Tuesday, July 01

Credit / Cleveland Guardians

Welcome back to the Guardians Beat newsletter. My name is Tim Stebbins, and this is my first season covering Cleveland for MLB.com.

CLEVELAND -- The Guardians came away from the 2024 MLB Draft having added 16 new pitchers to their organizational pipeline. That included third-round pick Joey Oakie, a right-hander who will turn only 19 years old on Friday but already is demonstrating the type of stuff that’s easy to be excited about. 

Oakie is Cleveland’s No. 14-ranked prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, and he’s assigned to the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League Guardians. He wields impressive velocity, certainly considering his age, including a four-seamer that is sitting in the mid-90s and reaching 97-98 mph.

Guardians assistant director of player development Will Huntington noted Oakie’s fastball touched 99 mph at times last fall, and it’s part of an arsenal that includes a slider and changeup. Oakie will also work in a sinker.

“Obviously the arm talent, the athleticism, the frame, some of the ability to create unique breaking ball shapes, and then also just the person [stood out],” said Huntington of the Guardians' impressions of Oakie during the Draft process. 

“The maturity, the professionalism, the way Joey goes about his business, I think were all things that stood out to our scouting group as they worked through that process, and that we've seen continue to show up as he's been a part of our organization.”

Credit / Cleveland Guardians

Oakie is working on a starting pitcher’s routine in Arizona, and he pitched in extended Spring Training games before the Complex League season kicked off on Saturday. For him, and any young pitcher who throws hard, locating pitches effectively and strike throwing are always key focuses. 

Oakie has shown encouraging strides with throwing strikes and the quality of his slider, Huntington said. His slider was considered a plus pitch during the Draft process, and its velocity is sitting in the mid-80s.

"Right now, the slider has been a little bit of a harder velocity pitch over big shape right now," Huntington said. "I think we're still kind of exploring what that might look like and seeing where Joey feels like is the best direction to take it."

Oakie obviously has several years of development ahead of him on the pathway to the Major Leagues. The Guardians are keeping a big-picture focus with his development this year and staying mindful of what an appropriate buildup looks like. It’s the first opportunity for him to get a sense of what a professional season looks like from a workload and recovery standpoint.

The earliest impressions of him since he joined the organization are reason for excitement.

“He's so young and does so many things well already that it’s just trying to figure out what those next steps in the puzzle are,” Huntington said. “It’s pretty exciting. He's been awesome in terms of partnering with our staff, communicating and working with our group [in Arizona]. It's an exciting process.”

Here’s a look around the rest of the Guardians’ farm system.

Triple-A Columbus: OF Johnathan Rodríguez

Rodríguez made the Guardians’ Opening Day roster and received five at-bats over four games before he was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on April 9. The 25-year-old (who is Cleveland’s No. 12 prospect, per MLB Pipeline) with big-time power has been on an impressive run with the Clippers. Rodríguez has a .329/.420/.514 slash line with four doubles, three homers and 13 RBIs in 19 games.

Double-A Akron: RHP Austin Peterson

Peterson (the Guardians’ No. 29 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline) has picked up where he left off with the Rubberducks in 2024 and then some. The 25-year-old recorded a 2.88 ERA in 13 starts with Akron last season, and through five starts this year, he has a 0.86 ERA with 18 strikeouts and two walks in 21 innings. Peterson was Cleveland’s ninth-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft out of UConn.

High-A Lake County: OF Alfonsin Rosario
Rosario (the Guardians’ No. 25 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline) is off to a great start in the Cleveland organization. The Guardians acquired the 20-year-old outfielder from the Cubs on Nov. 20 for Eli Morgan, and he entered Saturday with a .297/.350/.568 slash line in 19 games with the Captains. Rosario has hit five doubles and five homers and recorded 16 RBIs.

Single-A Lynchburg: C Bennett Thompson

Thompson was the Guardians’ 13th-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Oregon. He went 3-for-49 in a 13-game stint with Lynchburg last season in his first taste of professional ball. The 22-year-old has gotten off to a strong start in ‘25, slashing .356/.500/.492 in his first 17 games (entering Saturday). He’s shown impressive plate discipline, drawing 13 walks compared to 11 strikeouts.

May 4, 2016: Right-hander Corey Kluber spun a five-hit shutout in Cleveland’s 4-0 win over Detroit. Kluber allowed two walks while striking out seven on 111 pitches. He threw a second shutout in ‘16 on June 21, in a 6-0 win over Tampa Bay, and had seven total over his nine seasons with Cleveland.

• Daniel Schneemann's career game ended in grand fashion on Saturday. Read more >>

• José Ramírez avoided a serious injury when he exited early from Friday’s game against the Blue Jays. Read more >>

• Here’s the latest Guardians injury news, including updates on Shane Bieber and Trevor Stephan. Read more >>

• When Ramírez swiped his 250th career stolen base on Thursday, he made history in five ways. Read more >>

“That guy's the best. One of the greatest players I think I've ever been around, and just how much he cares every single day. There's no telling what he's gonna finish at. It's just so cool how much he has left in him.” -- Ben Lively, on Ramírez becoming the first Cleveland player with 250 steals and 250 home runs in a career

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