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Cleveland Guardians 2022 MLB Draft Report Card

Prospect Report: Guardians' Naylor Continues Resurgence

To see 2022 Draft Report Cards for every team, see our Draft Report Card landing page here.


Best Pure Hitter: OF Chase DeLauter (1) has an exemplary track record of hitting throughout college. He hit over .400 for his career with James Madison (a .402/.520/.715 slash line) and also proved his hitting chops in the Cape Cod League in 2021, where he hit .298/.397/.589. He has a long track record of excellent contact and strong swing decisions, rarely expanding the strike zone. While DeLauter is the clear choice, OF Joe Lampe (3), 2B Nate Furman (4) and OF Guy Lipscomb (5) have all showcased solid contact skills and swing decisions.

Best Power Hitter: DeLauter’s (1) pure home run totals likely underestimate his actual power potential. Scouts viewed him as having 70-grade raw power in the future and his career ISO at James Madison was north of .300. His 15 career home runs have more to do with the fact that he only played in 66 games thanks to shortened seasons and injury. DeLauter homered nine times in 34 games with a wood bat in the Cape Cod League.

Fastest Runner: The Guardians drafted a number of plus runners at up-the-middle positions, including Lampe (3), Furman (4), Lipscomb (5) and SS Tyresse Turner (13). Lipscomb stole 42 bags in 48 tries (87.5%) during the 2022 season with Belmont and is a career 48-for-56 (85.7%) basestealer.

Best Defensive Player: As mentioned above, Cleveland took a number of players who profile at premium up-the-middle positions, but the standout here might be Lampe (3), who has shown the athleticism and closing speed to be an impact defender in center field. Amateur scouts viewed him as a plus-plus runner and an above-average defender at the position.

Best Fastball: The Guardians drafted a number of refined, college strike throwers, which is to be expected of the organization, but RHP Javier Santos (7) has elite arm strength and has thrown a fastball that touched 98 mph in high school, with plus life to go with it. Another prep righthander, Jacob Zibin (10), touched 97 mph during the spring after turning just 17 in January and being one of the youngest players in the class. Day three picks RHP Magnus Ellerts (11) and Geo Rivera (19) both ran their fastballs into the mid and upper 90s in junior college.

Best Secondary Pitch: Both RHP Justin Campbell (1s) and LHP Parker Messick (2) showed plus changeups in college, while Zibin’s (10) best secondary pitch was also a changeup that he has shown impressive feel to land in the…

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