The Cleveland Guardians' draft pick of Liam Peterson comes with some question marks, but he still has a lot of potential.
The Cleveland Guardians opted for a pitching approach in the first round of the 2026 MLB Draft, selecting Liam Peterson out of Florida.
There’s a lot to like about this pick, but also a few concerns, which makes grading the selection an interesting and, in some ways, tough task.
Guardians’ Liam Peterson Draft Pick Grade: B+
Whenever the Guardians identify a pitcher that they want to bring into the organization, it should put the entire league on notice, and the same can be said with their selection of Liam Peterson.
Peterson’s potential comes from his elite velocity.
The 21-year-old uses his frame to generate a ton of heat on his fastball, which consistently is in the high-90s, and has even reached 100 mph on occasion.
Peterson’s velocity allowed him to rack up a ton of strikeouts and force a ton of swings and misses in college. The right-hander finished his junior season with a strikeout rate of 30.2 percent while walking only 9.8 percent of the batters he faced.
The Guardians have had success with pitchers with similar skill sets in the past, including Gavin Williams.
Jun 19, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; Florida Gators starting pitcher Liam Peterson (12) throws against the Texas A&M Aggies during the first inning at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY SportsThe reason this pick isn’t in the “A” territory is that Henderson is far from a finished product, and there is a decent amount of risk associated with this pick.
While Peterson has an elite fastball with velocity that can’t be taught for his age, the right-hander did get hit pretty hard in college and give up quite a few runs, too. In his three seasons at Florida, Peterson had a 5.03 ERA and a 1.423 WHIP in 50 games (47 starts).
Cleveland has a long history of developing top-of-the-rotation pitchers, so if any organization should feel confident in helping get the most out of Peterson, it’s the Guardians.
However, if Peterson has trouble developing a second breaking or offspeed pitch to complement his fastball, professional hitters will sit on the fastball and do damage against it.
Peterson has a ton of potential to be a top starter for the Guardians, but this is far from a surefire pick, which is why it gets a B+.
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