2024 Cleveland Guardians Breakout Prospect of the Year

The trend of position player breakouts continues in 2024 for Cleveland's farm system...

Things have gone in a very different direction the last two years for the Cleveland Guardians farm system than has been the pattern previously. We’re now at two year in a row where the top of the system is mostly led by position players. In 2022, the group was headlined by Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams. A year later, it was it was Juan Brito as the breakout prospect and he carried that into a strong 2024 that might have him on the verge of taking the second base job in Cleveland.

In 2024, yet again this is a group I think was filled with position players that had the best and most notable years as that really put themselves on the radar heading into 2025. My track record for this award has been pretty good. In 2021, I did have Will Brennan, and 2022 was Bibee, and last year was Brito. Those were maybe some more clear cut calls, even though Brennan hasn’t worked out. I think this group might be a little tougher but I think the true breakout was pretty identifiable here.

INF Angel Genao

2024 line: 498 PA, .330/.379/.499, 38 2B, 10 HR, 25 SB, 150 wRC+, 15.5 K%/7.7 BB%

Though Genao was only 20, it was his first taste at High-A and it feels like he’s been around for a little bit - and he has. He played parts of three seasons at Single-A, This year, Genao put it all together and got to High-A and made the jump almost seamlessly. There was really no major adjustment period for Genao offensively. I was expecting a hyper aggressive approach in the box and the walk rate could stand to be a little better, but he does do a good job working the count and getting into good counts, or battling when he’s down. Genao also grew into his body this year, putting in the work off the field and it showed up on the field with more pop. He showed strong exit velos to the opposite field from both sides of the plate. He does tend to drive the ball the other way at times, if he starts to catch the ball out front a little more and get the ball in the air, he should have above average power. Defensively, he showed a big arm at shortstop and the potential to stay there as long as he doesn’t outgrow he position and continues to improve.

LHP Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson”

2024 line: 24 GS, 118.2 IP, 174 SO (37.6 K%), 37 BB (8%), 1.90 ERA, 2.69 FIP

Tugboat came into his 2024 debut with a reputation as a strike thrower and competitor in college with a husky build and quite the demeanor. All that was true all year long, jumping onto radar’s with a 15 strikeout game in his fourth start of the season and remained consistent in both performance and attitude all year.

Wilkinson succeeded due to his strike throwing ability but also his very low release angle to the plate which makes his fastball hard for hitters to pick up, which he needs as he only throws 87-89 and his 90-91 a few times in 2024. He pairs that with a changeup and slider that are both good offerings and he can throw all three for strikes. His command, deception and pitchability were good enough to dominate Low-A and High-A. It’s been a great story for a 10th round pick out of a JUCO to have this kind of success and his body type also lends him to being more of a cult hero too. The question will remain if that fastball velocity will work in Double-A and above or if he will need more.

1B/LF CJ Kayfus

2024 line: 481 PA, .291/.393/.511, 26 2B, 17 HR, 157 wRC+, 24.3 K%/12.3 BB%

Kayfus had a good hit tool in college at Miami and had good Cape success, so he was a great fit for a Cleveland pick. Most felt his power was a little light at first base, but in his first taste of High-A in 2024, he put up power numbers at a better rate than he had in college. He kept that going in his promotion at Double-A Akron initially, but faced a few injuries that might have had a hand in slowing him down and cooled him off. His strikeout rate rose a little at Double-A and the power dipped some. While Kayfus has maybe average or fringe average raw power for a corner bat, his swing allows him to pull fly balls and he seems comfortable with taking that approach. Kayfus also saw time in left field, which he played in high school and college some, though he looks more like a first baseman (a good defender there, at that) that can play some left, rather than an actual full time left fielder for now. But his stock definitely rose in 2024.

C Cooper Ingle

2024 line: 408 PA, .305/.419/.478, 24 2B, 11 HR, 160 wRC+, 13.7 K%/15.9 BB%

Another very obvious Guardians pick in 2023, Ingle was good in his brief pro debut last year and unleashed full time in 2024, he took off even further. Ingle parlayed his good strike zone awareness into strong walk rates while keeping his strikeouts in the teens. It’s likely he’s probably going to see dips in those as he moves up (more Ks and less BBs) when he sees better pitching, but they should be in good ranges. The question will be what he does with the strikes he gets. For his offensive production, Ingle has moderate exit velo data. Like Kayfus, he’s tapped into the pulled fly ball mentality, though he doesn’t hit the ball in the air as much as Kayfus. The contact and zone awareness gives him a good base to work with and turned into production in 2024. Defensively, Ingle is a good receiver and blocker, but has room to improve in his throwing. He did battle some shoulder soreness at times in 2024, so perhaps a 100% healthy shoulder helps him make some strides there, as he has a quick transfer, he just needs stronger and more accurate throws to go along with his quick transfer.

2024 Cleveland Guardians Breakout Prospect of the Year

INF Angel Genao

In my opinion, this was an easy pick. I didn’t see anyone in person or on video that had a more impressive all around season on the position player side than Genao, and someone who has started to live up to their projection on field, as least as far as a prospect. There were those who were earlier on Genao’s upside than I was. But now he has the clear production to back that up as he has filled out his body a little more and has really put in the off the field effort. Genao also plays the game with great enthusiasm and is continuing to improve his english and there are still gains he can make offensively, such as hitting the ball out front more and using his surprising raw power to the pull side more from both sides of the plate. There’s a chance his footwork and body push him to third, perhaps second, though he has the arm for the left side of the infield. He’s also a very free and fluid runner. He has more tools than any infielder in this system I’ve seen since Francisco Lindor. That doesn’t mean a comparison, but there’s enough of a hit tool, speed, defense and raw power that other infield prospects since Lindor haven’t had a combination of.