This prospect's promising arsenal has Guardians thrilled

This story was excerpted from Tim Stebbins’ Guardians Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

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.”

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.