Cleveland Guardians 2022 draft in review

Who were the hits and misses of the Guard’s 2022 draft?

As we continue 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.

Just FYI, the age listed below is the age of the players when they were drafted just about two years ago, so just add two years for their current age.

1 (16). Chase DeLauter. OF/LHH. Age 20. $3.75M bonus.

The Guardians drafted DeLauter 16th overall in the first round out of James Madison University. Here’s what Cleveland scouting director Scott Barnsby had to say about the powerful right-hander at the time:

”He’s physical, has performed extremely well and he’s an intense competitor. This spring he was having an outstanding year — hitting .487 with eight homers, 10 stolen bases — and then ended up fracturing his foot in April.”

Foot injuries have been a recurring issue for DeLauter. A problem with his toe delayed his professional debut, but once he arrived in 2023, he was absolutely outstanding, slashing .366/.403/.549 at Lake County before dominating Double-A as well with a .364/.464/.409 slash to close out the season. DeLauter then impressed in the Arizona Fall League and blew people’s minds this past Spring Training with an insane .520/.600/1.040 slash spanning 13 games, causing many fans to clamor for him to make Cleveland’s outfield out straight out of camp as he vaulted to the team’s No. 1 overall prospect.

Since Spring Training, DeLauter has struggled with performance and injuries again. He struggled out of the gate with a .194/.301/.290 slash at Double-A, then missed a month with another foot injury, a fractured toe. When he returned to action, he lasted less than one game before again getting hurt with a turf toe injury (on his other foot). He has yet to come back, but reports say he’s feeling great and should be activated any day now. Hopefully he can regain his form and his foot problems go away for good. Cleveland could use the outfield help.

2 (37). Justin Campbell. RHH. Age 21. $1.7M bonus.

Drafted out of Oklahoma State, Campbell was a physical specimen standing 6-foot-7. Here’s what Barnsby had to say about him on draft day :

”Campbell is a physical right-hander who can reach 97 mph. He pitches with an easy, average fastball and can reach back and get more whenever he wants it. He has a really feel for his changeup and throws strikes.”

Unfortunately, Campbell has yet to make his pro debut. He missed the 2023 season after undergoing ulnar nerve decompression surgery in May 2023. He was back on the mound by August 2023 hoping to debut this year but experienced another setback and instead underwent Tommy John surgery, causing him to miss the 2024 season as well. Hopefully his rehab is successful and we can finally see what he’s capable of in 2025.

3 (54). Parker Messick. LHP. Age 21. $1.3M bonus.

A solid southpaw, Messick made waves when he dominated DeLauter at the college level. He began his pro career at Single-A Lynchburg last season and impressed to the tune of a 3.02 ERA and 2.73 FIP over 13 starts, earning a midseason promotion to High-A Lake County.

Messick repeated this season at Lake County and looked sensational in all but one of his starts, sporting a 3.65 ERA and 2.98 FIP, which earned him a promotion recently to Double-A. Messick did not allow a run in his first two starts at Double-A before getting knocked around on the Fourth of July, but he’s currently striking out a career-best 14.59 K/9 since being promoted and he’s looking impressive.

4 (92). Joe Lampe. OF/LHH. Age 21. $800K bonus.

Cleveland has been aggressive with Lampe, debuting him at High-A in 2023, where he had an average season. He was promoted to Double-A to kick off the 2024 season and he’s been terrific thus far, slashing .286/.356/.452 through 61 games, good for a 127 wRC+. Lampe’s ISO has increased from .097 last season to 0.167 this year and he’s already almost had as many extra base hits this year as he had in twice the games in 2023. He’ll likely get promoted to Triple-A by the end of the season.

5 (121). Nate Furman. 2B/LHH. Age 20. $300K bonus.

Furman flashed his 70-grade speed with Lynchburg in 2023, stealing 27 bases in 40 games with a 20% walk rate while slashing .328/.486/.375, good for a 159 wRC+. This earned him a mid-season promotion to High-A, where he came back down to Earth.

Furman again got off to a hot start this year while repeating at High-A, playing even better due to finding his power as he slashed .338/.417/.500, helping Lake County earn the nickname “Rake County.” After not hitting a home run at all in 2023, he hit seven in 37 games at Lake County before he was promoted, along with CJ Kayfus, to Double-A. He’s struggled to adjust at Akron thus far, but may just need some time to figure things out.

6 (151). Guy Lipscomb. OF/LHH. Age 21. $280K bonus.

Another speedster, Lipscomb was rock solid in his pro debut in 2023, slashing .263/.386/.351 with Lynchburg, good for a 118 wRC+ while also stealing 48 bases in 75 games played.

Lipscomb was promoted to High-A for 2024 and he’s been just as successful, slashing .281/.368/.376 as a solid slap-hitting outfielder. His walk-rate is down this year, but so is his strikeout rate while maintaining almost the exact same .324 BABIP.

7 (181). Dylan DeLucia. RHP. Age 21. $275K bonus.

DeLucia had his pro debut delayed after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023. He finally returned June 21st this year with two scoreless appearances in the Arizona Complex League. DeLucia made his full-season debut with Lynchburg on July 4th and gave up two runs on two hits with four strikeouts in 2 ²⁄₃ innings. He’s still a work in progress, but hopefully will regain his form as long as he can stay healthy the remainder of the season.

8 (211). Javier Santos. RHP. Age 19. $125K bonus.

Things have not been pretty for Santos, who was drafted as a 19-year-old out of Georgia Premier Academy. He pitched just one game in 2023, failing to get an out while walking four batters. Things have not improved much in 2024 as he’s still struggling in the Arizona Complex League. He has an 18.82 ERA in 14 appearances spanning 11 innings with 32 walks and 15 strikeouts. I hope he can turn it around, but things aren’t looking good.

9 (241). Jackson Humphries. LHP. Age 17. $600K bonus.

Humphries posted strong strikeout numbers as a prep arm at the Arizona Complex League in 2023, but he really made waves after he was promoted to full-season Lynchburg, where he made six starts to close out the season as an 18-year-old. With high expectations entering 2024, Humphries has shown flashes, but overall has been average. His strikeout rate has increased to 10.15 K/9 but his walk rate has more than doubled to 6.5 BB/9. He’s going to have to get his command sorted if he wants to continue to progress through the system.

10 (271). Austin Peterson. RHP. Age 22. $130K bonus.

Standing 6-foot-6, Peterson has come out of nowhere to become one of Cleveland’s most surprising arms in 2024. He was decidedly average in 2023, posting a 4.54 ERA over 24 starts at Lynchburg.

But in 2024? Peterson has been a revelation. He dropped his ERA to 2.44 over 14 starts at High-A Lake County, increasing his strikeout rate to 9.21 K/9 while decimating his walk rate to a miniscule 0.64 BB/9, which earned him a promotion to Double-A Akron. In his Double-A debut, he whiffed 10 batters over six innings and has continued to dominate, tossing seven scoreless innings in his following start. His prospect status is currently skyrocketing with a 1.93 ERA through three starts with Akron.

11 (301). Jacob Zibin. RHP. Age 17. $1.2M bonus.

Zibin received a record signing bonus as a 10th round pick out of high school, but has yet to make his pro debut. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023, then missed this entire season after undergoing ulnar nerve transposition surgery this past May. He hopefully will finally make his pro debut in the 2025 season as long as he doesn’t get any more setbacks.

12 (331). Magnus Ellerts. RHP. Age 21. $125K bonus.

Ellerts has been a strikeout machine thus far in his pro career as a bullpen arm. He whiffed 14.05 K/9 at Lynchburg in 16 appearances with a 2.22 ERA before being promoted to Lake County, where he struggled with command. He repeated this season at Lake County and has been sensational as the team’s closer with 10 saves and a 1.97 ERA through 27 games and 32 innings pitched. His strikeouts are elite at 15.19 K/9, but his walk-rate could use some work at 5.34 BB/9. He may be promoted to Double-A soon.

13 (361). Jack Jasiak. RHP. Age 21. $125K bonus.

Jasiak struggled at Lynchburg in his pro debut in 2023, sporting a 5.07 FIP in 32 relief appearances spanning 68 ²⁄₃ innings. He repeated there in 2024 and has improved in every category. His strikeout rate spiked from 6.55 K/9 to 9.26 K/9 and his walk-rate cut in half from 4.85 BB/9 to 2.76 BB/9. Jasiak has been more hittable this season because he’s more around the plate, but the trade-off has been worth it as his FIP sits at 3.88 through 21 appearances. Look for him to get promoted to High-A soon.

14 (391). Tyresse Turner. SS/SH. Age 22. $125K bonus

Drafted a shortstop, Turner has primarily played second and third base as a pro. He hasn’t hit particularly well at any level, but he’s shown good plate discipline with an 11.5% walk-rate in 2023 at Lynchburg and a 13.9% walk-rate this year at Lake County. He’s right at league average with a 99 wRC+ in 2024, up from his 92 wRC+ at Lynchburg last year.

15 (421). Pres Cavanaugh. OF/LHH Age 21. $125K bonus

Cavanaugh looked like an intriguing outfielder in Cleveland’s system after a mildly successful 2023 season where he had a 108 wRC+ over 66 games played at Lynchburg. Unfortunately, he voluntarily retired before the 2024 season began.

16 (451). Adam Tulloch. RHP. Age 22. $125K bonus

Cleveland tried to make Tulloch work as a starting pitcher in 2023. He had a 4.30 FIP with 20 starts spanning 95 ²⁄₃ innings pitched at Lynchburg, which was decent. This year, however, he transitioned to the bullpen. Tulloch has seen his strikeout rate fall to 8.33 K/9 and his FIP has climbed to 5.11 through 20 relief appearances spanning 40 innings at High-A Lake County.

17 (481). Logun Clark. C/RHH. Age 19. $125K bonus

A slightly-older prep catching prospect, Clark struggled in his ACL debut in 2023 with a 49 wRC+ spanning 23 games played. He’s repeating at the ACL this year and looks much improved, currently slashing .240/.367/.480 through seven games, good for a 115 wRC+. He’s already hit a pair of home runs and hopefully will get a chance at Lynchburg before the season is over.

18 (511). Angel Zarate. OF/LHH. Age 22. $100K bonus

Zarate had a decent season in Lynchburg in 2023, slashing .261/.355/.341 over 68 games played. He’s struggled at High-A this year, where he’s been the odd man out more often than not in the Captains outfield. Through 38 games in 2024, Zarate is slashing just .180/.301/.234, good for a 64 wRC+. This is despite him increasing his walk-rate by 2% and cutting his strikeout rate by over 5%. His .198 BAPIP has to be one of the lowest in all of MiLB this season.

19 (541). Zach Jacobs. RHP. Age 20. $130K bonus

Jacobs was decent in 2023 as a some-time starter but mostly a piggyback partner in long relief for Lynchburg. He had solid ratios with a 9.26 K/9 and a 2.86 BB/9, good for a 3.40 FIP. He began 2024 at High-A Lake County and is slightly improved in all areas. Through 50 innings pitched, he’s sporting a 2.52 ERA with the Captains. He’s been the starting pitcher four times this year, all four of his most recent appearances.

20 (571). Geo Rivera Jr. RHP. Age 21. $160K bonus

Rivera has yet to make his pro debut. I haven’t seen what his injuries have been, but Rivera has been on the 60-day injured list ever since he signed with Cleveland. I’ve yet to see any updates about him even throwing or rehabbing.

21 (601). Shawn Rapp. LHP. Age 22. $50K bonus

Rapp impressed in his pro debut in 2023, sporting a 1.72 ERA and manning a 12.06 K/9 at Lynchburg in 11 games spanning 15 ²⁄₃ innings. He earned a promotion to High-A Lake County, where his strikeout rate remained the same, but his walk rate cut in half to 2.63 BB/9 over 21 games and 27 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched.

Rapp has yet to debut in 2024. He was placed on the 7-day injured list in early April with an elbow sprain, then was moved to the 60-day injured list in early May. I haven’t heard anything about surgery, so hopefully he’s able to rehab and get back on the mound at some point this season.

Undrafted free agents

Marc Filia. OF/C RHH. Age 21.

Filia spent his 2023 season in Lynchburg, where he struggled at the plate with a .159.342.303 slashline. He also struggled defensively, throwing out just five of 30 attempted basestealers in just 13 games started at catcher. Most of his games were at first base and the bat didn’t play. Filia was released just before the start of the 2024 season in late March.

Summary

AA: 5 (Chase DeLauter, Parker Messick, Joe Lampe, Nate Furman, Austin Peterson)

A+: 7 (Guy Lipscomb, Magnus Ellerts, Tyresse Turner, Adam Tulloch, Angel Zarate, Zach Jacobs)

A: 3 (Jackson Humphries, Jack Jasiak, Dylan DeLucia)

ACL: 1 (Javier Santos, Logun Clark)

Injured: 3 (Justin Campbell, Jacob Zibin, Geo Rivera Jr., Shawn Rapp)

Retired: 1 (Pres Cavanaugh)

Released: 1 (Marc Filia)

Signed players/Still in the organization (22/20)