The Guardians were one of baseball’s best teams over the first half of 2024 and their homegrown core played a key role in their success. It continues a theme for the Guardians, a team that’s remained competitive in the American League despite a lower payroll. With that said, let’s take a look at the Guardians’ best MLB Draft picks of the past decade and how those picks have shaped their squad.
Best Guardians Draft Picks Over Last 10 Seasons
| Name | Position | Year Drafted | Round | Career bWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Triston McKenzie | P | 2015 | 1 | 5.2 |
| Nolan Jones | INF/OF | 2016 | 2 | 3.9 |
| Aaron Civale | P | 2016 | 3 | 5.5 |
| Shane Bieber | P | 2016 | 4 | 17.7 |
| Zach Plesac | P | 2016 | 12 | 3.4 |
| James Karinchak | P | 2017 | 9 | 3.0 |
| Nick Sandlin | P | 2018 | 2 | 2.1 |
| Steven Kwan | OF | 2018 | 5 | 12.5 |
| Gavin Williams | P | 2021 | 1 | 1.9 |
| Tanner Bibee | P | 2021 | 5 | 4.7 |
The Guardians have been very successful over the last decade in terms of scouting and drafting, particularly when it comes to pitching. Eights of the names listed above are pitchers, and that doesn’t even include Matt Waldron, Sam Hentges, or Julian Merryweather, among others.
Cleveland began to build their current-day rotation in 2015 with the selection of Florida prep product Triston McKenzie. A year later, the then-Indians snared Northeastern pitcher Aaron Civale in the third round, followed by former AL Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber out of UC Santa Barbara in the fourth.
No Guardian signed and selected in the MLB Draft between 2014-23 has a higher bWAR than Bieber. However, Steven Kwan comes close. Cleveland selected Kwan in the fifth round in 2018 after hitting .329 with Oregon State. Since then, Kwan’s turned into a contact machine and a two-time AL Gold Glove winner.
Cleveland drafted Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee, two keys to the Guardians’ future, in the 2021 MLB Draft.
Now because of the subjective nature of these lists, we heavily weight bWAR into the equation. However, one name not present on this list, despite having a higher bWAR than several on this list, is 2014 first-round pick Bradley Zimmer (2.9).
The 31-year-old did have a nice playing career, even though he didn’t exactly live up to the expectations set for him after Cleveland drafted him 21st overall ten years ago. However, most of his value was derived from his defensive prowess, as opposed to his bat. Zimmer posted a career OPS of .631.
Now, we move from the Guardians’ best MLB Draft picks to ones that could be considered the worst.
Worst Guardians Draft Picks Over Last 10 Seasons
| Name | Position | Year Drafted | Round | Career bWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justus Sheffield | P | 2014 | 1 | -0.9 |
| Mike Papi | OF | 2014 | 1 | Never played in MLB |
| Grant Hockin | P | 2014 | 2 | Never played in MLB |
| Brady Aiken | P | 2015 | 1 | Never played in MLB |
| Quentin Holmes | OF | 2017 | 2 | Never played in MLB |
| Ethan Hankins | P | 2018 | 1 | Never played in MLB |
| Lenny Torres | P | 2018 | 1 | Never played in MLB |
| Yordys Valdes | INF | 2019 | 2 | Never played in MLB |
The Guardians had three of the first 38 picks in the 2014 MLB Draft. While Cleveland did get some production from Bradley Zimmer, Justus Sheffield owned a career ERA of 5.47 ERA over five seasons. Former UVA star Mike Papi made it as high as Triple-A and last played in the Minors five years ago.
One year later, the Guardians selected left-hander Brady Aiken in the first round. Aiken was the first overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft but didn’t sign after a failed physical. The left-hander struggled to stay healthy in the Cleveland organization and last pitched in the Minors five years ago.
In 2017, the Guardians selected Quentin Holmes, a high school outfielder from Queens with plus speed and projectability. Holmes hit .190/.254/.281 over five Minor League seasons before he was released in 2022.
Now getting back to the 2018 MLB Draft, Cleveland had three first-round picks that year. One was spent on Bo Naylor, and the other two were on prep pitchers. Both Ethan Hankins and Lenny Torres remain in the Guardians farm system. However, both have yet to make it past Double-A.
Hankins hasn’t thrown more than 60 innings in a season since being selected. As for Torres, the upstate New York product missed all of 2019 and struggled in a starting role in 2021 and 2022. Torres has since moved into a short relief role.
These lists do not include players selected but did not sign. bWAR figures as of June 2024.