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What to Expect from Guardians Infielder C.J. Kayfus

Originally posted on New Baseball Media
By Chris Studley | Last updated Aug 3, 2025 1:19 PM ET

After a hot run in Triple-A, the Guardians are reportedly promoting infielder/outfielder C.J. Kayfus to Cleveland. The former third-round pick held his own with Columbus. Now, Kayfus — one of the team’s best prospects — will look to provide a spark for a Guardians team that’s still in the playoff race.

A Look at Kayfus

The Guardians selected Miami (FL) product C.J. Kayfus two years ago in the third round. Kayfus had a big year in his junior season, batting .347 with 13 home runs for the Hurricanes. Since being drafted, Kayfus has done nothing but hit in the Minors.

From a physical standpoint, Kayfus stands out; he’s lean & strong. The 23-year-old hit 17 home runs and 49 extra-base hits last year across 107 games, split between High-A and Double-A. Kayfus only spent 18 games in Akron (AA) this year before moving to Triple-A Columbus.

With the Clippers, Kayfus hit .283/.367/.526 (.893 OPS) with 13 home runs and 31 extra-base hits.

A left-handed hitter, Kayfus does damage on mistake pitches on the inner half of the plate, particularly on breaking balls. Five of his 13 home runs came off sliders, sweepers, and curveballs, per Statcast data from Triple-A.

Kayfus drew plenty of walks; 44 over 369 plate appearances combined between the Rubberducks & Clippers this season. He will expand the zone at times, with a chase rate a tick above 27% this season in Triple-A. He averaged 3.8 pitches per plate appearance this season.

He swung and missed at pitches 27.6% of the time this season with Columbus.

Defensively, Kayfus is a primary first baseman down in Triple-A. However, Cleveland gave him work in the outfield, as he started 33 games between left and right this season. Most of those games came in left.

Multiple outlets confirmed that C.J. Kayfus would be officially promoted to the Guardians this weekend.

Analysis

Now that the trade deadline has passed, we should start to see more notable prospects come up as teams grapple with available 40-man roster spots, even if those spots get filled in the interim.

Kayfus, after a strong 2025 season, now joins the Guardians’ 40-man roster for the final seven weeks of the year.

The Guardians sat 26th in the league in runs scored (427) as of August 2. The Guardians have not received particularly strong production from right field this season, as Nolan Jones — a traditional power hitter — only has three home runs on the season, along with a .309 SLG.

Kayfus would figure to be in the conversation to get work in the outfield. He is a natural first baseman but Cleveland has two regulars, Kyle Manzardo and Carlos Santana, on their roster.

Manzardo is a key to their future and has been on fire since the break. The sophomore first baseman hit .405/.465/.703 with three home runs since the start of the second half. Santana, meanwhile, is still with the team as Cleveland opted to hold on to him.

This article first appeared on New Baseball Media and was syndicated with permission.

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