Which Guardians Top Prospects Will Make a Big League Impact in 2026?

The MLB offseason is now well underway. As fans await the return of baseball season, teams across the league have been busy shaping their squads for the upcoming year.

We have already seen some significant moves take place. Between seismic trades and high-profile free agent signings, the league will certainly look different come Opening Day. 

However, one team we have yet to hear much from is the Cleveland Guardians.

The Guardians had a rollercoaster of a 2025 season. After trailing the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central for much of the year, the Guardians came all the way back to win the division.

This was in spite of trading away Shane Bieber and losing a host of other players due to injury at various points in the year. They also lost key contributors in Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase due to suspension.

With the 2025 season now distant in the rearview mirror, the Guardians have their work cut out for them. Outside of players like José Ramírez and Steven Kwan, their roster will enter the new year with plenty of question marks.

On the bright side, the Guardians have a strong group of prospects ready to make their mark at the big league level. Rather than spend big in free agency, the Guardians may instead open the door for a new wave of talent in Cleveland.

The Guardians have more than a few talented prospects waiting in the wings. With that in mind, today we will be exploring a few players with solid chances of making an impact at the big league level in 2026.

Honorable Mentions

Some players in the Guardians’ farm system are more likely to see consistent big league action than others. That said, there are still several players on the outskirts that could make a name for themselves.

Outfielder and former shortstop Kahlil Watson finished the year in Triple-A, and performed well in his limited time. He put up an .834 OPS and hit 8 homers in 43 games, swiping 10 bags along the way. The Guardians first acquired Watson from the Miami Marlins in exchange for Josh Bell in 2023.

Watson is a solid defender, and has made progress in developing his hit tool over the past few years. Still only 22 years old, the Guardians added Watson to their 40-man roster in November. Assuming all goes well, Watson will make his case for an early debut throughout spring training.

The Guardians are also in need of some pitching reinforcements. For that reason, right-handers Austin Peterson and Khal Stephen could take steps forward and contribute earlier than expected for the Guardians.

Peterson is older and a bit more experienced than Stephen at the pro level. However, Stephen has the more prestigious draft pedigree between the two. Both are currently projected as eventual back-end starters, though they could potentially surpass these expectations.

Peterson spent much of the year in Triple-A, recording a 4.27 ERA over 90.2 innings after starting the year hot with a 1.47 ERA over 55 innings in Double-A. Stephen dominated the lower rungs of the minor leagues to the tune of a 1.75 ERA over his first 87.2 innings. 

Stephen struggled upon reaching Double-A, as he was working through a minor shoulder impingement, but should return to form once healthy. Overall, his quick progress and Peterson’s maturation in Triple-A could lend themselves to a potential call-up sometime this summer. 

Travis Bazzana (INF)

Among the Guardians’ top prospects, Travis Bazzana seems best positioned to step into an impact role for them this season. He was the top pick of the 2024 draft, and for good reason. 

Bazzana first began playing professional baseball at just 15 years old in the ABL. While he played minimally over his first few seasons, he recorded a 1.064 OPS over 45 games in the West Coast League in 2021. 

The climb continued from there. Bazzana played three full seasons at Oregon State from 2022 to 2024, and improved significantly each year. As a freshman, he batted .306/.425/.478 over 63 games. Two years later, he blew these numbers out of the water.

As a junior, Bazzana posted a .407/.568/.911 line and a staggering 1.479 OPS. He nearly tripled his previous season-high home run total, hitting 28 in just 60 games, and walked almost twice as often as he struck out. All in all, Bazzana hit .360/.497/.660 over 184 games with Oregon State.

In Bazzana’s first full year of professional baseball in the United States, he hit .245/.389/.424 with nine home runs and 12 stolen bases in 84 games. Still, he was not fully healthy this past year and may well benefit from a full offseason to recover. 

Given his intention to play for Team Australia in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, Bazzana appears healthy now. He will have a major opportunity to showcase his development on the world stage during the WBC, and could very well land a spot on the starting roster if all goes well in spring training. 

Chase DeLauter (OF)

Another prospect the Guardians think very highly of is Chase DeLauter. Drafted 16th overall out of James Madison University in 2022, DeLauter became the first player in program history to be drafted in the first round.

This came on the heels of an incredible, albeit shortened, 2022 season at JMU where he hit .437/.576/.828 over 24 games. He likely would have gone even higher in the draft, but a broken foot prevented him from finishing the season and caused him to miss his first year of minor league play.

For DeLauter, health has always been the name of the game. In the time since his left foot injury, DeLauter has re-injured the same foot, sprained toes, strained his hamstring, dealt with a sports hernia, and fractured his right hamate bone.

These injuries have limited DeLauter to just 138 games over the past three seasons. Still, he has made the most of the time he has spent on the field. Over those 138 games, DeLauter has hit .302/.384/.504 across the minor league levels while hitting 20 home runs and 40 doubles.

While his hit and power tools have been impressive early, he has also demonstrated patience at the plate. He walks nearly as often as he strikes out, and rarely chases outside the zone. DeLauter is also a solid defender with a strong arm and the ability to play at any outfield position.

Outside of Kwan, the Guardians have lacked outfield production for some time. DeLauter should have plenty of runway throughout this next season as long as he can stay on the field. 

Daniel Espino (RHP)

Among pitching prospects in the Guardians’ system, few are more interesting than Daniel Espino. Injuries have plagued his playing career thus far, but he still has plenty of potential.

Espino was considered one of the best pitching prospects in baseball at one point. With a triple-digit fastball and plus slider, Espino has carved up minor league hitters to the tune of a 3.63 ERA with 229 strikeouts over 139 innings.

Over around one full season’s workload, Espino has averaged a 14.8 K/9 rate as a professional. In 2022, Espino was promoted to Double-A as a 21 year old, and he reached as high as a 17.2 K/9 rate over a brief period. Unfortunately, injuries derailed his progression from here.

Various injuries have hampered Espino, including two shoulder injuries that have each warranted surgery since 2022. If not for his unfortunate string of injury luck, Espino likely would have been called up well before now.

With Espino now seemingly healthy, it is more than plausible that he will see time on the Guardians’ big league roster this year. He finally pitched professionally again in the AFL this October, topping out at 100.2 mph and striking out five over three innings.

The question for Espino will more than likely be less about performance, and far more about consistency. Espino staying on the field is no guarantee, but he has spent a considerable amount of the last few years training his durability.

Even with all of the time Espino missed, he is still just 25. The leap to the major leagues is a steep one, but his stuff is very likely to play well at the MLB level. Assuming Espino can stay healthy this year, he’ll suit up on the mound in Cleveland.