Guardians hope to capitalize with 5 Draft picks on Day 1

CLEVELAND -- A year ago, the Guardians were preparing to make the No. 1 overall selection in the MLB Draft for the first time in franchise history, and ultimately landed Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana.

Once more, the Guardians have a great opportunity to bolster their pipeline.

The 2025 Draft is set for Sunday (Rounds 1-3) and Monday (4-20) in Atlanta. The Guardians have five picks on Sunday alone, tied for the second most with the Royals and Brewers, behind only the Orioles and Rays (six). That includes the No. 27 pick in the first round, and the No. 70 pick in Competitive Balance Round B -- which Cleveland acquired from Arizona on Dec. 21 in the Josh Naylor trade.

“[It’s] a really good opportunity to add talent to the organization,” said Paul Gillispie, the Guardians’ vice president of scouting. “When you think about having five picks in the top 101, our ability to add some quality talent to the organization is exciting.”

Gillispie noted the Draft’s overall depth stands out this year, relative to past seasons. Whether you’re thinking about position players or pitchers at the high school or college level, “there's going to be a lot of good options everywhere,” he said.

For a team with more bites at the apple than most, certainly on Day 1, that could prove beneficial.

• Day 1 picks: 27, 64, 66, 70, 101
• Bonus pool allotment: $10,198,100, 21st in MLB
• Last year’s top pick: Travis Bazzana, 2B, pick 1 ... Bazzana became the first Australian-born player selected first overall in the MLB Draft. Known for his excellent command of the strike zone, stellar bat-to-ball skills and his ability to hit to all fields, the Guardians’ top prospect opened the ’25 season with Double-A Akron, and he slashed .252/.362/.433 over 33 games before suffering a right oblique strain in mid-May. He began a rehab assignment on July 5 in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League.
  • Breakout 2024 pick: Braylon Doughty, SP, pick 36 ... Doughty signed for the full slot value of $2.57 million. Just 19 years old, he has recorded a 4.14 ERA and 69 strikeouts with 21 walks in 58 2/3 innings over 16 starts with Single-A Lynchburg, including a 3.86 ERA in 42 innings over 10 starts from the beginning of May through July 2.

In his latest mock draft, MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis has the Guardians selecting outfielder Ethan Conrad out of Wake Forest. Callis noted college hitters “come up most frequently” with the Guardians, led by Conrad and Tennessee corner infielder Andrew Fischer.

Gillispie noted the Guardians’ general strategy with their first pick is to take the best player available. And unlike other sports, in baseball -- where developmental timelines vary -- teams typically focus on taking the best group of players they can.

Last year, after selecting Bazzana, the Guardians used 16 of their final 20 picks on pitchers. With their first selection in the previous five Drafts, they went the preps route in 2019 (Daniel Espino), ’20 (Carson Tucker) and ’23 (Ralphy Velazquez).

Cleveland went with college players in ’21 (Gavin Williams) and ’22 (Chase DeLauter).

“We probably consider positional need maybe a little bit later in the Draft,” Gillispie said, “when we think about just making sure we have opportunities for players and they get the ability to get innings and the ability to get at-bats and reps at positions. But overall, the goal is just to bring in the best player and the best fits for our organization regardless of where they play.”

In recent years, the 20-round Draft was held over the course of three days. Now that it will be completed over the course of two this year, the Guardians know they must be extra prepared.

And caffeinated.

“I think the biggest thing is there’s probably going to be a little bit of lack of sleep here,” Gillispie said, smiling. “So we probably need to make sure we're considering that. But just making sure that we're ultra prepared, because you’re not going to have that extra night to sort of take a step back, regroup and head back into it.”