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Cleveland Guardians Ranked As One Of MLB's Top Farm Systems
RubberDucks second baseman Travis Bazzana throws to first base to retire an Altoona Curve runner on April 13, 2025, in Akron, Ohio. Phil Masturzo / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Cleveland Guardians Ranked As One Of MLB's Top Farm Systems

Originally posted on Cleveland Guardians on SI
By Tommy Wild  |  Last updated Aug 13, 2025 5:15 PM ET

The Cleveland Guardians have always been known for their player development, especially on the pitching front. The front office’s ability to draft, sign, and trade for young players who turn into franchise cornerstones is the key to the organization staying competitive every year.

Even though Cleveland has one of the youngest rosters in MLB, it still has another wave of elite young talent in the minor leagues, and analysts are extremely high on the Guardians’ prospects.

Jim Callis, Sam Dykstra, and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com recently ranked all 30 farm systems across the league and put the Guardians at No. 5 on their list.

“Though they're known for developing pitching, the Guardians have a hitter-heavy system. Nine of their 11 best prospects are bats, led by 2024 No. 1 overall pick Bazzana, and they spent most of the 2025 Draft capital on more hitters, starting with outfielder Jace LaViolette and infielder Dean Curley, who slid after rocky seasons. They're doing a nice job of helping hit-over-power guys such as Kayfus and catcher Cooper Ingle discover more pop,” wrote the trio of analysts. 

For whatever it’s worth, Cleveland’s system is ranked as the second-best in the American League Central. The Minnesota Twins are slightly ahead at No. 2, the Detroit Tigers barely trail at No. 6, the Chicago White Sox are ranked at No. 17, and the Kansas City Royals sit down at No. 25.

The four Guardians prospects who rank in MLB.com’s top-100 list include Travis Bazzana (No. 15), Chase DeLauter (No. 56), Angel Genao (No. 57), and CJ Kayfus (No. 59). 

As the analysts noted, Cleveland is best known for developing pitchers, but right now, Cleveland’s top minor leaguers are all highly rated because of their hitting potential. Some prospects not in the top-100, but are still highly rated in the Guardians’ farm system, include Jaison Chourio, Ralphy Velazquez, and Alfonsin Rosario.

All of this isn’t to say the Guardians don’t have any elite pitching prospects coming up through the pipeline. 

Cleveland’s highest-rated pitching prospect is Khal Stephen, whom the organization just acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays in the Shane Bieber trade. 2024 draft selections, Braylon Doughty and Joey Oakie, each have the potential to be top arms in a big-league rotation. Parker Messick is currently banging on the door at Triple-A and could very well make his MLB debut by the end of the 2025 season.

Between the balance of highly regarded hitting prospects and Cleveland’s talent at identifying and developing pitchers, the Guardians are more than deserving of having one of the top-five farm systems in baseball. 

Read More Cleveland Guardians Coverage


This article first appeared on Cleveland Guardians on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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