Cleveland Guardians Prospect Report 7/13/25

Stephan's rehab continues to be bumpy, Halpin heating up

SCOREBOARD

Louisville Bats 7, Columbus Clippers 2 - Statcast
Richmond Flying Squirrels 7, Akron RubberDucks 2
Lake County Captains 5, West Michigan Whitecaps 2
Lynchburg Hillcats 11, Hickory Crawdads 2

REHAB

Trevor Stephan (RP, Columbus): 0.1 IP, 2 H, 4 R (all earned), 2 BB, 1 HR allowed - Results aren’t supposed to matter in rehabs, but nine earned runs in a third of an inning across two outings against Triple-A hitters is not the statline of a guy fully recovered and ready to return to the majors.

HIGHLIGHTS

Jhonkensy Noel (RF, Columbus): 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 K - Noel has an extra-base hit in both of his Triple-A games since his most recent option. This one just happened to be a 116.9 MPH, 449-foot solo shot that topped both’ metrics’ combined MLB/Triple-A leaderboards on the pre-All-Star Sunday.

Petey Halpin (CF, Columbus): 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K - Halpin wrapped up a dominant week at the Corner of Neil and Nationwide (9-for-22 with two doubles, two homers, three RBI, and four walks) with a 101.8 MPH, 412-foot solo shot to center in the fifth.

Jorge Burgos (1B, Akron): 1-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB - Burgos, still the only Double-A hitter to pass the 60-RBI mark this season, became the level’s first 65-RBI man on a ninth-inning single.

Wuilfredo Antunez (RF, Lake County): 1-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI - Antunez’s two-run double in the seventh tied him with Ralphy Velazquez, who didn’t drive in a run yesterday, for the team lead with 46 RBI.

Yorman Gomez (SP, Lake County): W (8-0), 5.2 IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 3 K - Gomez may have fallen one out short of going six full frames for the first time this season, but it’s the only thing he failed at yesterday - or all month, really. In 15.2 combined July innings, Yorman has allowed only one earned run on six hits with a 13:7 K:BB ratio while holding opposing hitters to a .125 batting average.

Luis Merejo (1B, Lynchburg): 2-4, 1 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K, 1 E - The usually light-hitting Merejo shone on the last day before the All-Star Break with a pair of doubles including a two-run shot to left to wrap up the Hillcats’ eight-run seventh and get the Lynchburg side into double digits.

Yaikel Mijares (3B, Lynchburg): 3-4, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 SB - Another big day from a guy not known as an offensive juggernaut. Mijares equaled his season high for hits but only got halfway to the total bases figure from his other three-hit game of 2025 on May 22 in Fayetteville, in which he hit a triple and a homer.

Nick Mitchell (CF, Lynchburg): 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 SB - Deuces were wild for Mitchell on Sunday as he posted pairs of hits, runs, RBI, and steals in a performance that saw him visit the basepaths for the 17th straight game.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES

Christian Cairo (2B-LF, Columbus): 2-3, 1 2B, 1 HBP, 1 K, 1 SB - Cairo enters the All-Star Break with a stellar weekend (5-for-10 with three doubles and two steals over the last three days).

Kahlil Watson (RF, Akron): 1-4, 1 R, 1 3B, 2 K - Watson, who has now reached safely in 13 straight games, has four extra-base hits (two doubles, a triple, and a homer) out of eight total hits over the course of his active five-game hitting streak.

Jonah Advincula (LF, Akron): 1-3, 1 2B, 1 K - The pre-All Star-Break portion of Advincula’s July was a solid one, seeing him slash .296/.387/.407 with a trio of doubles, a 2:4 K:BB ratio, and a pair of stolen bases in as many attempts.

Kevin Rivas (2B, Lake County): 2-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 K - Rivas absolutely dominated the Whitecaps pitching staff last week, going 7-for-12 with a double, homer, and three RBI in three games (the RBI being evenly distributed at one per game).

Christian Knapczyk (3B, Lake County): 2-4, 1 HBP, 1 K - Knapczyk broke out of a 4-for-27 slump with his first multi-hit game since a five-game multi-hit streak from June 26-July 1.

Tyler Naquin (RP, Lake County): H (1), 0.1 IP, perfect - Naquin remains unscored upon in 1.1 High-A innings after needing only one pitch to get the Caps out of the sixth and earn his first non-complex hold.

Welbyn Francisca (DH, Lynchburg): 2-5, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB - Francisca extended his team stolen base lead among players still on the Hillcats with his 32nd steal of the season in a performance that would've been a highlight on most days.

Garrett Howe (SS, Lynchburg): 2-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K - Howe joined Mijares and Mitchell as the trio of Hillcats to reach thrice on Sunday.

Melkis Hernandez (SP, Lynchburg): ND, 4.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R (earned), 3 BB, 1 K, 1 HR allowed - Hernandez came within one bad pitch of throwing five shutout frames in an impressive rebound from a four-run outing the previous Sunday.