These 2 Guards prospects will rep Cleveland in the All-Star Futures Game

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.

CHICAGO -- Slugger C.J. Kayfus and left-hander Parker Messick are each one step away from the big leagues as they continue to star for Triple-A Columbus. In the interim, their pathway to Cleveland will include a stop on baseball’s center stage during MLB’s All-Star festivities.

Kayfus (Cleveland’s No. 5 prospect, No. 75 overall) and Messick (Guardians’ No. 12) will be representing the club at the 2025 All-Star Futures Game. The seven-inning exhibition, featuring top prospects across baseball, is scheduled for Saturday, July 12, at Atlanta’s Truist Park. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast on MLB Network and MLB TV.

Kayfus (Cleveland’s third-round Draft pick in 2023) has mashed his way up the farm system and put himself on the map for a big league callup this season. The 23-year-old opened 2025 with Double-A Akron, with whom he slashed .364/.475/.591 over 18 games. That prompted his promotion to Columbus on April 28.

Over his first 50 games with the Clippers (entering Tuesday), Kayfus slashed .303/.391/.568 with 11 doubles, four triples, 10 homers and 33 RBIs. He hit a grand slam in consecutive games vs. Iowa last Tuesday and Wednesday.

“He’s always been a bat-to-ball guy, made good swing decisions and been a good guy to make contact,” Guardians assistant general manager James Harris said. “But now he's impacting the ball.”

Kayfus hit 17 homers and recorded a .904 OPS in 107 games last season between High-A Lake County and Akron, but the grind of the season wore upon his body as the summer went on. (He had a .555 OPS in 31 games from August onward.) Harris noted Kayfus worked on adding lean mass and building improved recovery routines over the offseason to help sustain his production over a full season.

“It’s been night and day since last year,” Harris said. “He was feeling the heat of the season [this time in 2024], starting to get tired, and we're not seeing those signs this year. We're actually seeing him in an upward trend. Think of where we are now [at this point in the season], and yet, balls are still flying out of the yard. We're excited about where he’s headed.”

Kayfus is a natural first baseman, and he has been learning the ropes as an outfielder; Carlos Santana and Kyle Manzardo are ahead of him on the first-base depth chart. Entering Tuesday, Kayfus had played 228 1/3 innings in left and right field and 312 2/3 innings at first this season.

He figures to impact the Guardians at some point this summer, and the organization’s message to him has been to control what he can control in the meantime.

Meanwhile, Messick (Cleveland’s second-round pick in the 2022 Draft) recorded a 2.83 ERA in 133 2/3 innings over 27 games (including 26 starts) between Lake County and Akron last season. Cleveland assigned the 24-year-old to Columbus to open ’25, and in 15 starts with the Clippers, he has recorded a 3.71 ERA, a 1.37 WHIP and 83 strikeouts with 36 walks over 68 innings. He had a 2.85 ERA before he yielded seven earned runs over 1 2/3 innings in his start on Sunday.

“So far, he has made the transition to Triple-A seamlessly, about as seamlessly as you could,” Harris said. “He's throwing strikes. The results are there. He's trying to attack hitters. He's approaching it as if he's preparing to help us here in Cleveland, which is really cool to see. Hitters are good, so even if he gives up a run or misses his spot and gets hit, he's coming back and trying to attack the next hitter, and that's the next evolution for him.”

Also important for Messick, as Harris noted, is the work he puts in between starts, from the bullpen to the weight room. Having a consistent routine now in preparation for each outing will continue to serve him well.

The Guardians’ rotation had a stellar June (3.61 ERA, fifth in the Majors), and Shane Bieber also is working his way back from Tommy John surgery. It’s hard to say when Cleveland will next have a need on its starting staff. But Messick’s performance with Columbus has at least put his name in the mix to potentially help this season.

“Absolutely. He's in the conversation,” Harris said. “But he's put himself in a position with how he carries himself, his routines and what he's done in games to be considered.”