Now on the 40-man roster, Aleman has a great chance of impacting Cleveland’s bullpen in 2025 and beyond.
Flamethrowing righty reliever Franco Aleman is our No. 15 prospect, earning 32% of the vote in an upset victory. Aleman makes his top 20 CTC debut, after consecutive strong campaigns.
Aleman was a 10th round draft pick out of Florida in Cleveland’s pitcher-loaded 2021 MLB Draft.
Believe it or not, Aleman was the third pitcher Cleveland selected out of the University of Florida in that draft behind second round competitive balance pick Tommy Mace and seventh-rounder Jack Leftwich.
Aleman initially was tried out as a starter. It didn’t go well. In his debut season in 2022 spent entirely at Single-A Lake County, he had eight starts before moving to the bullpen. He was lit up for a 6.31 ERA, although his strikeout and walk numbers were excellent at 12.13 K/9 and 2.91 BB/9, respectively, resulting in a reasonable 3.79 FIP.
Cleveland advanced Aleman to High-A Lake County for the 2023 season, where his strikeout rate increased, but his problems with hard contact continued. He was whiffing 13.35 batters per nine innings, but also allowed 1.16 HR/9, possibly due to a ridiculous .397 BABIP. His ERA through 20 appearances and 31 innings at High-A was 5.52, although his FIP remained respectable at 3.66.
And then it happened.
Aleman was promoted to Double-A midseason and he blossomed. Over 19 appearances to close out the 2023 campaign, he did not allow a run. His strikeout rate also increased from an already excellent 32.2% to a ridiculous 42.2% and he cut his walk rate in half from 3.77 BB/9 to 1.88 BB/9. His FIP was an astronomical 0.98.
Aleman was on Cleveland’s radar entering the 2024 season, where he started out at Triple-A Columbus. His scoreless appearance streak ended April 4th when he gave up a home run, but he was dominant. The only thing that kept him from earning a promotion to Cleveland before Andrew Walters was an oblique strain that caused him to miss three months of the season.
When Aleman returned to Columbus in mid-August, he dominated again, finishing the season with 11 consecutive appearances without allowing an earned run. In his first taste of Triple-A, he had a 1.99 ERA in 24 games over 22.2 innings pitched with 34 strikeouts compared to 10 walks. He allowed just five earned runs on the season while hitting the upper 90s with his fastball. He was added to Cleveland’s 40-man roster at the end of the season and is expected to fight for a spot in Cleveland’s bullpen during Spring Training.
RHP Franco Aleman
55IP, 3.10 ERA/2.50 FIP, 36.1 K%, 7.7 BB%Didn’t really start to click until his promotion to Double-A, ending the season using his 97-99 FB and slider to a scoreless streak in his time at Akron. Has some work to do in ’24 but put himself on the map. pic.twitter.com/Oe4wCDcGeQ
— Justin L. (jlbaseball on bluesky) (@JL_Baseball) December 29, 2023
Dylan DeLucia, RHP (Age 24)
2024 (ACL): 2 GS, 5.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 3.50 FIP, 17.6 K%, 0.0 BB%
2024 (A): 3 GS, 8.2 IP, 4.15 ERA, 2.66 FIP, 27.0 K%, 8.1 BB%
2024 (A+): 8 GS, 35.2 IP, 2.52 ERA, 3.55 FIP, 28.1 K%, 6.5 BB%
The 2022 6th round pick made his pro debut in 2024 after recovering from Tommy John surgery and immediately has looked like the real deal. Could be a fast riser in 2025.
Braylon Doughty, RHP (Age 19)
2024: ——
Cleveland’s competitive balance pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, selected at No. 36 overall out of high school with a $2.57 million signing bonus. Touches 97 mph already with his fastball.
Nic Enright, RHP (Age 28)
2024 (AAA): 16 G, 17.0 IP, 1.06 ERA, 0.80 FIP, 36.1 K%, 11.1 BB%
Overcame stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma plus a mid-season injury to put up impressive numbers in a small sample size in 2024, earning a spot on the Guardians’ 40-man roster.
Daniel Espino, RHP (Age 24)
2024: ——
Cleveland’s 2019 first round pick, once compared to Jacob DeGrom and Gerrit Cole, has struggled to stay healthy and has not pitched since 2022 due to shoulder surgeries.
Michael Kennedy, LHP (Age 20)
2024 (A w/ PIT): 15 GS, 73.0 IP, 4.07 ERA, 3.73 FIP, 26.6 K%, 5.3 BB%
2024 (A+ w/ PIT): 2 GS, 10.2 IP, 0.84 ERA, 1.87 FIP, 36.6 K%, 7.3 BB%
Kennedy joined the organization in the Spencer Horwitz trade(s). Thought he did not dominate at Single-A he finished strong with two great High-A starts.
Luis Merejo, 1B (Age 18)
2024 (ACL): 200 PA, .250/.417/.421, 4 HR, 8 SB, 17.5 BB%, 24.0 K%, 123 wRC+
2024 (A): 121 PA, .282/.372/.466, 3 HR, 3 SB, 9.1 BB%, 24.8 K%, 145 wRC+
A young Dominican with power potential, showed a great eye at the plate in his stateside debut, then put up impressive hitting numbers in a small sample size with Lynchburg.
Joey Oakie, RHP (Age 18)
2024: ——
Cleveland’s third round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Ankeny Centennial in Iowa, Oakie stands 6-foot-3, 200 pounds with a mid-90s fastball and took a $2 million signing bonus.
Johnathan Rodriguez, RF (Age 25)
2024 (AAA) 508 PA, .301/.390/.540, 29 HR, 8 SB, 12.6 BB%, 25.2 K%, 140 wRC+
2024 (MLB): 40 PA, .129/.325/.161, 0 HR, 0 SB, 22.5 BB%, 35.0 K%, 63 wRC+
Absolutely blistered Triple-A pitching in 2024, earning a couple brief opportunities with Cleveland. Will need to prove he’s not a Quad-A player this year.
Alfonsin Rosario, OF (Age 20)
2024 (A w/ CHC): 456 PA, .230/.344/.423, 16 HR, 20 SB, 12.3 BB%, 32.2 K%, 127 wRC+
Acquired from Chicago in the Eli Morgan trade, put up impressive speed and power numbers as a 19-year-old in Single-A last season, but strikeouts could be an issue.
Matt Wilkinson, RHP (Age 22)
2024 (A): 8 GS, 40.1 IP, 1.12 ERA, 1.45 FIP, 48.0 K%, 6.1 BB%
2024 (A+): 16 GS, 78.1 IP, 2.30 ERA, 3.33 FIP, 32.7 K%, 8.9 BB%
“Tugboat” set the MiLB world on fire in 2024 with one of the best nicknames in sports and one of the best seasons of any pitching prospect, finishing second in MiLB in strikeouts.