The best rookie trios in Cleveland Guardians modern history

The Cleveland Guardians have a great trio of rookies but they’re not the first.

The Cleveland Guardians have a great trio of young rookies that are helping carry the team to success in 2022. The trio of Steven Qwan, Oscar Gonzalez, and Richie Palacios have emerged like a phoenix from the ashes of past failed callups like Bradley Zimmer and Bobby Bradley. What’s even more amazing is that the three of them essentially secured the outfield position for years to come, which was once a spot of weakness on the club.

No longer.

The Guardians are no strangers to successful rookie callups. This isn’t the first time the club has had three rising stars on the team at the same time. It’s happened five other times before since 1994.

For this list we’re looking at just the teams from 1994 and on, which many consider the start of the modern era of the Guardians. We’re looking at other successful rookie trios from the club’s past. To qualify for the list, however, we’re looking at guys who were called up at the same time and who were considered rookies by Stats Reference.

The MLB definition of a rookie is a bit screwy so we’re simplifying it. Also, this isn’t a grouping of guys who necessarily had the best rookie years, either. This is a list of the guys who ended up having the best careers.

So let’s check out what other successful trios we found.

Five other trios the Guardians had

1997 – Sean Casey, Bartolo Colon, Richie Sexton

The 1997 squad had the Mayor, Sean Casey, a future Cy Young winner in Bartolo Colon, and one of the best power hitters of his generation in Richie Sexton. Two of the men, Sexton and Casey were both traded for relievers, with Sexton going for Ricardo Rincon and Casey for Dave Burba. In hindsight, these were bad trades. Colon’s trade ended up rejuvenating the club, so at least there’s that.

2002 – Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee, Victor Martinez

Speaking of which, Brandon Phillips and Cliff Lee came over to the Cleveland Guardians via that Sabathia trade. Both he and Lee were called up almost immediately. Phillips would have a good career with the Reds, while Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee were All-Stars while in Cleveland (and elsewhere). Lee, like Colon, also won a Cy Young in his career.

2010 – Carlos Santana, Josh Tomlin, Vinnie Pestano

While he didn’t have a long career, Vinnie Pestano was incredible when healthy. We may not show a lot of respect to relievers, but he was arguably the best the club had for a few seasons. Pestano also got name-dropped on How I Met Your Mother at the apex of its popularity. (Fun fact, it also featured future Guardians player Nick Swisher.) Josh Tomlin was a great glue guy, able to pop in the rotation, or in the bullpen, doing solid work wherever he was requested. He was never a star but extremely reliable. Carlos Santana for his part became a major player in the Guardians’ success for the next decade or so, and even worked his way up several categories of the Guardians’ all-time stat lists.

2011 – Corey Kluber, Lonnie Chisenhall, Jason Kipnis

Corey Kluber is the third Cy Young winner on the list and the only one who had multiple wins. Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall were part of that 2016 crop of guys who helped the team get to the World Series, and Kipnis even managed a few All-Star nods. Chisenhall was a great hitter who saw his career end early due to injuries.