The Cleveland Guardians have earned every bit of the criticism aimed at their punchless MLB offense. Going into Friday’s game in Colorado, they sat next-to-last in home runs with 120, only one ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers, who were last at 119. They also owned the majors’ worst slugging percentage at .368.
But while the big-league club keeps scraping for extra-base damage, the organization’s lower levels are starting to tell a very different story.
The Guardians’ farm system is packed with hitters who are driving the ball with real force, and the 2026 minor league season has made that impossible to ignore. Ralphy Velazquez is breaking out in Triple-A, Ryan Cesarini is doing the same in Double-A, and they’re part of a much larger wave.
“In 2025, the Cleveland Guardians had six players hit 15+ HR’s during the minor league season. So far in 2026, the Cleveland Guardians have doubled that number with 12 players reaching the 15+ HR total,” Guardians Prospective posted.
In 2025 the Cleveland #Guardians had six players hit 15+ HR's during the minor league season.
So far in 2026 the Cleveland #Guardians have doubled that number with 12 players reaching the 15+ HR total. https://t.co/aQ1n4idaku
- Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) August 21, 2026
That list is loaded with production: Nolan Shubart has 26 homers, Velazquez 24, Jace LaViolette 20, Kody Huff 18, Cooper Ingle 18, Aaron Walton 18, Reiner Herrera 17, Alfonsin Rosario 17, Cesarini 16, Welbyn Francisca 16, Milan Tolentino 16 and Kahlil Watson 15.
The encouraging part for Cleveland is where most of those bats are playing. A lot of them are already in Double-A or Triple-A, which puts them much closer to the majors than a typical low-level breakout.
There’s a nice blend here, too. The group includes recognizable draft names like Velazquez, Schubart, LaViolette and Watson, but it also features players who weren’t nearly as celebrated coming in, such as Cesarini, a 14th-round pick in 2024. Add in the trade pickups and amateur free agents who are developing well, and the system’s power surge looks even deeper.
If not for the uncertainty around the looming 2027 lockout, some of these hitters might have a chance to help the big-league lineup sooner rather than later. But with 40-man players unable to appear in minor league games next season in the event of a lockout, the organization is likely to keep most of them in the minors and focus on their development.
For a club that has been mocked for its lack of pop, the pipeline is starting to look like the answer. The Guardians’ power problem may not disappear overnight, but it does look like it has an expiration date.
In Other News...
Guardians Power Problem Keeps One Old Trade Looking Even Worse
Power has been one of the biggest question marks around Cleveland for a while, so it is hard not to look back at the November 2021 deal that sent Junior Caminero to Tampa Bay in exchange for Tobias Myers. At the time, it was the sort of prospect-for-pitching swap front offices make all the time, but the gap between the two players has only grown since then.
Caminero has since emerged as one of the American Leagues most dangerous power bats, breaking through as a full-time major league regular in 2024 and giving the Rays the kind of middle-of-the-order threat the Guardians can only wish they had more often. Myers, meanwhile, never found much traction in Cleveland and is now in Triple-A with the Mets, which leaves this trade looking like another painful reminder of how much value can disappear when a young slugger gets dealt before the breakout arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Face A Tough Center Field Decision Fans Can See Coming
The Guardians are staring at one of those decisions that can shape a roster for years, and it is already easy to see why center field is becoming such a focal point. Steven Kwan remains the most established name in the mix, while the organization also has a cluster of younger possibilities in Petey Halpin, Kahlil Watson, Aaron Walton and Jaison Chourio, each bringing a different blend of defense, offense and long-term appeal. For a club that has built so much around finding value before it gets expensive, this is exactly the kind of position where the front office has to balance certainty against upside.
Kwans case is the cleanest in the short term because he has already shown he can handle the job, but the larger question is how far Cleveland wants to go in trying to make him part of the future beyond that. The prospects behind him add intrigue, though none arrives with the same level of certainty, which leaves the Guardians weighing development timelines against the contract realities that usually drive these calls. Center field rarely stays quiet for long, and this is one of those situations where the answer may not be obvious until the club is forced to choose. [Read more 🡒]
Former Guardians Outfielder Just Got Another Shot To Finally Break Through
Johnathan Rodrguez is getting another chance to push his way back into the picture, this time with the Athletics, who claimed the outfielder off waivers from the Pirates and sent him to Triple-A Las Vegas. For a player who has already been designated for assignment by both the Guardians and Orioles this year, the move keeps him in the game and in front of a club that suddenly has room to look for help.
Oaklands outfield injuries could make this a more meaningful landing spot than a typical waiver stop. Rodrguez still has to do the work in Las Vegas, but the path is a little clearer now, and the next stretch could determine whether this becomes just another transaction on his resume or the opening he has been waiting for. [Read more 🡒]