Cleveland has one of the deepest minor league systems in all of baseball, so plenty of talented position players got left off our Covering the Corner top-20.
With seven teams in its minor league system, Cleveland has 165 players under contract heading into the 2025 season, so it’s a bit unfair to stop counting prospects at just the top 20.
It’s been a hot minute since I published this article, but since I like bragging, I’d just like to say that I absolutely nailed the last one I did in 2021, calling 12 position players who weren’t top 20 prospects who all made it to MLB (including future All-Star Steven Kwan).
With that out of the way, Covering the Corner readers finished their voting recently, but here are some prospects who just missed the cut and deserve some recognition as well.
And for clarity’s sake, I’m going to list these players by proximity to MLB per position, not by ranking.
Catchers
Jacob Cozart, 22, C
Drafted in the second round out of NC State in last year’s MLB Draft, scouts said Jacob Cozart was strong defensively and possessed a significant amount of raw power, although he may have trouble getting to that power due to possessing some swing and miss in his game. Cozart appeared in 13 games for High-A Lake County last season and struggled in a small sample size, slashing .119/.245/.143 with an ugly 36.7% strikeout rate. Hopefully an offseason working with Cleveland’s MiLB staff will get him sorted out on the offensive end.
Logun Clark, 21, C
Clark was a prep high school catching prospect, selected in the 16th round in 2022. He struggled mightily in his pro debut in 2023 in the Arizona Complex League, but bounced back last year. He opened the 2024 season repeating at the ACL, where he blasted three home runs in 12 games. He then impressed mightily in a 20-game stint at Single-A Lynchburg, slashing .294/.388/.426 with a 142 wRC+ while dropping his strikeout rate.
Infielders
Khalil Watson, 21, 2B
Acquired in the Josh Bell trade, Watson is a former first round pick with some of the best athleticism in Cleveland’s system, but he’s yet to really put it all together. He’s been just barely above league average at every level he’s played, including his debut in Double-A Akron last season, where he slashed .220/.305/.407 with 16 home runs and 15 stolen bases in 96 games. He’s still young and could put it all together, but there are some elite middle infield prospects climbing fast behind him.
Milan Tolentino, 23, SS
Tolentino was Cleveland’s fourth-round pick in 2020. It looked like he was breaking out in 2022 when he put up a 144 wRC+ at Single-A Lynchburg, earning a midseason promotion to High-A. He hasn’t stood out ever since, however. He was slightly above average at Lake County in 2023, then struggled upon being promoted to Double-A Akron. He repeated at Akron last year and was below average, slashing just .243/.313/.370 for a 97 wRC+ in 111 games. He could begin 2025 at Triple-A, but he’s struggling to stand out in a system loaded with position player prospects.
Alex Mooney, 22, 3B/SS
Mooney signed overslot for $1 million as a seventh round pick by Cleveland in 2023. He started the 2024 season scorching hot, slashing .286/.360/.473 with a 137 wRC+ through mid-July before falling off drastically in the final two months of the season where he slashed .125/.291/.227. It’s not uncommon for a prospect to wear down in their first full season of MiLB, so we’ll have to see how Mooney performs this year where he’s likely going to begin 2025 at Double-A Akron.
Christian Knapczyk, 23, 2B/SS
Cleveland’s fifth round pick in 2023, Knapczyk is a high-contact speedster. He spent his entire 2024 season at Single-A Lynchburg, where he slashed .250/.382/.350 with 18 stolen bases and a 124 wRC+. He walked (14%) almost as much as he struck out (17.5%) but it’s a bit concerning he wasn’t given a look at any point at High-A Lake County despite being a college bat.
Luis Merejo, 18, 1B
A 2023 international signing out of the Dominican Republic, Merejo has the size (6-foot-2) to eventually become a physical force at first base. He’s done nothing but rake at every level, slashing .321/.441/.485 in the DSL in 2023. Last year, he impressed at the Arizona Complex League, walking 17.5% of the time and putting up a 123 wRC+ in 47 games, then he blew people away by slashing .282/.372/.466 in a 30-game stint at Single-A Lynchburg to close out the season, which gave him an elite 131 wRC+. He also did this without increasing his strikeout rate. Keep an eye on this kid.
Yanki Baptiste, 20, 1B/3B
Signed by Cleveland out of the Dominican Republic in 2022, Baptiste has flashed plus-plus power in a small sample size. He slashed .224/.427/.513 in his debut season in the Dominican Summer League in 2023. He was limited to just nine games in 2024 due to a broken foot, but posted a 160 wRC+ with three home runs, a ridiculous .467 ISO and a .767 slugging percentage in those nine games. Strikeout rate is a concern (42.4%).
Gabriel Rodriguez, 17, SS
This is actually a different Gabriel Rodriguez, signed internationally in 2024. He primarily played shortstop in the Dominican Summer League and put up some impressive numbers, primarily with his on-base ability. Rodriguez slashed .269/.506/.398 over 37 games. He not only walked (39) more than he struck out (27) but he also got hit by a whopping 14 pitches. The kid is a baseball magnet. We’ll see how that on-base ability translates as he likely makes his debut in the Arizona Complex League this year.
Outfielders
George Valera, 24, OF
Valera did not have a particularly great 2024 season, slashing just .248/.337/.452 over 90 games at Triple-A and his season ended with a nasty torn ACL injury that will delay his start to 2025. He was DFA’d and resigned to Cleveland in the offseason, but it wasn’t that long ago that he was the No. 1 prospect in Cleveland’s minor league system. If he can get healthy and find that sweet swing that had us dreaming of glorious bat flips, we could still see him in Cleveland someday.
Petey Halpin, 22, CF
A third round pick by Cleveland in 2020, Halpin has been slightly above average almost every season in the Guardians’ system. He struggled in his debut at Double-A in 2023 and then repeated the entire season there last year, slightly improving almost all of his numbers. While nothing stood out, Cleveland saw enough to add Halpin to its 40-man roster at the end of the season to avoid having Halpin selected in the Rule 5 Draft.
Guy Lipscomb, 23, OF
A fifth round pick in 2022, Lipscomb has impressed in both of his pro seasons with Cleveland. He was excellent in 2023 at Single-A Lynchburg, almost walking more than he struck out while slashing .263/.386/.351 and swiping 48 bases. He began 2024 at High-A Lake County and dropped his strikeout rate to 15.2% while slashing .278/.360/.379. What really impressed was his performance after being promoted to Double-A, where he slashed .273/.380/.409 with a career-best 130 wRC+ over a 26-game span to close out the season.
Jake Fox, 22, CF
A third round pick by Cleveland in 2021, Fox has shown excellent plate discipline throughout his minor league career, but has struggled to make consistent contact. His wRC+ has dropped each year, cratering at 90 when he repeated at High-A Lake County in his age-21 season last year. Fox was spectacular in Lake County’s playoff run to a Midwest League championship, but something has to give this year or he’s going to get lapped by some of the better-performing outfield candidates.
Wuilfredo Antunez, 22, RF
A 2019 international signing out of Venzuela, Antunez has done nothing but hit at every level he’s ever played at, never posting a wRC+ below 120. He slashed .275/.354/.420 spending the entire 2023 season at Single-A Lynchburg and Cleveland repeated him there in 2024, where he again played well, putting up a 127 wRC+ over 80 games. Cleveland finally promoted Antunez to High-A at the end of the year and he slashed .306/.328/.452 over the season’s final 16 games.
Tommy Hawke, 22, LF
Hawke was Cleveland’s sixth round pick in 2023 and spent his entire 2024 campaign at Single-A Lynchburg. He posted an elite walk-rate of 15.1% while swiping 37 bases over 88 games, slashing .263/.379/.347 with a 121 wRC+. Hawke is a contact-focused hitter, hitting just one home run last year. He’ll likely start 2025 at High-A.
Alfonsin Rosario, 20, OF
Acquired from the Cubs in the Eli Morgan trade, Rosario made his full-season debut last year a Single-A in his age-20 season, where he slashed .230/.344/.423 while cranking 16 home runs and stealing 20 bases in 109 games. He struggled with strikeouts (32.2%) but still managed to post a 127 wRC+ despite being one of the younger players at his level.
Nick Mitchell, 21, OF
A third-round pick by Toronto in 2024, Mitchell was acquired by Cleveland in the Andres Gimenez trade. He posted elite contact numbers in college and slashed .289/.350/.467 in his pro debut at Single-A last year in a 22-game sample size. He’ll likely begin 2025 at High-A Lake County.
Ryan Cesarini, 22, OF
Cesarini was a solid contact-first outfielder drafted out of Saint Joseph’s by Cleveland in the 14th round of the 2024 MLB Draft. He got a cup of coffee at Single-A Lynchburg where he impressed with a 157 wRC+ by slashing .283/.370/.543 over 13 games.
Robert Arias, 18, OF
Cleveland’s top international signing in 2024 out of the Dominican Republic, Arias didn’t make elite contact, but showed great plate discipline in his Dominican Summer League debut. He slashed .247/.367/.347 with 29 stolen bases while walking almost twice as much as he struck out. He was pretty unlucky with a .272 BABIP, so if that bounces back, he could have a much better 2025 season.
Juneiker Caceres, 17, OF
Signed out of Venezuela just one year ago, Caceres was far and above Cleveland’s top performing hitter in the Dominican Summer League in 2024, slashing a ridiculous .340/.425/.504 at 16 years old with a 146 wRC+ while walking more than he struck out. Caceres is definitely worth keeping an eye on moving forward.
Did I miss any of Cleveland’s minor league players that you felt deserved a shoutout? Feel free to comment or share your opinion on the “best of the rest” below.