The Guardians, as usual, pulled together a very strong class, though it was marred by missing out on second round pick Logan Schmidt. Because of over slot commitments to sixth rounder Deiten Lachance, seventh rounder Savion Sims, and eleventh rounder Jake Bean (especially Sims) and a lack of savings elsewhere, Cleveland was only able to offer Schmidt a hair over slot value to sign away from an LSU commitment, roughly half of what he was looking for. Still, the rest of this pitching-heavy class features a lot of arms with big stuff, a bit of a digression from the pitchability arms they like to target, led by one of the most talented in the country in Liam Peterson. Four bats in a row in rounds three through seven make up the bulk of the offensive upside in this class, led by a pair of speedy, high contact center fielders in Tre Broussard and Lucas Moore. And as usual, Cleveland targeted youth heavily, chasing the high upside that it hopes will bring it back to the top of the AL Central.
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Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. For example, "2-50" would indicate that a player was taken in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.
1-19: RHP Liam Peterson, Florida
Slot value: $4.53 million. Signing bonus: $4.53 million.
My rank: #18. MLB Pipeline: #20. ESPN: #12.
Cleveland started off its draft with a bang, picking up arguably the most talented pitcher in the class. Liam Peterson was a star prep at Calvary Christian High School in the Tampa Bay area, where he joined fellow stars Landen Maroudis (Blue Jays 2023 fourth rounder) and Hunter Dietz (Yankees 2026 first rounder via Arkansas) on one of the best high school pitching staffs in recent memory. He spurned seven figure offers to head to Florida, where he immediately jumped into the rotation as a true freshman and has now made 47 starts totaling 216.2 innings over three seasons. The results have been up and down, but the stuff has not. Peterson starts off with a mid 90's fastball that touches 99 at peak with ride and run, though it can get hit over the plate so he began using a two seamer as well in college. His sharp slider has two-plane bite and looks like an easy plus pitch, diving on hitters late and creating a ton of empty swings. There is an above average curveball in the mix as well, showing nice 12-6 action to steal strikes, while his changeup has flashed above average potential when he locates it but his feel is a tick behind. The 6'5" righty has a prototypical starting pitcher's frame, working from an uptempo delivery, a short stride toward the plate, and a high arm slot. He has long battled inconsistency in the command department, walking 14.6% of his opponents as a freshman and 10.5% as a sophomore before seemingly looking more polished in the fall prior to his junior season. The in-season results were mostly the same, as he finished with a 9.8% walk rate over a career-high 84.1 innings, and it seems to be a different story from game to game. He had three different starts with at least five walks this spring, but also walked a total of just three batters over his final four starts (24.2 innings). Cleveland is picking Peterson with the hopes that they can smooth out his jerky delivery a little bit, hoping to improve the consistency of his release point and pitch with more of an intentioned plan during games. He has perhaps the best combination of ace upside and probability of reaching that ace upside in this class, but comes with significant reliever risk if the command doesn't take several steps forward. The Guardians are some of the best developers of pitching in the game right now, and getting a high-octane arm like Peterson is a great match.
2-59: LHP Logan Schmidt, Ganesha HS [CA]
Slot value: $1.6 million. Signing bonus: did not sign.
My rank: #30. MLB Pipeline: #45. ESPN: #56.
As they tend to do, Cleveland shot for the moon with Logan Schmidt, one of the top high school pitching prospects in the class. Unfortunately they were not able to come to terms, making Schmidt the highest drafted unsigned player in this draft and one of just three in the top ten rounds. He'll head across the country to LSU, where he'll bring a low to mid 90's fastball reaching 98, an above average slider with nice finish, and an above average changeup. It's a pro three pitch mix heading to Baton Rouge from a freshman, even more interesting from the left side, and the Southern California native throws strikes with all three. At 6'4", 210 pounds, he has plenty of projection was still just 17 on draft day, so the sky really is the limit when he reaches campus. Cleveland will unfortunately see none of that until they get to take another shot at him during the 2029 draft.
3-95: OF Tre Broussard, Houston
Slot value: $823,800. Signing bonus: $715,000 ($108,800 below slot value).
My rank: #84. MLB Pipeline: #91. ESPN: #153.
The Guardians have always loved young, athletic, up the middle profiles with strong hit tools and Tre Broussard fits that to a tee. He played one year at powerhouse San Jacinto JC in Houston, then transferred across town to the University of Houston and bumped his batting average from .292 as a sophomore to .344 as a junior in 2026 sandwiched around hitting a strong .296 in the Cape Cod League. He's a high contact hitter with a line drive swing, looking to gash the ball into the gaps rather than turn on it to get it over the fence. As a skinny six footer, there's not much raw power in the tank anyways and his left handed swing lacks high levels of torque, leading to just three home runs in 2026 after slugging just .324 on the Cape. His strikeout rate crept up a little this year and the contact rates were more good than great, which allowed him to fall from some early second round projections to land here as an under slot third rounder. Broussard stands out for plus-plus speed, helping him steal 56 bases in 64 tries across two years at Houston (plus another ten in eleven tries on the Cape). He's a game changer on the bases and plays a mean center field as well, covering plenty of ground and really taking control. With a solid arm as well, he's a plus defender out there with Gold Glove potential who could handle all three outfield positions in a fourth outfielder role. If he can keep making contact with enough impact to keep pitchers honest, he could be a bottom of the order catalyst who plays strong defense and steals a ton of bags. The more likely median projection is that of a speedy fourth outfielder, but his youth (he doesn't turn 21 until more than two months after the draft) is a big bonus.
4-123: 3B Kade Lewis, Wake Forest
Slot value: $626,500. Signing bonus: $626,500.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #104. ESPN: #150.
Kade Lewis is one of the most pro-ready bats you're going to find outside the top one hundred and could move quickly through the minors. He began his career at Butler, where he won 2024 Big East Freshman of the Year honors by hitting .377/.436/.618 with ten home runs in 53 games, then transferred to Wake Forest for the final two years of his college career. The jump to the ACC was no issue for Lewis, as he hit a sizzling .365/.464/.597 with 24 home runs over 119 games in his two seasons (including an even more impressive .394/.482/.670 in ACC play) as one of the most consistent mashers in the conference. The Minnesota native is a pro hitter through and through. He takes very good at bats and has zero challenges handling velocity, also becoming a strong hitter against offspeed stuff as he has developed. He works with a simple left handed swing in which he just tosses the barrel at the ball and drives it around the field with authority, almost looking like he has a magnet buried right there on the sweet spot. The power is closer to average, as his 34 collegiate home runs may be more of a product of metal bats than true strength and bat speed. His exit velocities are solid but unspectacular and he slugged just .341 in the Cape Cod League last year (albeit with a strong .361 on-base percentage), so his ceiling make cap out with home run totals in the teens to go along with high on-base percentages. Additionally, Lewis is a below average defender who will have to work very hard to stick at the third base position Cleveland drafted him at. He played first base for Wake Forest and did not necessarily look like a Gold Glover there, and as a hit-over-power bat, he'll have to get on base at a very high clip to stick in the lineup. There's a chance his below average speed and average arm could make him playable in left field, buying his bat marginally more slack. Like Tre Broussard, youth is a nice bonus as Lewis only turned 21 a month before the draft. He joins fellow hit-over-power first basemen CJ Kayfus and Ralphy Velazquez in the Cleveland organization.
5-155: OF Lucas Moore, Louisville
Slot value: $458,500. Signing bonus: $458,500.
My rank: #124. MLB Pipeline: #223. ESPN: #232.
I do have Lucas Moore about one hundred spots higher on my board than others, but that is more a product of a shorter board for me this year (132 spots) than I have had in past years and he would probably rank closer to the 200 mark had I gone that far. Either way, Moore brings us back to the same classic Cleveland profile we discussed with Tre Broussard. He hit over .300 as a part time player for Louisville in 2024 as a true freshman, then became the Cardinals' catalyst by hitting .341/.430/.456 as a sophomore in 2025 while leading all of Division I with 53 stolen bases (in just 54 tries no less). He was firmly in the second round conversation entering the 2026 season and those highest on him thought he could sneak into the back of the first if he showed a little more impact, but his junior season wound up being much more disappointing as he hit .286/.437/.406 with "just" 37 stolen bases. He falls here to the fifth round looking more like a potential fourth outfielder than the true leadoff type he was projected as earlier this year. Moore ran elite contact rates in 2025, with just a 9.1% strikeout rate and minuscule whiff rates to match. The strikeout rate climbed to 16.4% in 2026 and his contact rates similarly dipped from "elite" to "very good" with no corresponding uptick in impact. He works with a simple left handed swing, flicking the barrel at the ball to slap line drives around the field. At his best, he looks like a master of his craft guiding the ball into whichever hole he wants. A skinny six footer like Broussard, there is very little power to speak of and he will be lucky to challenge for double digit home run totals in the bigs, so he needs to continue making contact. Moore is a plus-plus runner with instincts to match, a menace on the base paths who, like Broussard, also plays a strong center field. To boot, he is an Ohio native out of Badin High School in Hamilton, about twenty miles north of Cincinnati, but unsurprisingly did grow up a Reds fan rather than a Guardians fan.
6-184: C Deiten Lachance, Oklahoma
Slot value: $355,700. Signing bonus: $450,000 ($94,300 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #103. ESPN: #151.
Deiten Lachance gets a fifth round signing bonus here in the sixth round, and he'll bring one of the draft's more interesting profiles to Cleveland. He grew up in Sherbrooke, Quebec, a small city just over the border from Vermont and New Hampshire, and began his career at McLennan JC in Texas where he mashed for two years despite having to learn English on the job. Transferring to Oklahoma for his junior season, he did not immediately find his power stroke and in fact waited until April 9th, in his 32nd game, to hit his first home run. That first home run must have clicked something, as he homered again the next day and in total 18 times in 32 games – against the toughest stretch of Oklahoma's schedule no less – as he played a central role in Oklahoma's turnaround and eventual College World Series Championship. Lachance is a big Frenchman at 6'5", 230 pounds, bringing above average raw power that produces home runs in bunches when he's going right. When he's not as hot, the power can play down in games because he is a very aggressive hitter who isn't always so eager to take a walk, regularly looking to do damage in all counts and situations. Pitchers can beat him with quality stuff out of the zone, but he does a very nice job of handling pitches in the zone and mashes mistakes. Even a tick more patience in his approach could unlock a very solid offensive profile. Lachance has more work to do behind the plate as well, but Cleveland is confidence that his solid glovework and arm will continue to come along as he learns the finer aspects of the craft. At peak, he could be a 20+ home run threat behind the plate, albeit with lower on-base percentages. He runs about as well as you might expect from a 6'5", 230 pound catcher, which is to say the Guardians would be much better served with him behind Tre Broussard and Lucas Moore on the bases rather than in front.
7-213: RHP Savion Sims, Prestonwood Christian HS [TX]
Slot value: $280,900. Signing bonus: $1 million ($719,100 above slot value).
My rank: #88. MLB Pipeline: #85. ESPN: #179.
Cleveland's big over-slot splurge went to Savion Sims, a live armed righty diverted from an Oklahoma commitment for roughly the value of the #82 pick early in the third round. While they didn't pull in Logan Schmidt five rounds earlier, Sims brings just as much upside if with significantly more risk. An Oklahoma native, he transferred from powerhouse Edmond Santa Fe High School in suburban Oklahoma City down to Prestonwood Christian Academy in the Dallas suburbs for more exposure on his massive stuff. Sims sits consistently in the mid 90's and touches triple digits with his blazing fastball, and the scary part is there may be even more in the tank. For now, the fastball is the show. He throws a hard slider that can look like a cutter at times, or when it flattens out it becomes a mid 80's cement mixer that can get hit hard by advanced hitters. The changeup is similarly behind, a rudimentary offering that will be overhauled in pro ball. Sims stands 6'8" and attacks hitters from a towering over the top release point, with room on his frame to add significantly more strength. While he doesn't throw with a ton of effort, he is still growing into his lanky frame and lacks the body control for refined command, getting scattered at times but generally trending in the right direction. Cleveland has always been good at developing pitchability, which Sims needs a lot of, so this could be a match made in heaven. He is also old for the class, having turned 19 more than a month before the draft (and therefore well over a year older than Schmidt), which adds to the already high reliever risk in his profile.
8-243: RHP Matt Scott, Georgia
Slot value: $228,600. Signing bonus: $200,000 ($28,600 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
Matt Scott was one of the more intriguing senior signs on the market this year and still got $200,000 despite his reduced bargaining position. He began his career at Stanford and quickly became a central piece of their pitching staff, pitching as a swingman as a freshman before jumping into the rotation full time as a sophomore. Expectations were high entering his junior year in 2025, with some projecting him firmly in the first round conversation, but he struggled to a career-worst 6.02 ERA and just a 23% strikeout rate in a career-low 52.1 innings for the Cardinal. While he still had a chance to go in the fourth to sixth round range, he elected to give it another go to improve his draft position as a senior. He transferred across the country to Georgia as the second best unsigned college prospect returning to school, where he worked as a long reliever averaging about three innings per appearance and posted a career-best 4.22 ERA and 29.1% strikeout rate. Scott has a power low to mid 90's fastball that has hit 98 in the past, though he doesn't push above 96 too often now, coming in with massive riding action and cut to make for a difficult look. He has found more identity for his slider, separating it out into a true slider and a cutter that works with his natural release. He's still searching for a consistent changeup, showing nice movement but lacking the feel to execute it at a high level so he throws it less. Listed at 6'7", 240 pounds, he has big league size and then some and it plays into his game. Scott has thrown over fifty innings in each of his four seasons for a total of 259 and looks the part of a durable innings eater, whether out of the bullpen or rotation. The Connecticut native already pitched from a high release point at Stanford, then Georgia raised it even higher to about seven feet off the ground to create a towering, vertical look. He showed up on campus at Stanford with solid command for a freshman, enabling him to compete right away, but it hasn't taken a step forward in his four years and remains fringy. The lack of a fully developed offspeed assortment at this point, 22 years old, without the command to make up for it likely relegates him to a long relief role, but I would never count out Cleveland's development pipeline. His size, velocity, and release traits make him a dangerous prospect in their hands.
11-333: RHP Jake Bean, Louisville
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $200,000 ($50,000 against bonus pool).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
Northeast Ohio is not the baseball hotbed it once was, having produced names like Cy Young (Gilmore), Bill Mazeroski (Tiltonsville), Tommy Henrich (Massillon), and Dean Chance (Wooster) in the past, though guys like Derek Dietrich (Cleveland), Andrew Chafin (Wakeman), Eric Lauer (Elyria), and Dillon Dingler (Massillon) have kept the Cleveland area represented in the bigs. The Guardians are getting their own local kid in Jake Bean, a Middlefield native from about thirty miles east of Cleveland in Geauga County. After graduating from Cardinal High School, he began his career 25 miles from home at Kent State, where he barely pitched as a freshman but took a big step forward as a sophomore. Power programs around the region took notice and Louisville won the sweepstakes, but unfortunately he never found his footing with the Cardinals as he pitched to an ugly 10.29 ERA and 1.97 WHIP over 35 innings. Bean is a legitimate prospect with a low to mid 90's fastball that touches 97 at peak with life. He shows a darting slider, a loopier curveball that can show nice snap at its best, and a good fading changeup to round out a pretty full arsenal. As you might expect based on the numbers, his stuff was consistently inconsistent as his velocity would dip and his breaking balls would back up or firm out at times. The command was not half bad, but he missed over the plate more often than he needed to and ran an extremely low 16.8% strikeout rate, down from 22.0% (still relatively low) as a sophomore at Kent State. Cleveland is buying into the athlete, as Bean is a great mover on the mound with an athletic delivery and a projectable 6'3" frame that should help him lock in his stuff over longer stretches in 2026. It's a development project, but one that could net the Guardians an impact arm down the line.
