Cleveland Guardians Prospect Report 6/29/24
Triple-A - Omaha Storm Chasers 7, Columbus Clippers 5 (F/8*)
Double-A - Akron RubberDucks 3, Altoona Curve 0
High-A - Great Lakes Loon at Lake County Captains (PPD - Rain)
Single-A - Carolina Mudcats 5, Lynchburg Hillcats 3
ACL - Angels 9, Guardians 7
DSL - Guardians Mendoza 10, Padres Gold 9
DSL - Cubs Blue 5, Guardians Goryl 1
*The Clippers game was shortened to seven innings since it was delayed past 9 PM local by rain (2021 MiLB rule that never went away) and went to an extra frame.
HIGHLIGHTS
Juan Brito (RF, Columbus): 2-4, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 SB - Brito extended his hitting streak to five games (and on-base streak to six with his third multi-hit game of the five the Clippers have played so far this week (all five of which have been multi-base for Brito) with two of the Clip Show’s five extra-base hits in Saturday night’s rain delay-shortened contest - including a fifth-inning blast (105.6 MPH, 390 feet) that gave Columbus a 4-3 lead.
Parker Messick (SP, Akron): 4.2 IP, 0H, 3BB, 10K - In Messick’s first two Double-A starts since his promotion, he has a five inning, rained shortened complete game win and a 10 strikeout, no-hit performance. Why did it take this long to promote him again?
Ralphy Velazquez (1B, Lynchburg): 3-5, 2B - Velazquez has found a lot of extra base power this month, not a shock, but over half his hits this month have been of the extra base hit variety. There’s talk of him seeing some time in the outfield in the second half of the season too.
Esteban Gonzalez (RF, Lynchburg): 3-4, 2B - Gonzalez keeps hitting non-stop in Lynchburg as well. The 21 year old needs to see more advanced pitching soon.
Luis Merejo (1B, ACL): 2-4, 2B, HR, BB, K - We’ve been waiting to see Merejo’s good data last year in the DSL translate into the ACL, since the pitching is generally not that much different. The power has been starting to show more recently.
Jervis Alfaro (RP, ACL): 6IP, 5H, ER, 7K - No walks for the 20 year old 5’11 pitcher in his first ACL season with now 35 strikeouts and just 3 walks in 29 innings. He’s 20 but that’s quite interesting.
Juneiker Caceres (RF, ACL Mendoza): 3-5, 3B, 4 RBI - The 16 year old outfielder has been one of the best hitters in the DSL so far this year.
Gabriel Rodriguez (2B-SS, ACL Mendoza): 2-3, BB - Rodriguez has 11 walks and five strikeouts in his first year in the DSL as a bigger name international signing. Hopefully he does better than the other Gabriel Rodriguez who still holds the modern record for international signing bonus by Cleveland.
Joelvis Perez (SP, ACL Goryl): 6IP, 3H, BB, 5K - The 19 year old has four starts in his second DSL season and this is his only good start so far.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Myles Straw (CF, Columbus): 2-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 SB, 1 E - Straw reached base multiple times for the fourth game out of his last five to continue a vastly improved June (.282/.411/.385 with nine RBI and a 9:17 K:BB ratio in 95 PA).
Johnathan Rodriguez (DH, Columbus): 1-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB - J-Rod got his major contribution to Saturday’s effort out of the way early, but what a contribution it was! His two-run homer in the first left his bat at 111.1 MPH and traveled 431 feet - both topping yesterday’s Triple-A leaderboard!
Connor Gillispie (SP, Columbus): ND, 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R (all earned), 1 BB. 77 K, 2 HR allowed - Gillespie fell victim to the longball twice in a game whose scoring was fairly homer-dependent on both sides, but generally impressed as he went a full six frames for the third straight outing.
Kahlil Watson (LF, Akron): 2-4, BB - No extra base hits for Watson, but he was on base three times with two hits and a walk, without a strikeout. That’s something we need to see more of. He’s had no problem showing off the power more since he got to Cleveland but he’s still working to find more consistency between showing off his wicked bat speed.
Logun Clark (C, ACL): 2-4, 3 RBI - Just the third game played all year by the 21 year old catcher taken in the 2022 draft class.