Cleveland Guardians Prospect Report 6/22/24
Scoreboard:
Triple-A - Worcester Red Sox 2, Columbus Clippers 0
Double-A - Binghamton Rumble Ponies 6, Akron RubberDucks 5
High-A - Lake County Captains 5, South Bend Cubs 2
Single-A - Lynchburg Hillcats 9, Charleston RiverDogs 6
DSL: CLE Goryl 9, CLE Mendoza 2
Highlights
Tommy Mace (Akron, SP): 5.2IP, 6H, 2ER, 2BB, 7K - Mace has been missing bats at a better clip recently, which is good to see. Again, multiple members of this Akron rotation should be getting tested at Triple-A just to get through the bumps that happen there to get a look now rather than later.
Austin Peterson (Lake County, SP): 8.2 IP, 4H, 2ER, 5K - Cleveland allowed Peterson to throw 94 pitches which is impressive and that got him nearly through a complete game. Will that be enough to push him to Akron?
Tommy Hawke (Lynchburg, LF): 3-4, 3B, BB - Hawke has hit somewhat of a lull and I’ve expected more from him as an ACC performer in Single-A, but he hasn’t quite had the results I thought.
Ralphy Velazquez (Lynchburg, 1B): 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2BB - Velazquez is having a great month in both power and walks, two things you like to see from a player his age at Single-A.
Notable Performances
Joey Cantillo (Columbus, SP): 3.1IP, 2H, ER, 4 BB, 5K - Cantillo struggled with control throughout this one but had no problem missing bats, and was hard to hit. He worked into the fourth inning, which is as long as he’s gone this year so far. It’s only five outings so we will see if he can clean up the control, as that’s a big hurdle for his future as a starting pitcher. The stuff is quality and he’s had trouble harnessing it at Triple-A in 2023 and now.
Andrew Walters (Columbus, RP): IP, H, 2BB - No runs allowed for Walters, but no strikeouts and he had to navigate two walks and a hit. His control has been shaky at best in Triple-A and he hasn’t missed nearly as many bats. It’ sometimes baffling how different things are for pitchers between Double-A and Triple-A. I admit I knew Walters would have an adjustment period in Triple-A but not like this. The walks and lack of strikeouts are likely going to hold him back from major league action and I guess I won’t be shocked if he doesn’t see the majors this year after all.
Jhonkensy Noel (Columbus, DH): 1-3, BB - A walk and a hit with no strikeout is a nice game to see for Noel, who still chases a lot.
Juan Brito (Columbus, RF): 0-5, 2K - A pretty bad day at the plate for Brito but the notable item is playing right field. He looked OK out there, a little awkward at times taking routes. Curious what this means for him as Columbus has no shortage of OF options so this was pretty intentional.
Milan Tolentino (Akron, SS): 2-4, 2B - Tolentino homered Friday and doubled Saturday so he’s been hot lately though he’s not known for his bat.
Dayan Frias (Akron, 1B): 2-4, HR - I was hopeful we would see more from Frias this year with the bat given what he did in High-A, but Double-A is a big adjustment and anymore its hard to predict much based on any performance below Double-A.
Alex Mooney (Lake County, 3B): 2-4, 3 SB - Mooney has not cooled off much this year and continues to run well.
Cooper Ingle (Lake County, C): 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI - Ingle has been a hitting machine in South Bend and since being on Locked On Guardians. Coincidence?
Jaison Chourio (Lynchburg, CF): 1-3, BB, SB - Chourio has 20 steals now and its nice to see him working some walks as well, though the power has sort of dropped off from earlier levels.
Randy Martinez (DSL Mendoza, 2B): 2-3, 2B - the 17 year old has six extra base hits so far in his first DSL season.
Johan Rodriguez (DSL Goryl, SS): 1-4, 2 RBI - It hasn’t been a great start for the 16 year old but he does have five walks and just six strikeouts.