The Cleveland Guardians are heading into the 2026 season with a decent amount of pitching depth at the big-league level, but it's rare that a team doesn’t need to dig into its minor league arms to get through a season.

The Guardians have a few pitching prospects in their organization who could have a major impact for Cleveland at some point next year. 

Honorable Mention: Parker Messick

Yes, Parker Messick is technically still considered a prospect and will be a big piece of Cleveland's success in 2026.

That said, we've already seen what the left-hander can do at the big-league level. In his first seven MLB starts, Messick owns a 2.72 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP.

For the sake of originality, here are three other Cleveland pitching prospects primed to make a big impact. 

Austin Peterson

The Guardians clearly view Austin Peterson as a potential option for the big-league team, or they wouldn’t have added him to the 40-man roster and protected him from the Rule 5 Draft earlier this offseason.

The 26-year-old has been a very consistent pitcher throughout his minor league career. In 2025, Peterson made 28 appearances, 26 of which were starts, and logged a 3.21 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP across both Double-A and Triple-A.

Peterson doesn’t strike out many batters, but he still has incredible command, very similar to current Guardians pitcher Slade Cecconi. 

If the Guardians find themselves in a pinch and need a starter early in the season, there's a good chance Peterson could be the first pitching prospect to get the call in 2026. 

Daniel Espino

At one point, Daniel Espino was viewed as one of the top pitching prospects, not just in the Cleveland organization, but in all of baseball. Espino’s days of being a superstar starter are likely behind him, but if he can stay healthy, the hard-throwing right-hander could be an intriguing option in Cleveland’s bullpen.

Espino recently participated in the Arizona Fall League and threw 4.2 scoreless innings, including seven strikeouts and three walks. More importantly, the 25-year-old proved he was healthy. Plus, Espino showed signs of still having strong velocity and still being capable of hitting triple digits, which is a skill set that’s currently missing in Cleveland’s bullpen.

The Guardians will need to make a decision on Espino’s future at some point soon, considering he currently has 1 MiLB option remaining. If he can stay on the mound, 2026 could certainly be the year Espino makes his MLB debut.

Andrew Walters

Andrew Walters technically made his MLB debut in 2024, but still holds prospect status with only 11 career appearances. Unfortunately, the right-hander’s season was cut short in 2025 because of a shoulder injury, but he should be back and healthy at some point this coming year.

We’ve seen the type of pitcher Walters can be when he’s healthy. He didn’t give up a single run with a whiff-rate of 33.8 percent in his 8.2 innings in 2024, and Walters owns a 2.55 ERA with a strikeout rate of 35 percent at Triple-A.

If Walters returns to form after the injury, he could be one of the best surprises in Cleveland’s bullpen. 

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