this season while dropping his walk rate by nearly two per nine innings.
10 (265). Sean Matson. RHP. Age 22. $175K bonus.
Matson initially was given an opportunity to either start or piggy-back a starter in 2025 and he dominated to the tune of a 2.08 ERA with strong strikeout and walk ratios over Single and High-A. He transitioned to a multi-inning reliever this season and was quickly promoted to Double-A, where he’s been excellent with a 3.26 ERA over 18 appearances and 30.1 innings pitched while striking out just over a batter per nine innings.
11 (295). Chase Mobley. RHP. Age 18. $1.8M bonus.
Cleveland set a new record with the bonus it gave Chase Mobley as a 10th round pick in 2024 and it has not paid off thus far. Mobley has struggled mightily with his control. He currently is walking nearly two batters per nine innings at Single-A Hill City. He may need to be sent back to the Complex League to work on his mechanics because every appearance at the moment is an adventure.
12 (325). Garrett Howe. SS/LHH. Age 22. $150K bonus.
A contact-first utility infielder, Howe has struggled to stay healthy this season with two separate stints on the injured list and hasn’t performed well when on the field. After a mediocre 81 wRC+ split across two levels last year, he has a 49 wRC+ at Lake County this season through 111 plate appearances. He has shown a few signs of life recently, but will need to heat up in a hurry if he wants to open any eyes.
13 (355). Sean Heppner. RHP. Age 21. $150K bonus.
A Canadian pitcher, Heppner was given one full season at Single-A in 2025, where he had extremely poor ratios of 7.5 K/9 and 7.5 BB/9 over 33 games spanning 42 innings. Cleveland’s brass had seen enough and he was the lone member of this draft class given his release already.
14 (385). Bennett Thompson. C/RHH. Age 21. $150K bonus.
Similar to Cooper Ingle, Thompson has done nothing but rake as a catching prospect. He had a strong 2025 season split across Single-A and High-A, then absolutely dominated High-A to begin this season with a 165 wRC+ while slashing .310/.485/.526, which earned him a promotion to Double-A Akron. At the time of his promotion, Thompson was leading all of minor league baseball in on-base percentage. Thompson’s adjustment at Double-A hasn’t been as easy, although he’s still barely above average there through seven games, having already slugged a pair of home runs.
15 (415). Ryan Cesarini. OF/LHH. Age 21. $150K bonus.
Cesarini has been an above-average bat at every level thus far. He impressed in 2025, swiping 33 bases at Single-A with a .362 on-base percentage to earn a promotion to High-A, where he locked in over a 25-game span slashing .292/.373/.469. He is repeating this season at High-A and has been slightly above average yet again, although injuries and a significant amount of high-impact college outfield bats from Cleveland’s 2025 draft have prevented Cesarini from seeing a much time on the field.
16 (445). Conner Whittaker. RHP. Age 21. $150K bonus.
A low-contact long-relief arm out of Florida State, Whittaker has been superb thus far in his pro career. He was sensational in his 2025 campaign, sporting a 2.66 ERA and 3.55 FIP across two levels. He missed nearly the first two months of this season due to injury, but he has been incredible since returning to the mound, having not allowed a run in eight appearances and only allowing a single hit. Keep an eye on this one, especially if he can improve his strikeout rate.
17 (475). Jacob Remily. RHP. Age 18. $150K bonus.
A high school arm standing 6-foot-6 out of Honolulu, Remily made four appearances last season in the Arizona Complex League before he went down with an elbow injury and required Tommy John surgery, which he still is recovering from.
18 (505). Logan McGuire. RHP. Age 21. $150K bonus.
McGuire impressed out of the bullpen in 2025, striking out over 10 batters per nine innings and walking less than 1.5 at Single-A, but everything has taken a back step this year at High-A Lake County. His FIP has more than doubled to 5.64 and his walk rate has more than tripled.
19 (535). Izaak Martinez. LHP. Age 22. $25K bonus.
A long relief arm out of UC Santa Barbara, Martinez has been terrific thus far in his pro career. He pitched well at both Single-A and High-A in 2025 and has been even better this year, currently sporting an elite 1.63 ERA with a strong 10.9 K/9 while repeating at Lake County. He even has a scoreless inning at Triple-A Columbus under his belt when called upon for a spot appearance.
20 (565). Cam Schuelke. RHP. Age 22. $55K bonus.
A fascinating submarine side-armer out of Mississippi State, Schuelke’s career highlight thus far was having Tom Hamilton call his strikeout of Cam Collier in a Spring Training game earlier this year, where Hamilton was flabbergasted by the changes in Schuelke’s throwing motion and arm slot. After a strong season as the closer for Single-A in 2025, Schuelke has struggled at High-A, where his strikeout rate has cratered and his walk-rate has skyrocketed. Hopefully he can turn the corner because he’s fun to watch pitch.
21 (595). Cam Walty. RHP. Age 22. $50K bonus.
A bullpen arm out of Arizona, Walty made a brief run as a starting pitcher at Single-A last season before transitioning to long relief at High-A Lake County this year. His strikeout rate has improved, but he’s been getting hit hard, including a rough 17% HR/FB ratio, over five times higher than what he had last year.
Undrafted free agents
Cleveland signed one additional player in 2024, a pitcher.
Xavier Martinez. RHP. Age 21.
Martinez impressed with an elite 2.83 FIP spread across two levels in 2025, but has struggled this season while repeating at High-A. His strikeout rate dropped over three per nine innings and his walk rate increased by two per nine, which has seen his FIP balloon to a brutal 8.00 through 17 games.
Summary
MLB: 1 (Travis Bazzana)
AAA: 0
AA: 6 (Braylon Doughty, Jacob Cozart, Rafe Schlesinger, Caden Favors, Sean Matson, Bennett Thompson)
A+: 9 (Donovan Zsak, Garrett Howe, Ryan Cesarini, Conner Whittaker, Logan McGuire, Izaak Martinez, Cam Schuelke, Cam Walty, Xavier Martinez)
A: 3 (Joey Oakie, Aidan Major, Chase Mobley)
Injured: 2 (Cam Sullivan, Jacob Remily)
Released: 3 (Sean Heppner)
Signed players/Still in the organization (22/21)