Two Cleveland Guardians prospects could end up in the middle of the 2026 American League Rookie of the Year Race.
There are a lot of exciting, talented prospects across the American League on the precipice of making an impact at the big-league level during the 2026 season. With that, the Rookie of the Year race is set to be a tight one, and two members of the Cleveland Guardians organization could be in the mix.
In a recent executive poll conducted by MLB.com, which surveyed general managers, scouting directors, farm directors, analysts, and more, they were asked who would win Rookie of the Year next season.
Kevin McGonile (DET) and Trey Yesavage (TOR) received the most votes with 25 percent each. Sam Basallo (BAL), Carter Jensen (KCR), Payton Polle (BOS), and Connelly Early (BOS) rounded out the rest of the top bunch.
Two other players who also received votes from the MLB executives were Cleveland’s own prospects Chase DeLauter and Travis Bazzana.
It would have been nice if either of these players had reached the top six in the poll, but there could be reasons for it.
Cleveland Guardians top prospect Travis Bazzana warms up before the start of Akron RubberDucks home opener against Altoona Curve. © Julie Vennitti Botos / Canton Repository / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesAs for DeLauter, he should be on Cleveland’s 2026 Opening Day roster; there’s no excuse for him now to be after the 24-year-old was trusted with making his debut in an elimination game in the playoffs last October. DeLauter clearly has the talent to be one of the top players in his rookie class. The left-handed hitter owns a .888 OPS in his 138 minor league career games.
The biggest concern, and perhaps one of the reasons he wasn’t higher on this list, was that DeLauter has an extensive injury history. Hopefully, he doesn’t end up on the injury list in 2026, but that is not a reality Cleveland can count on, and obviously, fewer played games could hurt DeLauter in a potential Rookie of the Year race.
As for Bazzana, his path to the Opening Day roster is a little more difficult, and it’s more likely that he’d make his big-league debut closer to June. If the former No. 1 pick comes up and makes an immediate impact, that could help his case, but Bazzana could still be playing catch-up compared to some other prospects who could debut earlier.
Even if Bazzana or DeLauter don’t end up being ROY finalists during the 2026 season, that doesn’t change the fact that the Guardians are counting on both players to be key pieces to the team’s future.