The Guardians' top prospect is expected to be sidelined for at least the next year.
Daniel Espino, the club's top-ranked prospect and the No. 14-ranked prospect in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline, underwent surgery to repair a right shoulder anterior capsule. The surgery was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Tuesday in Los Angeles, according to a team update.
Espino, whose fastball easily hits triple digits and is complemented by a mid-90s slider and a low-90s changeup, was recently shut down from throwing after experiencing a recurrence of shoulder soreness and inflammation as he worked his way back to the mound. Instead of going through the same rehab process a second time, the Guardians sought another opinion, which led to Tuesday's surgery.
Espino hasn't pitched in a game in nearly a calendar year. In 2021, he posted a combined 3.73 ERA with 152 strikeouts in 91⅔ innings as he worked his way up the Guardians minor league system. He then threw only 18⅓ innings last year, though in that time he struck out 35 batters. Espino was then shut down and sidelined last May with patellar tendinitis.
This spring, he wasn't even able to return to the mound before the inflammation again forced him to be sidelined.
Espino is one of three Guardians starting pitchers in the top-60 prospects in baseball, along with Gavin Williams (No. 34) and Tanner Bibee (No. 57). Bibee and Logan Allen , who ranks eighth in the Guardians minor league system, have both made their MLB debuts recently and have been added to a starting rotation that hasn't gotten off to a stellar start this season.
In addition to Bibee and Allen giving the rotation a boost, as well as an influx of even younger talent, Williams could join that group at some point this season. The Guardians' hope was surely for Espino, who has the highest ceiling of any minor league pitcher in the organization, to be a part of that mix in 2023, but that will no longer be the case, as his original timeline means he could be out until July of next season.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Daniel Espino, Cleveland Guardians top prospect, out 12-14 months
