How are the Cleveland Guardians faring in the Top 100 Prospect Ratings?

The Cleveland Guardians have a nice crop of prospects but how do they rank against the others?

The Cleveland Guardians have a great crop of young talent resting in the minor leagues. Some of those names could be up as soon as this season, while others may be a few years away. Despite how soon some may impact the team on the field, they all may impact the team in some way if a team has a big name the Guards are looking to trade for.

Not only could they all impact the squad this year or next, but the evaluation of them by the folks at MLB.com should also give fans an idea of what to expect from this club long-term. After all, this is a small-market club that relies on drafting and trading for prospects, so having a long-term competition window starts with prospect development.

So how do the Guardians stack up against the rest of the league according to MLB.com? Well, the squad had six players make MLB’s Top 100 prospects list, three pitchers, one outfielder, one catcher, and one infielder;

• Daniel Espino #15 overall/ #3 RHP
• George Valera #31 overall/#10 OF
• Gavin Williams #53 overall/#11 RHP
• Brayan Rocchio #69overall/#4 2B
• Bo Naylor #75 overall/#8 catcher
• Tanner Bibee #99 overall/ #23 RHP

Bo Naylor not being higher is a surprise

With the hype around Guardians prospect, Bo Naylor, it was rather surprising that not only was he not among the top two prospects for the club, but that he wasn’t even in the Top 5 of catchers. Now, Naylor has as good of a shot of being a big-time player as anybody. That’s not really up for debate. The kid has talent and he has the tools.

He’s not a world-beater at the plate, but if he can average .230 he’ll look like Ivan Rodriguez in his prime at this rate, that’s how bad things have been for the club at that position.

Still, it is nice to see three top 100 pitching prospects, which gives the Guardians a real shot of getting out from Zach Plesac which needs to happen now, more than ever.