Joey Cantillo is our No. 8 Guardians prospect. Who should be No. 9?

The steady southpaw flashed moments of brilliance during his MLB debut in 2024, but consistency will keep him there.

Left-handed hurler Joey Cantillo is our No. 8 prospect, earning 27% of the vote on Wednesday and squeaking past some tough competition by just two votes. He drops one place from his peak of No. 7 last year. This year will be Cantillo’s final top prospect appearance in our rankings as he’s been a staple of the top 20 since debuting at No. 14 in 2021.

Cantillo was acquired by Cleveland in a trade with the Padres. He was the final piece of the 2020 Mike Clevinger deal to make it to MLB (out of Gabriel Arias, Austin Hedges, Josh Naylor, Cal Quantrill and Owen Miller).

Originally drafted in the 16th round of the 2017 MLB draft by San Diego out of Kailua High School in Hawaii, Cantillo was known at the time as a crafty, soft-tossing lefty who topped out in the upper 80s with velocity. That is no longer the case.

Cantillo had a breakout 2019 season, which was split between Single-A and High-A, where he combined a 2.26 ERA with 11.6 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9. He was unable to play in Cleveland’s system the season he was acquired due to the COVID pandemic, and then he battled injuries in 2021 and 2022, which limited his development at Double-A, although he showed flashes of brilliance with above average strikeout rates in limited sample sizes.

Thankfully none of his injuries involved his elbow or shoulder, which allowed him to tack on velocity while rehabbing. Cantillo had his first fully-healthy season in 2023 with the Guardians and he impressed. He absolutely dominated Double-A that year, sporting a 1.85 ERA over six starts and earning a quick promotion to Triple-A and an invite to the Futures Game, where he his added velocity in the mid to upper 90s impressed scouts.

He struggled in his first taste of Triple-A, but gained valuable experience with 20 starts there in 2023. Cantillo was hoping to fight for a spot in the big league rotation to begin the 2024 season, but a hamstring injury in Spring Training delayed the beginning of his season to early June.

Once activated, Cantillo dazzled to the tune of a 3.29 ERA with nearly 12 K/9 in eight starts with the Clippers. With Cleveland’s starting rotation ravaged by injuries and inconsistency, Cleveland gave Cantillo a shot in August. He struggled at first against some of the best offenses in baseball including Baltimore, Philadelphia and the Yankees, but Cantillo found his groove, taking a perfect game into the seventh inning against the White Sox on Sept. 9 while striking out a career-high 10 MLB batters.

Cantillo earned an opportunity to pitch on the playoff roster, where the bright lights got the best of him with some wild pitch issues, but in his upcoming age-25 season, he appears poised to contend for a spot in Cleveland’s starting rotation. The ceiling remains extremely high for the Hawaiian.

---

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.

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.

C.J. Kayfus, 1B/OF (Age 23)

2024 (A+): 183 PA, .338/.437/.578, 7 HR, 4 SB, 12.6 BB%, 18.3 K%, 188 wRC+
2024 (AA): 298 PA, .263/.366/.470, 10 HR, 1 SB, 12.1 BB%, 28.3 K%, 139 wRC+

Has consistently destroyed baseballs at every level he’s played thus far in Cleveland’s system, showcasing improved power and a decent eye at the plate as well. The rise in K’s at Double-A gives some room for pause but he is still young and developing.

Parker Messick, LHP (Age 24)

2024 (A+): 13 GS, 68.0 IP, 3.57 ERA, 3.38 FIP, 32.3 K%, 8.0 BB%
2024 (AA): 13 GS, 65.2 IP, 2.06 ERA, 2.77 FIP, 30.2 K%, 8.0 BB%

Cleveland’s second round pick in 2022 impressed at Lake County in 2024 and then absolutely blew everyone away at Double-A Akron for the second half of the season.

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.

Austin Peterson, RHP (Age 25)

2024 (A+): 14 GS, 85 IP, 2.44 ERA, 2.17 FIP, 27.1 K%, 1.9 BB%
2024 (AA): 13 GS, 75 IP, 2.88 ERA, 2.96 FIP, 25.1 K%, 5.2 BB%

Peterson broke out as one of the top performing pitchers in the Guardians MiLB organization in 2024 with consistent and elite dominance at both High-A and Double-A.

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.

Ralphy Velazquez, 1B (Age 19)

2024 (A) 373 PA, .243/.362/.414, 10 HR, 8 SB, 15.0 BB%, 20.1 K%, 131 wRC+
2024 (A+): 80 PA, .176/.275/.250, 1 HR, 0 SB, 12.5 BB%, 25.0 K%, 54 wRC+

Guardians 2023 1st round pick. Impressed as one of the youngest players at Single-A and represented Cleveland in the 2024 Futures Game, showcasing prodigious power.

Andrew Walters, RHP (Age 24)

2024 (AA): 17 G, 20.0 IP, 1.35 ERA, 1.73 FIP, 46.3 K%, 9.8 BB%
2024 (AAA): 33 G, 30.1 IP, 2.97 ERA, 4.36 FIP, 31.8 K%, 13.2 BB%
2024 (MLB): 9 G, 8.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 3.51 FIP, 18.8 K%, 15.6 BB%

Advanced all the way to Cleveland in his debut season and even earned valuable bullpen innings on the postseason roster. Will be a staple of the Guardians’ 2025 relief corps.

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.