Cleveland Guardians Breakout MLB Prospects For 2025


Entering 2025, we’re projecting a number of Guardians prospects to have the potential for a breakout season.
To qualify, a player must rank outside the organization’s Top 10 prospects entering the year. All scouting reports are from Baseball America’s 2025 Prospect handbook, which you can purchase here.
You can find Top 10 prospect rankings for all teams here and all breakout candidates here.
Guardians Top Prospects For 2025
We rank the top players in Cleveland’s system entering the season, complete with new scouting reports, tools, grades & more.
Breakout Prospects
Braylon Doughty, RHP
Preseason Rank: 12
BA Grade/Risk: 55/Extreme
Track Record: Doughty ranked as the No. 47 prospect in the 2024 class on the back of his tremendous feel to spin the ball. The Guardians signed him for slot value—a $2,569,200 bonus—with the 36th overall pick in the draft to coax him out of a commitment to Oklahoma State.
Scouting Report: A 6-foot-1, 196-pound righthander, Doughty is a standout athlete who operates with a smooth, balanced, low-effort delivery. He has a clean and loose arm action and throws from a three-quarters slot he repeats well for a teenage pitcher. Doughty dominated his SoCal competition during the spring with a low-90s fastball that has been up to 96-97 mph and a pair of high-spin, plus breaking balls. His 78-80 mph downer curveball registers spin rates in the 3,200 rpm range and he pairs it with a hard slider in the mid 80s with similarly high pure spin rates. While both pitches have plus potential, Cleveland might have Doughty focus on the curveball initially. The curve immediately becomes a candidate for the best breaking ball in Cleveland’s system thanks to its depth and his feel to land it. Doughty has thrown a mid-80s changeup but it lagged behind his other three pitches in high school. His clean operation and athleticism could lead to above-average control.
The Future: Doughty is a high-upside righty with natural athleticism. He’s a scratch golfer and kicked a 60-yard field goal in high school. He has midrotation upside and should start the 2025 season with Low-A Lynchburg.
Scouting Grades: FB: 55. CB: 65. SL: 60. CH: 45. CTL: 50.
Juneiker Caceres, OF
Preseason Rank: 21
BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme
Track Record: Caceres signed for $300,000 out of Venezuela in Cleveland’s 2024 international class and played most of the 2024 season as a 16-year-old in the Dominican Summer League. Despite his youth, Caceres was one of the most impressive hitters in the DSL and slashed .340/.425/.504 with more walks than strikeouts.
Scouting Report: Caceres is a 5-foot-10, 168-pound lefthanded hitter and outfielder who lacks much in the way of physical projection, but stands out for his barrel skills and batting eye. Caceres has an uppercut path but an advanced ability to use the entire field with an approach that some scouts view as overly opposite-field oriented. He’ll need to pull the ball more frequently to tap into his power as he ages, and while he might not add massive amounts of strength or power in the future, his 90th percentile exit velocity of 108 mph is already an exceptional figure for a 16-year-old. He’s an aggressive hitter who likes to swing and so far that approach has worked just fine. Caceres played all three outfield positions but is a fringy runner who should fit best in a corner outfield spot. He will need to work to become a fringe-average defender.
The Future: Caceres should be ready to take his exciting hit/power combo stateside in 2025. His offensive tools give him everyday upside but he’s got plenty of development time ahead.
Scouting Grades: HIT: 55. POW: 50. RUN: 45. FLD: 45. ARM: 50.
Robert Arias, OF
Preseason Rank: 29
BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme
Track Record: Arias was the centerpiece of Cleveland’s 2024 international class when he signed for $1.9 million out of the Dominican Republic. He boasted excellent hand-eye coordination and contact skills with a high-energy play style as an amateur and hit .247/.367/.347 with 29 stolen bases in 41 games in the Dominican Summer League.
Scouting Report: Arias is a 6-foot-1, 168-pound lefthanded hitter with a top-of-the-order toolset. He makes tons of contact and has a chance to be an above-average hitter, though at the moment he tends to get overly pull-oriented and his bat path leads to plenty of ground ball contact. Scouts believe he has the sort of athleticism to make the necessary adjustments mechanically, along with the frame and bat speed that could unlock above-average raw power and near-average game power. He’s a great runner who turns in 70-grade run times and covers plenty of ground in center field. He should easily stick there moving forward with a chance for plus defensive ability. Even if he needs to move off the position, his plus arm should allow him to play either corner at a high level.
The Future: Arias will continue working to optimize his swing, but has the sort of tools to develop into an everyday regular. He should make his stateside debut in 2025 in his age-18 season.
Scouting Grades: HIT: 50. POW: 45. RUN: 70. FLD: 55. ARM: 60.