Could the Cleveland Guardians use prospect Daniel Espino if they make the MLB Playoffs?

Daniel Espino, the Cleveland Guardians pitching prospect with the best overall "stuff" in a generation, made his season debut on Saturday pitching two thirds of an inning for the Columbus Clippers.

Although Espino had all the hype and all the talent when the Guardians drafted him with the No. 24 overall selection in 2019, he hadn't pitched since May of 2022, and fans had largely given up hope. What made Espino so attractive was the scouting grades on his pitch mix, according to scouts (who use the 20-80 grade scale), its an 80 grade fastball, a 70 grade slider and a plus curveball.

The high velocity fastball which was sitting at 98 (and has been clocked as fast as 93) and the devastating slider had Espino drawing comparisons to the likes of Jacob DeGrom. The peak was when Espino fanned an astonishing 11 straight hitters and 14 total over just 5 innings of work for a start in Double A Akron in April 2022. It was clear, Espino was on the way to superstardom and Cleveland looked to boast a rotation for the foreseeable future that included the likes of Shane Bieber, Espino, and Triston Mckenzie.

Then suddenly, Espino lost nearly three full years due to injury, first dealing with knee issues and then whilst rehabbing he underwent two separate shoulder surgeries. Unfortunately for Espino (but fortunately for Cleveland), the Guardians were able to develop other pitching prospects like Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams and fans largely moved to what could have been with regards to Espino.

Thing's didn't look especially promising to begin the year when in February Guardians manager Stephen Vogt announced that there was "no timeline" for Epsino's return. However, in both the Arizona Fall League and his one appearance for Triple A Columbus Espino has been flashing and is starting to turn heads again.