Infielder Alex Mooney (7th round, 2023) came into the 2024 season as one of Cleveland’s top 25 prospects. He put up great numbers with low-A Lynchburg (.729 OPS, 11 HR over 405 at-bats), but struggled on his promotion to high-A Lake County (.475 OPS and no homers over 66 at-bats). His prospect status is holding, but 2025 will be important–he needs to prove he can hit more advanced pitching.

From the Field: Andrew Walters, p, Cleveland Guardians

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This autograph is fun. I got it the first week or so of the minor league season. And it was shipped to me not long after. It only took roughly five months to get here to Hawaii. I gave up on it long ago, so its arrival was a nice surprise.

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Andrew Walters was Cleveland’s second-round pick of the 2023 draft, out of the University of Miami. A pure pen arm, he was always slated to move quickly through the system. And that he did. Walters made his major league debut this past September, just over a year after being drafted. And he more than held his own in his first taste of the big league, only allowing one hit and striking out six in 8.2 innings. During his brief look in the show, the Guards thought enough of him to keep him on the post-season roster, where he appeared in four games.

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Bullpens are notoriously fickle. Good one year, bad the next. There is a good chance that Cleveland’s historically good 2024 bullpen will regress in 2025, but you have to feel good about a relief corp with Walters,  Emmanuel Clase, Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin, and even Nick Sandlin. To say nothing of the dozen or so prospects coming up through the system who could easily make their big league debut in the next couple of seasons.

From the Field: Cooper Ingle, c/of, Cleveland Guardians

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Cooper Ingle was drafted by the Guardians in the 4th round of the 2023 draft out of Clemson, and is now one of the Top 15 prospects in the Cleveland system. He opened the 2024 season in High-A and carried a .897 OPS to AA, where he continued to hit well (.794 OPS). He ended the season with 11 HR and a solid .419 OBP. As far as catchers go, he is the best prospect in the system and could move quickly through the system if he sticks at the position.

I don’t pretend to think that Rickey Henderson is the greatest player ever. Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Willie Mays are the guys in that conversation. Still, it is surprising, considering his career, that he is still only the 19th all-time (111.1) in career WAR. Alex Rodriguez has him beat with 117.6, good for 16th overall. The nearest active player? Mike Trout with 86.2 (50th).

Legends Inductees

From the Field: Luis Castro, if, Staten Island FerryHawks
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Infielder Luis Castro had a fantastic season in the independent Atlantic League in 2024. The 29-year-old Castro hit .356 with a .449 OBP and 1.085 OPS, hitting 24 HR. He would end the season with the league batting crown. Castro has been around–this is his third season in Indy ball and 11th season of pro ball, but he has been a solid hitter just about everywhere he went, though has yet to get past AAA-ball. He’s had some highlights, though: in 2019 while playing in the Rockies organization with their high-A affiliate, he hit .317/.425/.584 with 25 HR was selected to the California League All-Star team, and was both the league regular and post-season MVP.

From the Field: Pan Wen-Hui, p, Philadelphia Phillies
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In 2023 the Phillies signed 20-year old pitcher pitcher Pan Wen-Hui out of Taiwan. Pan was both a starter and reliever in Taiwan and has remained a swingman since coming to the States. He didn’t pitch too much in 2024 because of a broken finger, but when he did he was good: over 29.1 innings he only allowed 22 hits and struck out 35. He ended the season pitching with the Phillies high-A club and should open the 2025 season there. Pan is pitching in the 2024 Arizona Fall League to make up for the lost innings and is likely the best prospect for the player they sent. I’m very fond of Taiwan players, so I’m hoping all the best for him on his path to the majors.

From the Field: Kaden Anderson, p/of, Baldwin Bears
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This past weekend was the PBR Hawaii Showcase. It was rough. The weather, which was nice all week, did not hold and the event’s final two days were plagued by rain. So much rain that they were forced to cancel the first day of gameplay and change fields for the second. I also was on a time crunch, since my wife is out of town and I had a weekend of Halloween events to attend with my son. But I still managed to get a couple of the players I wanted. So, it was a win.
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Near the top of my list was Baldwin Bears Kaden Anderson (Maui, 2026). This past season Anderson hit a solid .300 over 40 at-bats. But he shined in the post-season when he was the (surprise) starting pitcher against powerhouse Kamehameha in the semi-finals. He went five innings, struck out five, and got the win, knocking Kamehameha out of the playoffs. Baldwin would go on to be co-state champions along with Maui (again, thanks weather!), and Anderson would be awarded co-Most Outstanding Player of the championships. Anderson is one of the best players in the islands, and his name is starting to pop up on some of the 2026 Hawaii rankings. And that says something. 2026 is shaping up to be one of the strongest Hawaii prep classes, with players like Judah Ota, Kahanu Martinez, Alika Ahu, and Zayne Ho’okala, who are all D1 prospects who might very well get drafted before they step foot on campus. So he is in good company. While he hasn’t committed to a college yet, I assume it’s only a matter of time–there is no way he is not being followed by plenty of D1 and MLB teams.

New Arrival: Matt Wilkinson, sp, Cleveland Guardians
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It feels like it’s been a long time since a Cleveland minor league season ended and I was happy with the development of the prospects. But here we are. It’s refreshing to have some optimism about the talent coming up through the system.
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One of the players to feel good about is pitcher Matt Wilkinson. In his first full season of affiliate ball, he pitched 118.2 innings between Low and High-A, only allowing 71 hits while striking out 174. Good for a 0.910 WHIP. While his success is a pleasant surprise, it shouldn’t be too shocking. He was a 10th-round pick out of the 2023 draft, and Cleveland is known for its daft development of pitchers.

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Wilkinson will enter the 2025 season as one of the teams Top 30 prospects. It’s still a question of whether his stuff will play in the high minors. But if it does, you can expect him in Cleveland by 2026.

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Jose Ramirez had another great season in 2024, with a 143 OPS+ and a sixth All-Star selection. He nearly ended the season by joining the 40/40 club, but would fall one homerun short.

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Ramirez has not performed quite as well in the playoffs, hitting .188 with a .350 OBP. This isn’t great. Cleveland’s line-up isn’t deep enough to have its best hitter go cold. Luckily for the Guards, several other players made up for it–Lane Thomas, Stephen Kwan, David Fry, and Brayan Rocchio. This probably isn’t sustainable, and hopefully, Ramirez and Josh Naylor show up against the Yankees. If not, there is a good chance they will be sitting at home in two weeks.