Cleveland Guardians 2020 draft in review
Who were the hits and misses of the Guard’s 2020 draft?
As we begin our coverage of the upcoming 2024 MLB draft, which begins July 14th, I’ll be reviewing the last four Cleveland Guardians drafts, which have added considerable depth to their minor league system.
Now 2020 was a unique draft because it happened during the COVID pandemic when the entire minor league season was canceled. The draft only lasted five rounds. Most teams also added minor league free agents who would have been drafted if the draft had been larger. One of them (Cade Smith) is making quite the impression in the Cleveland bullpen this year.
Just FYI, the age listed below is the age of the players when they were drafted just over four years ago, so just add four years for their current age.
1 (23). Carson Tucker. SS/RHH. Age 18. $2M bonus.
The younger brother of MLB player Cole Tucker, here’s what scouting director Scott Barnsby had to say about Carson at the time:
”We have a history with Carson with his brother from a few years ago. ...As we got to the moment, we felt really comfortable with Carson on the field as well as off the field, so that was really important for us.”
Make-up only goes so far, however. Tucker played just six games in the Arizona Complex League in 2021 and then played 38 games at Single-A Lynchburg in 2022. He had disappointing results in both seasons.
He repeated at Lynchburg last year during his age-21 season, where he was surpassed by multiple other infield prospects who outplayed him. He managed to put up his best numbers as a pro, but they still weren’t impressive, slashing .200/.296/.263 with a 69 wRC+ in just 29 games played.
If you were hoping another year to figure it out would help him for 2024, it didn’t. Tucker never debuted in 2024 and eventually was released from the organization, making him one of the biggest first round busts in team history.
2 (36). Tanner Burns. RHP. Age 21. $1.6M bonus.
Drafted out of Auburn with a first round competitive balance pick, Burns had the typical Cleveland college pitcher profile, someone who throws strikes and doesn’t issue walks while missing bats. Here’s what Barnsby had to say on draft day:
”He’s been a workhorse for (Auburn). Not only has he been a workhorse, he’s been an extreme competitor. He always takes the ball. In terms of his stuff, he pitches comfortably 92-93 mph. He’s been up to 96 mph. Two different breaking balls. Both of them have the ability to miss bats.”
Burns showed off that workhorse style spending all of 2021 at High-A Lake County. He pitched the entire 2022 season at Double-A Akron, where he had a respectable 3.55 ERA and struck out 9.34 batters per nine innings. He repeated the 2023 season at Akron and his numbers improved, although he eventually switched to the bullpen.
Burns has spent his 2024 season in Triple-A as a member of the Clippers bullpen. He’s run a decent strikeout rate, but walks have been a problem. He currently has a 5.50 ERA and 6.23 FIP though 27 appearances spanning 37 2⁄3 innings. He has a ways to go if he’s going to contribute at the MLB level.
3 (56). Logan T. Allen. LHP. Age 21. $1.125M bonus.
Allen was the top performing pitcher out of several college arms that debuted at High-A Lake County in 2021. By midseason, it was clear he was ready for a new challenge and he was promoted to Double-A.
In 2022, Allen was straight up dominant at Double-A, striking out 10 or more batters in an outing three times, which earned him a promotion to Triple-A. He struggled at Triple-A after his promotion, but he figured it out when he repeated there, looking spectacular and earning a promotion to Cleveland’s rotation, where he had a 3.81 ERA over 24 starts.
Allen began 2024 as a member of Cleveland’s starting rotation, but has struggled to the tune of a 5.67 ERA and 4.55 FIP while seeing his strikeout rate shrink and his walk rate slightly increase. He was sent to Triple-A this past weekend (likely temporarily) to work out some kinks.
4 (95). Petey Halpin. OF/LHH. Age 18. $1.525M bonus.
One of the top prep bats in the 2020 draft, Cleveland went over slot to sign Halpin. He was quickly challenged by making his pro debut in full-season Lynchburg in 2021, where he impressed with a 117 wRC+ as a 19-year-old.
Halpin was promoted to High-A Lake County in 2022, where he’s was above average, slashing .262/.347/.385, which was good for a 107 wRC+. He again was promoted to Double-A to begin the 2024 season, where he struggled. He eventually posted a career-worst 88 wRC+ while slashing just .243/.313/.372.
Halpin has repeated at Double-A this year and is showing similar results, currently slashing .237/.308/.390 with similar walk and strikeout rates. His lone improvement has been ISO as he’s hit six home runs through the midway point of the season and is on track to get double digits for the first time. Halpin is still 22 years old, but he’s going to need to make a move soon or other top outfield prospects are going to lap him in the system.
5 (124). Milan Tolentino. SS/LHH. Age 18. $800K bonus.
Originally expected to be a glove-first middle infield prospect, Tolentino impressed on offense early in his career. He debuted at the Arizona Complex League in 2021, where his 121 wRC+ earned him a late season promotion to full-season Lynchburg.
After starting the 2022 season at Lynchburg, Tolentino showcased an elite eye at the plate, almost doubling his walk rate from 8.6% to 15.6% and cutting 10 percentage points off his strikeout rate. A 146 wRC+ and .333/.434/.423 slashline over his first 46 games earned him a promotion to High-A Lake County, where he’s maintained his elite walk rate, although his other numbers regressed.
Tolentino got off to a slow start in 2023 while repeating at Lake County, but eventually worked his way to a 108 wRC+ and earned a promotion to Double-A, where he struggled in a 32-game sample size. Tolentino is repeating this year at Double-A, where he’s already almost tied his career best in home runs with 6 and has raised his wRC+ from 60 to 92. He still has a ways to go if he wants to get to Triple-A.
6 (154). Mason Hickman. RHP. Age 21. $340K bonus.
A starting pitcher at Vanderbilt, Mason Hickman was tossed into the fire in his first pro season at High-A Lake County, where he was average, but at least dependable with a 4.88 ERA and an 8-8 record over 20 starts and 97 innings pitched. He showed occasional flashes of brilliance like a 6.0 shutout inning game with nine strikeouts.
He repeated 2022 at High-A, where his strikeout rate increased from 26% to an elite 31%, but his walk rate also has increased and he was more hittable. Cleveland converted him to a reliever and he took off, dominating and earning a promotion to Double-A, where he had a 2.77 ERA over 10 games.
He repeated at Double-A in 2023 and raised his strikeout rate to 11.69 per 9 innings while dropping his walk rate. He finished the season with a 3.95 ERA and 4.13 FIP in 35 appearances spanning 54 2⁄3 innings. Hickman was promoted to Triple-A for this 2024 season and he’s experiencing some growing pains, currently sporting a career worst 6.75 ERA, but he’s also increased his strikeout rate to 12.09 per 9 innings. There are likely 3-4 members of the Clippers bullpen ahead of him in the pecking order for a promotion to MLB, to go along with Cleveland already having the best bullpen in baseball.
Undrafted free agents
Since there were only five rounds in the 2020 MLB draft, it was much more likely that players signed as undrafted free agents that year. Cleveland signed four additional players.
Joe Donovan. C/RHH. Age 21. $125K bonus.
A solid and reliable defensive backstop, Donovan hasn’t shown much offensively and thus far, Cleveland has used him as an org-filler where the team needs a catcher. After playing at High-A Lake County in 2021, he helped out the younger pitching staff at regular Single-A Lynchburg in 2022. Donovan played at three different levels in 2023, but has spent most of his 2024 season on the development list, playing just three games this year at Double-A and Triple-A combined.
Cade Smith. RHP. Age 21.
A bullpen arm out of the University of Hawaii, Smith showed elite strikeout rates at every level he played, but also had been a bit too hittable with elevated walk-rates. Smith impressed at High-A Lake County in 2022, whiffing 44 batters in just 24 innings, earning a promotion to Double-A Akron.
The first big highlight of his young career was making Team Canada in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, where he pitched 1.0 inning and had a strikeout (of Pete Alonso). He ended 2023 with 30 appearances at Triple-A, where he struck out a whopping 14.61 batters per 9 innings.
Smith has been a revelation in 2024, making Cleveland’s bullpen out of Spring Training and has become a fixture on the back end of it. He cut his walk rate in half and currently has 2.50 ERA and 2.28 FIP with 66 strikeouts in 40 2⁄3 innings pitched out of MLB’s best bullpen. Smith was in serious consideration for the All-Star game and likely will receive votes for Rookie of the Year if he can keep up his current pace.
Jaime Arias. LHP. Age 21.
Arias has bounced between long relief and spot start duty all around Cleveland’s system. He had his best success at Lynchburg in 2021. He pitched at Lake County, Akron and Columbus in 2022, but was primarily used to help fill gaps in the system. He tested positive for a banned substance and had an 80-game suspension in 2023.
This year, he began the season at Double-A and impressed with a 2.25 ERA in eight appearances (six starts) spanning 32 innings. He earned a promotion to Triple-A and has not been able to repeat his success with a career-worst 8.31 ERA spanning seven appearances, one start and 21 2⁄3 innings.
Alonzo Richardson. RHP. Age 17.
Originally a high school shortstop, Cleveland transitioned Richardson to a starting pitcher with slow and steady results. He led the Arizona Complex League with a 1.93 ERA in 2022 spanning 37.1 innings before being promoted to full-season ball at Single-A Lynchburg.
Richardson has been a work in progress since he began playing full-season ball. He had a 6.55 ERA in 2022, then dropped it to 4.79 over 24 starts in 2023. He again repeated this season at Lynchburg and he’s improved once more, currently sporting a 3.53 ERA over 14 starts. He’s not a power pitcher and his strikeout rate still needs a lot of work (5.70 per 9 innings), but he appears ready for a promotion to Lake County soon.
Summary
MLB: 2 (Logan Allen, Cade Smith)
AAA: 4 (Tanner Burns, Mason Hickman, Jaime Arias, Joe Donovan)
AA: 2 (Petey Halpin, Milan Tolentino)
A+: 0
A: 1 (Alonzo Richardson)
Released: 1 (Carson Tucker)
Signed players/Still in the organization (10/9)