Cleveland Guardians 2023 prospect scouting report: #28 C Bryan Lavastida

Injuries and being called up before he was ready might have gotten Lavastida off to a rough start, but could bounce back in '23

Build & Background

Solid catchers frame and build. Strong upper body and arms. Good athlete, especially for a catcher. Former infielder. Bilingual with family from Cuba. 

What Lavastida does well

Simple, compact swing. Geared towards line drive and hitting the ball to the opposite field. Good, patient eye at the plate. Playable power as a catcher. Good arm and solid pop times. Has shown the ability to be a good framer. Runs well for a catcher. Has some defensive versatility.

Guardians Baseball Insider @Official_CGBI

Strong catch and throw on a CS 2-5 from Bryan Lavastida to Jose Ramirez

Justin L. @JL_Baseball

🌟C Bryan Lavastida (Columbus): 2-4, 2B, RBI Good to see Lavastida go opposite field with his power in his first game back in Triple-A. Louisville did have 3 SBs on the night, however. No passed balls for him, though. Sandy Leon for LOU allowed 2, including the game winner.

Where Lavastida needs to improve

As a backstop, Lavastida still needs to work on his blocking. Offensively, he’d do well to try to attack the ball more out front and pull the ball with a little more authority, but he’s good at being patient and waiting to see the pitch. 

Intangibles

Lavastida was willing to switch to catcher for his future after being an infielder. He’s also bilingual which is important for communication and something the Guardians really value.

Future

2022 started out on a high note for Lavastida but didn’t end the best. He was on the 26 man roster in April due to Luke Maile’s spring training injury and made his major league debut. He probably wasn’t ready for that assignment by the 40 man roster situation necessitated it. He played sparingly and then went to Triple-A Columbus where he wound up with a hamstring injury that kept him out for a bit and then put him behind the 8-ball when coming back. It’s worth giving him a mulligan on the season and see how he comes back in 2023. He should still profile as a contact/patient backup type catcher with a good arm.

Role: 40 - Contact first major league backup catcher