Cleveland Guardians Prospect Report 4/30/25
Slade Secconi returns and CJ Kayfus stays hot in Triple-A debut
SCOREBOARD:
St. Paul Saints 8, Columbus Clippers 7 - F/11 (Statcast)
Akron RubberDucks 6, Altoona Curve 0
Lansing Lugnuts 5, Lake County Captains 2
Lynchburg Hillcats 7, Charleston RiverDogs 4
REHAB:
Slade Cecconi (RP, Columbus): 3.1 IP, H, 2 R, BB, 5 Ks - In a rehab appearance, Cecconi topped out at 98.2 mph on the fastball and induced 11 swings and misses on Wednesday. He got off to a good start with a six-pitch first inning and left his first start of the year after 50 pitches. He was able to keep the ball mostly on the ground with four ground ball outs to go with his five K’s.
HIGHLIGHTS
CJ Kayfus (1B, Columbus): 2-for-5, R, HR, RBI, DP - In his Triple-A debut, Kayfus showed his upside with a 378-foot homerun to give the Clippers the lead back after the Saints tied it up in the top half of the sixth. He had a multi-hit game in his first Columbus start with a single in the third as well, tracked at 105.5 mph off the bat.
Aaron Davenport (SP, Akron): W (1-0), 6.0 IP, H, 0 R, 3 BBs, 5 Ks - After six shutout innings of work to help the RubberDucks secure a 6-0 win, it’s hard to find critiques, but 47 strikes in 81 pitches showed he had slight control issues and was able to work around free bases. This is already his second start of five or more innings where he allowed just one hit, but in the other three he allowed a combined nine runs. When the Washington native gets hot, he gets really hot on the bump.
Jeffrey Mercedes (3B, Lynchburg): 1-for-3, R, HR, 4 RBIs, BB - Mercedes made it back-to-back games with a homerun after he blasted a grand slam in Wednesday’s win. He had six total bases and three RBIs in his last game and followed that up with four of each and a walk to begin the series against Charleston.
Rafe Schlesinger (SP, Lynchburg): W (1-0), 5.0 IP, 2 H, R, 2 BBs, 5 Ks - The 22-year-old southpaw was stretched out to his longest start of the season and put himself in position for the pitching win with five innings of work. He allowed just two hits and one run. Schlesinger had 18 strikeouts in 19.1 innings pitched on the young season.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
Yordys Valdes (SS, Columbus): 2-for-6, 2 RBIs, SB, DP - A bases loaded single by Valdes drove in two for the Clippers early in the game and he was a part of a double steal that scored a run later in the inning to extend the lead.
Petey Halpin (CF, Columbus): 2-for-5, 2 R, 2B, BB, 2 SBs, OF Assist - Halpin did a little bit of everything with a pair of hits, including a double and a stolen base, but he also displayed excellent defense by preserving a run at home with an outfield assist. That is his second assist of the year.
Will Brennan (RF, Columbus): 2-for-6, 2B, RBI, OF Assist - Brennan added a multi-hit game and an outfield assist as well, but Brennan’s went to second base in the midst of extra innings.
Khalil Watson (CF, Akron): 2-for-3, R, HR, 2 RBIs, BB, HBP, SB - Watson slugged his second homerun of the season in the third and added a single in the first for a multi-hit game. It is just his second multi-hit game of the year despite a decent batting average at .250.
Cooper Ingle (C, Akron): 2-for-4, R, 2B, RBI, BB - Ingle reached base three times and hit his third double in his last four games played. He has also drawn five walks in as many games.
Tyresse Turner (1B, Akron): 2-for-4, R, HBP, 2 SBs, DP - Turner extended his hit streak to four games in a row with a 2-for-4 effort on Wednesday. He used his speed to take a few extra bases to put himself in scoring position twice.
Alex Mooney (SS, Akron): 1-for-3, 2 R, 2B, BB, HBP, 5 SBs - The main culprit for the RubberDucks abusing the battery of Altoona on Wednesday was Mooney. He stole five of the team’s nine bases on the night. Five successful steals is a new career high, and 6-of-16 hits on the year for Mooney have gone for extra bases.
Josh Harlow (RP, Lake County): 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BBs, K - The 24-year-old Mercer product retired all six batters he faced and gave the offense a chance to catch up, but the 5-1 hole was too much to overcome when he entered. A much-needed relief appearance after allowing six earned runs in his last 1.2 innings.
Luis Merejo (1B, Lynchburg): 1-for-2, 2 R, HR, RBI, BB, HBP - The 18-year-old reached base three times, but the highlight came on a solo homerun in the seventh inning, his fourth already in 2025. Over half of his 13 hits on the season have gone for extra bases.