Cleveland Guardians Pitching Prospect Has Closer Potential

The Cleveland Guardians' closer role has been a hot topic to start the 2025 season.

Who is Cleveland's best option to close games? Is it Cade Smith or Emmanuel Clase?

Even though the Guardians have two pitchers with closer ability right now, a team can always be looking toward the future.

Minor League analysts Sam Dykstra, Jim Callis, and Jonathan Mayo recently identified one prospect from each organization who has the potential to be a the team's closer in the future.

For the Guardians, the trio of experts selected Cleveland's 11th-ranked prospect, RHP Andrew Walters.

"Walters already flashed big league bullpen dominance with a 0.77 ERA in 13 appearances for the Guardians last season, including the playoffs, though shoulder stiffness and elbow inflammation have slowed him a bit in 2025," wrote the analysts.

"A 2023 supplemental second-rounder from Miami, he pitches mainly off a mid-90s fastball with carry, command and deception and complements it with a mid-80s slider. He fanned 13 of the 28 batters he faced at Triple-A before going on the injured list on April 21."