We’ve made it through another long, quiet offseason. Cleats are on the ground, helmets are on heads, and baseballs are flying through the air. In just a few short weeks, the sights and sounds of the game will return to Cleveland, Ohio.
Hot Start
The Guardians thanked us for surviving the offseason by getting off to a hot start in their first week of Spring Training. They went 4-0 in their first four games, beating Cincinnati 4-2 and Milwaukee 9-6 in day one’s split quad games, then steamrolled the Athletics 6-0 and pulled out a 9-5 victory against the Arizona Diamondbacks. You can ignore the fact that they lost the next five in a row after that. While they were clobbered 11-3 and 11-4 versus the Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas Rangers, respectively, they at least forced closer losses against Seattle and both Chicago teams. They were then able to pull off another victory versus the Colorado Rockies on Sunday and sit 6-5 heading into week two.
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Young Guns Showing Up
While the team’s top prospects have only had a week to show off what they learned in the offseason, they’re making the most of it. Superstar Chase DeLauter, having played in only three games due to some nagging pain from a previous injury, is hitting .625/.625/1.250 this week with two doubles and a home run. Milan Tolentino has also seen some success, hitting .286/.500/.714 with a big three-run home run in 10 plate appearances. Kahlil Watson has also been making headlines, going .600/.636/1.000 with a triple and two doubles in 10 at bats. These young guys are continuing to prove that if they get playing time on the big stage, they’ll show up.
Espino Makes Awaited Return
After dealing with major injuries and the loss of his father, Daniel Espino made his long awaited return to the mound in Sunday’s split-squad game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Cleveland’s first round draft pick in 2019, Espino has faced setback after setback in his career. Having not pitched since April of 2022, Espino made one start for Triple-A Columbus last year. He was able to stay healthy in the offseason and make his Spring debut on Sunday. He pitched just one inning, but gave up zero runs on zero hits. After a few more reps in Goodyear, he’ll set his sights toward his long-awaited Major League debut.
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Social Media Spotlight
This is a new segment I’m going to add to the positives this year. I plan to highlight a social media post either from or about one of Cleveland’s players that made headlines throughout the week. For this week, it’s got to be MLB’s post about Cam Schuelke’s funky delivery. The ten second video clip highlights Schuelke’s ability to switch from submarine delivery to overhand and the Cincinnati hitter’s confused face. If you know anything about me, you know I love weird deliveries, so this post going viral was totally for me.
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