Cleveland Guardians Prospect Report 5/18/25

Oh look, CJ Kayfus did it again; Lane Thomas getting on track

May 19, 2025

SCOREBOARD

Columbus Clippers 9, Omaha Storm Chasers 6 - Statcast
Chesapeake Baysox 10, Akron RubberDucks 1
Great Lakes Loons 9, Lake County Captains 1
Lynchburg Hillcats 9, Myrtle Beach Pelicans 2

REHAB

Lane Thomas (starting RF, Columbus): 3-4, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB - Thomas finally had his best game of his rehab assignment in which he did everything except hit a triple. He’s expected to need another week or two to get his timing back fully. His double left the bat at 105 MPH - the second-hardest hit ball of the game, so bat speed not being fully back is also not a concern.

HIGHLIGHTS

C.J, Kayfus (1B-RF, Columbus): 2-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, Picked Off 1 time - Kayfus has played nearly as many games as a Clipper (15) as he did as a RubberDuck (18) and his Triple-A numbers (.379/.448/.638) are actually even better than those he put up to start the season in Akron (.364/.475/.591).

Kody Huff (C. Columbus): 3-5, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 SB, 1 E - It’s only two games, but Huff’s bat is a hot one right now, with this past weekend seeing him go 5-for-9 with a double and a homer. This isn’t cheap contact, either, as Huff had two of the Clippers’ 104+ MPH batted balls yesterday.

Tommy Hawke (CF, Lynchburg): 1-2, 4 R, 3 BB, 2 SB - Sunday was a masterclass in Tommy Hawke doing Tommy Hawke things. He looked every bit like a guy with a .460 on-base percentage (including a stratospheric .152 isolated plate discipline - for reference, Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna leads the majors at .155) that also leads all of North American professional baseball with 41 stolen bases in 43 attempts. Regardless of level or league, these are impressive numbers.

Welbyn Francisca (DH, Lynchburg): 3-5, 1 R, 3 RBI, 2 K, 1 SB - Francisca’s three-single, three-RBI effort wrapped up a spectacular weekend. Over the last three days, Welbyn went 8-for-14 with a triple, five RBI, and four stolen bases in as many attempts. Yes, it’s a small sample size, but it’s also an impressive hot streak.

Jervis Alfaro (SP, Lynchburg): W (3-1), 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R (earned), 5 K - After a pair of multi-run outings, Alfaro returned to the dominant form he showed at the turn of the month. Hopefully, these kind of performances will be the norm when we look back at Jervis’ 2025 campaign.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES

Johnathan Rodriguez (DH, Columbus): 1-3, 2 R, 2 BB - Rodriguez hit two balls (a fourth-inning single and fifth-inning groundout) exactly 104.5 MPH and reached thrice to improve his month of May slash to .365/.476/.385.

Petey Halpin (CF, Columbus): 0-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K - Halpin extended his on-base streak to eleven - the longest active streak by a currently-healthy Clipper - with a fourth-inning walk.

Milan Tolentino (2B, Columbus): 2-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 K - Tolentino topped the game’s exit velo chart with a 106.8 MPH single in the fourth and hit another one-bagger exactly 2 MPH slower two frames later.

Brayan Rocchio (starting SS, Columbus): 1-5 , 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 K - Rocchio’s two-run line-drive double in the top of the sixth gave the Clip Show the lead for good.

Guy Lipscomb (LF, Columbus): 1-4, 1 R, 1 HBP, 1 K - Lipscomb reached twice and scored in his first full Triple-A game.

Jake Fox (CF, Akron): 1-4, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 2 K - Fox’s RBI triple in the top of the ninth was a rare bright spot for the RubberDuck offense yesterday.

Dayan Frias (3B, Akron): 0-2, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP - Frias scored said run and was one of two RubberDucks to reach safely twice last night - passing Travis Bazzana for the longest active RubberDuck on-base streak (twelve games) in the process.

Jorge Burgos (1B, Akron): 1-3, 1 BB, 2 K - Burgos was the other Akron hitter to reach two times on Sunday and the only to do so with a hit.

Trenton Denholm (SP, Akron): L (5-1), 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R (earned), 1 BB, 1 BK, 4 K - Denholm’s first Double-A loss of the season was almost entirely on the RubberDucks lineup and bullpen as Trenton was solid as usual.

Christian Knapczyk (2B, Lake County): 2-4, 1 K - Knapczyk extended his team-leading hit streak to eleven games with two of the three Captain hits on a rough Sunday afternoon.

Christopher Espinola (LF, Lynchburg): 2-4, 1 R, 2 2B - This two-double performance - his first multi-extra-base hit game since he hit a double and triple against the ACL Athletics last June 11 - included a full one-third of his XBH so far this season (five doubles and a triple).

Garrett Howe (SS, Lynchburg): 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB,1 SB - Howe’s [air of singles extended his multi-base streak to three games. During this stretch, he is slashing .417/.461/.667 with a double, triple, and two RBI.