What to Watch For The Remainer Of The 2025 Season

With the Guardians battling to stay relevant in the playoff picture, the most important developments of the 2025 season may not come in the standings. Instead, Cleveland’s future will be defined by the progress of its young big leaguers and the wave of prospects moving closer to Progressive Field. There are young players at every level from Cleveland all the way down to Lynchburg that are crucial to the future of this franchise.

Cleveland:

• Can Tanner Bibee get back to being himself? I don’t think its an exaggeration to say that this season has been a disaster for Tanner Bibee. He doesn’t look anything like the guy we watched in first two seasons and the guy that Cleveland extended prior to the 2025 season. It will be massive for 2026 if he can show over the next month that the pitcher Cleveland paid is still in there.
• Can Gabriel Arias or Brayan Rocchio be the opening day shortstop in 2026? They’ve had some good moments, but both Arias and Rocchio have struggled mightily at the plate in 2026. I actually feel better about Rocchio’s bat moving forward, but Arias’s defense at shortstop is just so special. He has a 78 WRC+ and is still managing to put up 1.0 fWAR due to how valuable he is defensively. Can one of them hit enough over the next month to prove to the front office that they deserve to be the everyday shortstop until Angel Genao is ready?
• Is Kyle Manzardo an everyday first baseman or is he just a platoon DH? I think it is pretty clear at this point that Kyle Manzardo can hit RHP at the MLB level. However, I am not certain he can hit LHP consistently or if he can defend the position well enough to play there everyday. His OPS against LHP currently sits at .672 this season, can he improve on that number while getting everyday ABs over the next month?
• Should Bo Naylor be the opening day catcher in 2026? I know he likely will be, but should he? I was as high on Bo Naylor as anyone, which is why he has been arguably the most disappointing player on the team for me these last two seasons. He has shown plenty of flashes, flashes that make you think he could be a guy that is a plus defender and a league average bat, but the consistency just has not been there. He is looking more and more like an average defender at best, while being a well below league average bat.
• Just how good are Gavin Williams and Parker Messick? These are the two starters I get most excited to watch right now. At times, Gavin has looked like a legit ace, but he still needs to work on his consistency and efficiency. Too often he is finding himself with 60 or more pitches in the 3rd or 4th inning, and even though he isn’t giving up runs, it is still very detrimental to the pitching staff when you can’t make it out of the 5th inning. Parker Messick has been incredible his first two starts, I am interested to see how he does as opposing teams get more information on him and start making adjustments. If he continues to pitch well, that would be massive for Cleveland’s 2026 pitching staff.
• Maybe the most important of all of these, the development of both CJ Kayfus and George Valera. I know Valera isn’t a top prospect anymore, but that has more to do with injuries than anything else, the talent is still there. Nothing would make me happier than to see him finally get an opportunity in Cleveland and shine. TWO potential outfield bats that hit for power? I’m keeping my eyes on them in the month of September.

Columbus:

• Can Travis Bazzana prove to Cleveland that he is ready to be the opening day second baseman in 2026? It’s been up and down for Bazzana since his promotion to Columbus, I think the oblique injury is clearly still affecting him, as his power and exit velocities haven’t really shown up. The plate discipline and pitch recognition skills remain elite, and that gives him a super high floor as a player.
• Can Chase DeLauter get back to game action? At this point, I have zero doubts about Chase DeLauter as a player on the field. He is arguably the most talented position player prospect that Cleveland has had in my lifetime. Everything comes down to his health, can he come back from this hamate injury and finish the season healthy? That’s all I care about.
• Is Cooper Ingle the catcher of the future? I love Cooper Ingle, and even though he’s had a slow start statistically in AAA, he still looks really good below the hood. He has a 91.2% zone contact rate and just a 21% chase rate, which are both elite numbers. I fully expect him to take over the starting catcher at some point in 2026.

Akron:

• Ralphy Velazquez has been the most exciting prospect in the organization this year in my personal opinion. He is currently slashing .375/.464/.750 with a 244 WRC+ since his promotion to AA. He really doesn’t have any holes in his offensive profile. He looks like a potential 30-40 HR bat that can play 1B or LF. Cleveland hasn’t had a player like that in a long time.
• Angel Genao has struggled a bit this season after suffering a shoulder injury early on, but he is still an extremely talented player, and in my opinion, the player most likely to be the shortstop of the future.
• Can Alfonsin Rosario improve in AA? Rosario domianted High-A as a 20 year old this season, but has struggled a ton to make contact since being promoted to AA. So far he has a 35% K rate and a 56.8% contact rate in AA, both of those numbers need to improve over the next month.
• Khal Stephan made his organizational debut on Sunday and looked really impressive. He is definitely someone to keep an eye on down the stretch and he could potentially be an option for Cleveland’s starting rotation in 2026.
• Josh Hartle is another pitcher to watch in Akron, he dominated all season in Lake County. With a few good starts in Akron, we could see his name shoot up on prospect lists this offseason.
• Yorman Gómez is another name to keep an eye on, as he has absolutely dominated this season. He currently has a 1.88 ERA in Akron while striking out over 30% of the batters he has faced, he has me excited!

Lake County:

• Between injuries and lackluster performance, it has been a tough season for top prospect Jaison Chourio. A big month of September would be huge for him going into the offseason.
• Nick Mitchell, acquired from the Pirates in the Spencer Horwitz trade, has been playing very well in Lake County.
• Jogly Garcia was just promoted to Lake County after coming back from an injury that had kept him sidelined since May. When he was pitching in Lynchburg this season, he was arguably the best pitcher in the organization. He had a 2.05 ERA and was striking out nearly 43% of the batters he was facing, which is an insanely high number. This is yet another young arm to be excited about!

Lynchburg:

• Lynchburg might be the most exciting team to watch right now. They are littered with talent from the 2025 draft class and the 2024 international class. Dean Curley, Anthony Martinez, Nolan Schubart, Riley Nelson, Aaron Walton, and Luke Hill are all very talented 2025 draft picks to keep an eye on.
• OF Juneiker Caceres looks like a star in the making. Outside of Ralphy Velazquez, I’m not sure there’s a prospect I am more excited about than Caceres. At just 17 years old, he is extremely talented, already showing plus power and contact skills. Don’t be surprised if you see this kid on some top 100 lists this offseason.
• IF Dauri Fernandez hasn’t played in Lynchburg yet, but he reportedly will be soon. He was one of the best hitters in the entire Arizona Complex League as an 18 year old, slashing .333/.398/.558 with a 145 WRC+. He has one of the prettiest swings you will ever see and in my opinion is the most underrated prospect in the entire organization. I cannot wait to watch this kid play.