Cleveland Guardians Spring Training Prospect Report 2/24/25
Impressive young pitching leads the way
Scoreboard
Arizona Diamondbacks 4, Cleveland Guardians 3
Starters
Joey Cantillo (SP): 2IP, H, 3K - 21 pitches, 17 strikes. Cantillo threw strikes with all four of his pitches and showed off impressive run on the fastball. The velo was a little underwhelming (91) but not a big deal right now. Throwing strikes is a big deal for Cantillo. The stuff and velo will take care of itself as he has those in the tank. Good first outing here.
Johnathan Rodriguez (LF): 0-1, BB - Worked a walk off of Blake Walston and then grounded out against Josh Winder in his first spring start. Seems unlikely Rodriguez will earn an everyday role out of camp. He’s a top 100 ZiPS prospect and has the numbers, but defensively has a lot to prove and if his approach can translate to major league games.
Petey Halpin (CF): 0-2, 2K - Struck out swinging against Walston and and Winder in his first start. Halpin needs to limit swing and miss to have offensive value to go with his defense and take advantage of his speed as part of the reason he made the 40 man this off-season.
Micah Pries (1B): 1-1, 2B, BB - Had a 108 MPH double off Walston and later worked a walk in his first spring start. Pries is a bit older and seems squeezed positionally between 1B/OF with how the Guardians roster/prospects are aligned, but he’s always been a late bloomer and might have a better season this year and still has an interesting bat if he can stay healthy and make some adjustments with more comfort.
Reserves
Andrew Walters (RP): 0.1IP, H, 3ER, 2BB, K - Rough first outing for Walters this spring, but that tends to be how it goes for him in his first outings in any setting. Velocity was good.
Zach Jacobs (RP): 0.2IP, H, BB - The 2024 swingman finished up Walters’ rough outing with 15 pitches and a few bumps.
Rodney Boone (RP): IP, K - Boone was in the low-90s here in his inning. Something to watch for here in terms of sustainability of this. Typically, Boone is 87-89. I’ve seen him in the low 90s very sparingly. He’s got a plus changeup and some interesting metrics on his pitches in terms of carry and vertical break. If he finds his way into the 92-93 range, things could get interesting.
Tommy Mace (RP): IP, H, K - Mace also found his way into the mid-90s in this one (93-94) - which is notable for him being mostly 90-92. Not a big jump here and it’s early, but worth monitoring sustainability. I’ve never been big on the shape of Mace’s fastball either, so velocity alone isn’t going to fix that.
Aaron Danveport (RP): IP, H, K - Another guy with a small velo bump in his first performance, typically 90-92, Davenport was also 92-93 and hit 94. I always liked his curveball and he showed the cutter more here. Another guy to keep an eye on velo wise. There are better fastball metrics here than Mace at least, too.m
Dayan Frias (2B): 0-1, K - Interesting to watch Frias get deployed this spring defensively and where they seem to believe he’s a best fit.
Yordys Valdes (SS): 0-1
Milan Tolentino (3B): 0-0, BB
Jaison Chourio (RF): 0-1, K - Chourio’s first big league camp appearance in 2026
Jake Anchia (C): 0-2
Joe Lampe (PR): 0-0
Jorge Burgos (LF): 0-2, K
Kahlil Watson (CF): 0-1 - Watson has reps in LF and CF so far this spring. Watch to see how much he is in the OF vs. the INF.
CJ Kayfus (1B): 0-1
Did Not Play
RHP Ross Carver
RHP Trenton Denholm
RHP Jake Miller
RHP Davis Sharpe
RHP Carter Spivey
C Cameron Barstad
INF Travis Bazzana