Angels Sign Two-Time All-Star's Son Following MLB Draft

As a pitcher, Guardado was 2-3 with a 6.60 ERA in 17 games (eight starts) for the Tigers this season. He made a dramatic improvement in strikeout-to-walk rate, going from 28 strikeouts and 23 walks as a junior to 40 strikeouts and 20 walks as a senior.

But Guardado also allowed 13 home runs, hit nine batters, and threw nine wild pitches in 17 appearances, numbers that will need to improve if he is to continue his career as a professional.

Although he focused more on pitching this year, Guardado has also played outfield in college. A left-handed hitter, he posted a .250/.345/.271 slash line in 48 at-bats as a junior. In just 23 at-bats as a senior, Guardado slashed .087/.192/.130.

Before transferring to Pacific, Guardado spent two seasons at Pasadena Community College as a full-on two-way player. He prepped at Beckman High School in Irvine before ultimately returning to Stockton — where his father was born — to finish college.

Eddie Guardado retired after the 2009 season after appearing in 908 major league games — 25th all-time. He played his final MLB season under current Angels manager Ron Washington. Along the way, Guardado racked up 187 saves and made the AL All-Star team in 2002 and 2003.

Guardado only made one appearance in the 2002 American League Division Series against the Angels. The Twins didn't have many save opportunities for their closer in the series; the Angels took four of five games en route to their first and only World Series title.

Jakob Guardado wouldn't remember any of that. He was 10 months old at the time.

“As I was growing up, around that five to nine age, I remembered watching my father’s games,” he said in a 2024 interview. “He was adamant that I do something that I love, and it just happened to be baseball.”

It's not uncommon for MLB teams to place bets on second-generation players whose college stats don't jump off the page. The combination of genetics and learned experience in baseball often proves to be a competitive advantage.

The Angels will find out if the same is true for Guardado.

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