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DeLauter? Brito? Kayfus? Bazzana? Who could the Guardians promote to help their offense?
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- DeLauter? Brito? Kayfus? Bazzana? Who could the Guardians promote to help their offense?
CLEVELAND — The Guardians are in danger of falling out of the American League wild card race , which could in turn make them sellers at the trade deadline. The pressing question is, how do they stop the skid?
After a 1-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers on July 5 , which extended their losing streak to nine games, the Guardians were 5.5 games out of a wild card spot in the AL .
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The sudden drop in offensive production — as if any power in the lineup was tossed off a steep cliff — has been the culprit for the Guardians' slide down the standings.
Over the last month, the Guardians are dead last in the majors with 69 runs scored . They're the only team below 89 runs during that time period, and they're even behind the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox , two teams on track to be among the worst in baseball history.
It's only been getting worse in July. In a nine-game span, the Guardians were shut out five times. In 15 of their previous 27 games entering July 6, they scored runs in only one inning. The offensive output has been bleak, to say the least, for a team with any hope of playing into October.
"Every player's aware of how they're doing, and the team's very aware of how we're doing," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said after the July 5 loss. "Our mindset and our attitude is still in the right place. We can't allow the results of games to dictate our attitude and our mindset. We have to bring that every single day.
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"That's the game of baseball. It's 162 games. It's long. You have to stay consistent. You have to keep telling yourself that you're going and we're going to win. There's never going to be a downward spiral of our mindset or our attitude. This group is way too strong to do that."
Jose Ramirez is having a typical MVP-finalist-level season and will start at third base for the AL in the 2025 All-Star Game . Steven Kwan has been productive in the leadoff spot and played at an All-Star level as well. Outside of those two, it's been tidal waves of question marks hitting the shore all season.
Strong pitching, quality defense and perhaps an element of Guards Ball are the only factors keeping Cleveland alive, but it hasn't been enough recently, and it might not extend their playoff chances much longer if they don't turn it around soon. In their last four games entering July 6, Guardians pitchers posted a terrific 1.16 ERA; Cleveland still went 0-4.
One possibility — which will be dependent on the Guardians turning it around over the next few weeks and staying alive in the race for a playoff spot — could be a trade to address the needs of the lineup, but there are obvious drawbacks to that for a pitching staff being stretched to the limit with Shane Bieber still sidelined and Luis Ortiz under MLB investigation for gambling .
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The other route is to look internally at a few top prospects. But who's ready (or healthy)? Here are updates on four key prospects, all in the top 10 of the Guardians farm system .
Could the Guardians call up Chase DeLauter to Cleveland?
The often-injured Chase DeLauter is on an absolute tear for Triple-A Columbus, to the point that many fans on social media are clamoring for his promotion to the majors.
DeLauter, a left-handed-hitting outfielder, has been working his way back from a sports hernia injury, building up his volume to playing around five games a week. When he's been in the lineup, he's put together a 30-game on-base streak with the Clippers, hitting .288 with a .394 on-base percentage along with six home runs, seven doubles and 21 RBIs.
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DeLauter has been on the top prospect radar for quite some time, but injuries have stonewalled his progression up the minor league ladder. He's finally healthy and tearing the cover off the ball, so it's possible he could be manning an outfield spot in Cleveland soon.
When could Guardians call up top prospect Travis Bazzana?
As soon as the Guardians selected Travis Bazzana with the No. 1 overall pick in last year's draft, it was known he had the batting profile that could result in a fast trajectory to the majors. The Guardians would love to add a player with that kind of a ceiling to the lineup — he's a top-20 prospect in baseball — but an oblique strain has made that impossible for the time being.
Based on the original timetable, Bazzana is still a few weeks away from returning to game action. He also hasn't yet logged an at-bat above Double-A, so the chances of him reaching the majors in 2025 are beginning to dwindle. If the Guardians continue to free fall down the standings, the urgency will lessen, though they also wouldn't overly push things either way until he's deemed to be ready.
Akron RubberDucks infielder Juan Brito throws to first base between innings during a game against the Bowie Baysox, Aug. 31, 2023, at Canal Park.
When will Juan Brito be promoted to the majors?
Infielder Juan Brito has been putting together his own case for a promotion to the majors, but the Guardians will need to wait to see about the severity of a recent hamstring injury.
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Brito was limping after trying to beat out a ground ball on July 4 with Triple-A Columbus. He was not only in obvious pain, but obvious frustration. Brito missed significant time earlier this season after needing thumb surgery. If not for missing so much time, there's a good chance he'd already be in the majors.
The Guardians have been seeing what they have in Daniel Schneemann , Angel Martinez and Brayan Rocchio lately (with Gabriel Arias on the injured list) among their many middle infielders. While they often operate with a goal of finding out as much as they can on younger players before moving on, Brito has now logged 771 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, so there's little left to prove once he's fully healthy.
And as a switch-hitter who can play multiple positions, Brito would have plenty of routes to at-bats in Cleveland.
Akron RubberDucks first baseman CJ Kayfus fields a grounder against the Harrisburg Senators on Aug. 20, 2024, in Akron, Ohio.
How could C.J. Kayfus factor into the Guardians lineup?
C.J. Kayfus , another left-handed hitter like DeLauter and Bazzana, has been torching minor league pitching all season.
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A first baseman who also plays the corner outfield, Kayfus posted a blistering 1.066 OPS with the RubberDucks to quickly earn the promotion to Triple-A, where he's slashed .299/.387/.567 in 53 games in Columbus. It's still a smaller sample size, but Kayfus is another prospect on a hot streak in Triple-A.
If the Guardians dealt 39-year-old veteran Carlos Santana , it'd open up another path for Kayfus to find everyday at-bats in the majors along with Kyle Manzardo at first base. The outfield has been pretty wide open, with the Guardians searching for any consistent production outside of Kwan and Nolan Jones , who has turned it around a bit with some hard contact in recent weeks.
The Guardians have hoped for steps forward from young players like Schneemann, Arias, Rocchio and Martinez in the infield and Johnathan Rodriguez and Jhonkensy Noel in the outfield. The bottom of the lineup has weighed down the rest of the roster like an anchor.
Now the question is if, and when, the Guardians turn to other internal options to try to right the ship.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians top prospects update on DeLauter, Bazzana, Brito, Kayfus
