Uncustomed Heroes of 2025: Guardians

 

What the Guardians were able to do this season, despite the amount that was stacked against them fundamentally, was incredible. That Stephen Vogt got this team to the playoffs without Emmanuel Clase, Ben Lively, Lane Thomas and any sort of foothold on the AL Central all year is a monumental achievement. The Guardians won the division in a season that was the Tigers' to lose, and even if the Tigers still knocked them out, they bodied them in the regular season. With, again, only a few huge pieces and a lot of youth. It proves that this team has staying power, depth, and isn't just Jose Ramirez. I respect it. 

Like, Tanner Bibee was the ace this season and honestly he didn't really have the greatest season, cause I really don't think he's ace material. You'd come from Kluber, Carrasco, Bieber...and Bibee maybe is a good 2 guy, but this year he wasn't a great #1. Gavin Williams was a lot more impressive. But Bibee at least had some nice starts, finishing the season with 12 wins, a 4.24 ERA and 162 Ks. He still made all his starts and went deep into games, it just was a very okay season in that respect. Remember when everybody made all their starts and that would just happen occasionally?

2026 Prediction: Much better year, but maybe misses a tiny bit of time. Helps keep the ERA lower though.

Gabriel Arias was supposed to take most of the starts at 2nd this year in Andres Gimenez's absence, but ended up taking most of the starts at shortstop due to the absence of Brayan Rocchio's bat. Either way, he was somewhat impressive, with 11 homers and 54 RBIs in 129 games, even if the bat isn't the main takeaway with Arias.

2026 Prediction: Similar middle infield role, a little less fluid, a little more production.

With Bibee and Williams cementing themselves atop the rotation, Logan Allen, for the most part, settled in behind them. He was a little spottier, with a 4.25 ERA, 122 Ks and an 8-11 record, but he was consistent, durable and topped 150 innings. 

2026 Prediction: A firmer breakout, a 3 ERA and some ASG consideration.

Hunter Gaddis continued to prove that moving him to the bullpen was a very good idea, with a with a 3.11 ERA and 73 Ks in as many games. 

2026 Prediction: Continues at this pace, with an ERA closer to 2024's.

And Cade Smith really saved the Guardians' ass this year, jumping into the ninth after the Clase suspension and keeping the lights on. In 74 innings, Smith had 8 wins, a 2.93 ERA, 104 Ks, a 1.005 WHIP and 16 saves, far and away the best relief season in Cleveland this year.

2026 Prediction: 30+ saves, chasing the league lead. Emmanuel who?

The Guardians brought up two very good looking rookies later this year, and they were impressive enough to distract the fans from neither of them being named Travis Bazzana. C.J. Kayfus is a very highly ranked hitting prospect for Cleveland, and he debuted in August and displayed decent power numbers immediately, with 19 RBIs and 4 homers in 44 games. Kayfus will have to contend with Kyle Manzardo at 1st, but Kayfus is slightly better defensively.

2026 Prediction: 30 homers, ROY votes.

And then Chase DeLauter, an organizational cornerstone, was brought up specifically for the AL Wild Card series against the Tigers, which was a very big deal. It's always wild when guys debut immediately in a playoff game, and DeLauter's hard-pounding work in Columbus was enough to make him a cool inclusion in October. In 2 games he did manage a major league hit, one that doesn't even technically count cause it's not in the regular season, and proved himself even in a losing season.

2026 Prediction: He's not gonna make the Opening Day roster. But he is gonna be a big part of the playoff push next year.

Coming Tomorrow- A few extras from a Mariners team that came within inches of their first World Series. 

The Genius of Cleveland's Pitching Development

 

I don't think anybody is better at drafting and developing pitchers than the Cleveland Guardians. They've made it an art, essentially. This season they've had to rely on loaned free agents like Ben Lively and Carlos Carrasco [both of whom do technically have roots in this organization, even if Lively didn't sign with Cleveland out of school], but they haven't really needed to add on arms otherwise. Pretty much every pitcher that was succeeding for them this year was homegrown. Tanner Bibee, Hunter Gaddis, Gavin Williams, Nick Sandlin, Eli Morgan, Tim Herrin, and of course Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie. All homegrown. 

And I think the really interesting part of this, especially as it corresponds to this year, is that the best bullpen guys for this Guardians team are all failed starters. You go back and look at so many of them, and they're people who the Guardians slotted in to start, it didn't work, and instead of completely giving up they let them work relief and they stuck. Eli Morgan started all 18 of his games during his rookie year, but his 5 ERA gave the team pause. This year, Morgan's been having an excellent season in relief. Sam Henges also started 12 games during the 2021 season, but was moved to the bullpen gradually, and since then he's become one of the most consistent middle relief options in Cleveland. 

The most notable of these has been Hunter Gaddis, because Gaddis has been phenomenal in relief this year. He has a 1.34 ERA in 56 games, with 49 strikeouts and only 9 runs allowed. In 9 games as a starter, from the end of the 2022 season to the first month and a half of 2023, Gaddis had a 7.68 ERA, allowing 33 runs. I remember people in Cleveland lambasting Gaddis, who had looked good for a moment in April, and I worried he'd never get the opportunity to pitch again. But since he was moved to the bullpen he's become one of the most crucial pitchers on the team, and has been more consistent than even a lot of the starters. I've talked about the struggles that this starting rotation has had, but when you get past those guys and you get to either Cade Smith, Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis, Eli Morgan or Emmanuel Clase, you've gotta know you're probably not gonna get much done.

The Guardians are still among the best teams in baseball heading into the last third of the season. Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan and Josh Naylor are gonna leave 2024 with a season to remember, and I do get the sense that this team could accomplish more in October than the last few iterations. With this offensive stronghold, and this bullpen, the other guys have their work cut out for them.

Coming Tonight: The latest guy to come back from overseas leagues with a story to tell and a new career outlook.