2025 Cleveland Guardians Top 30 Prospects: No. 24 LHP Michael Kennedy

Scouting Grades

Kennedy, who turned 20 this past November, has an advanced feel for pitching. He sequences well, sets up hitters, and isn’t afraid to attack the zone. His slider and improving fastball command give him a foundation for missing bats.

Fastball

His fastball sits in the 89-92 mph range, occasionally touching 93-94 mph. While not overpowering pitch is aided by his deceptive delivery and features good riding life up in the zone. The pitch also plays up thanks to his command and feel for locating it. There is optimism that me may add some more velocity, and he continues to mature physically.

Slider

Kennedy's slider is considered his best secondary pitch. It’s effective against both left- and right-handed hitters and shows a sharp late break. When he locates it down and away, he generates a lot of swing-and-miss.

Changeup

His changeup is less developed than his fastball and slider, but is a solid third offering. With refinement and further development, it could give him a viable weapon against right-handed batters with its fade and sink.

Control

One of his strengths is his ability to repeat his delivery and throw strikes, which is in part due to his athleticism. He’s already shown above-average command in his brief time as a professional.

2024 Stats

Kennedy appeared in 18 games during the 2024 season, 16 with (Low-A) Bradenton and two with (High-A) Greensboro. He struck out 95 batters over 83.2 innings, posting a 3.66 ERA and an even better 3.50 FIP.

He struck out 27.8 percent of the batters he faced in 2024, good for a 10.22 SO/9 inning rate. He also showed very good control, only walking 19 batters on the year, which led to a five-to-one strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Opposing batters only hit .229 against Kennedy, which, along with his low walk rate, led to a 1.09 WHIP on the season.

2025 and Future Outlook

Kennedy will begin his 2025 season and Cleveland Guardians career at (High-A) Lake County. He only appeared in two games at the (High-A) level in 2024 while in the Pirates organization, so he will most likely spend most, if not the entire, season with the Captains.

There is a chance he could possibly be promoted to (Double-A) Akron late in the year.

Currently, Kennedy's ceiling is that of a potential mid-rotation starter in the majors, while his floor is that of a back-end rotation arm or swingman.

It will be interesting to see how Kennedy continues to develop, especially now that he is working with Cleveland's pitching development system.

If he can add some velocity to his fastball as he continues to mature and refine his changeup, he is definitely an arm to keep an eye on moving forward. His ETA of reaching the majors is late 2027 at the earliest.

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