DeLauter, Rodriguez headline Guardians' Organization All-Stars

Each offseason, MiLB.com goes position by position across each organization and honors the players -- regardless of age or prospect status -- who had the best seasons in each farm system. Next up in our 2023 Organization All-Stars series are the Cleveland Guardians.

2023 organization summary:
Triple-A Columbus: 68-79
Double-A Akron: 65-73
High-A Lake County: 65-64
Single-A Lynchburg: 67-64
ACL Guardians: 22-33
DSL Guardians Red: 25-27
DSL Guardians Blue: 23-30
Overall record: 335-370 (23rd among MLB organizations)
Midseason Farm System Rankings: 15

Guardians 2023 Organization All-Stars

C: Bo Naylor
AAA: .253/.393/.498, 60 G, 13 HR, 48 RBI, 45 R, 49 BB, 2 SB
Naylor joined his brother, Josh, in Cleveland and eventually took over as the primary backstop. After representing Canada in the World Baseball Classic, he quickly showed that he had nothing left to prove in the Minors. With Columbus, Naylor walked nearly as much as he struck out (52) and had the highest ISO (.244) of all Guardians’ prospects with at least 200 plate appearances. He also threw out 11 runners on 66 chances.

1B: Aaron Bracho
AA: .245/.340/.441, 104 G, 18 HR, 59 RBI, 50 R, 49 BB, 3 SB
Bracho was held in high regard following a brilliant debut in 2019 but lost most of his luster after two down seasons at High-A. The 22-year-old sputtered a bit at the end of the season with Akron but was tremendous from the All-Star break through the end of August, batting .315 with a .974 OPS, seven homers and 24 RBIs over that 36-game span. Defensively, Bracho saw time at first, second and third base this season.

2B: Juan Brito (CLE No. 6)
A+/AA/AAA: .271/.377/.434, 127 G, 14 HR, 75 RBI, 76 R, 78 BB, 7 SB
Acquired from the Rockies for Nolan Jones in November, the 22-year-old reached the Minors’ highest level in his second full season. The switch-hitter had lopsided splits, compiling an .874 OPS against righties and .649 against southpaws. Brito ranked second among the system’s full-season qualifiers with a 126 wRC+. He spent the majority of his season at Akron, where he was immediately brilliant after his promotion, batting .305 with an .855 OPS in his first 60 games.

3B: Angel Martínez (CLE No. 10)
AA/AAA: .251/.321/.394, 136 G, 14 HR, 79 RBI, 72 R, 47 BB, 11 SB
The Guardians have been aggressive with the 21-year-old Martínez, and he rewarded their faith with tremendous production down the stretch. He led the system with 90 singles and actually posted better overall numbers after being promoted to Triple-A. Across both levels in his final 74 games of the season, Martínez batted .281 with 24 extra-base hits and 42 RBIs. Although it was a much smaller sample, the switch-hitter’s splits were much more favorable against southpaws.

SS: Brayan Rocchio (CLE No. 1, MLB No. 47)
AAA: .280/.367/.421, 116 G, 7 HR, 65 RBI, 81 R, 60 BB, 25 SB
After leaning into his power last season, Rocchio drastically reduced his strikeout rate (12.3 percent) and worked the gaps more in 2023, creating a significant spike in his average and on-base percentage. He led the system in runs and set career-highs in steals, doubles (33) and triples (six). Rocchio made his Major League debut in May but did not stay longer than 15 games in any of his stints in Cleveland.

OF: Johnathan Rodriguez (CLE No. 24)
AA/AAA: .286/.368/.529, 135 G, 29 HR, 88 RBI, 74 R, 59 BB, 3 SB
Rodriguez was an Eastern League All-Star and the Guardians’ Hitting Prospect of the Year after leading the system in total hits, average, homers, RBIs, slugging, OPS (.897) and extra-base hits (59). From June 1 until the end of the season, the 23-year-old hit .312 with a .993 OPS. Guardians player development director Rob Cerfolio noted that the 6-foot, 224-pound righty was able to hit for power to all parts of the field.

OF: Chase DeLauter (CLE No. 4, MLB No. 85)
ROK/A+/AA: .355/.417/.528, 57 G, 5 HR, 39 RBI, 35 R, 23 BB, 6 SB
A foot injury and subsequent surgery delayed DeLauter’s full-season debut. The 22-year-old ranked third among all full-season qualifiers with a .366 average from his first game with Lake County on June 30 to the end of the season. DeLauter drew more walks than he had strikeouts at both the Rookie and Double-A levels, and he is currently continuing this trend as he makes up for lost time with Peoria in the Arizona Fall League.

OF: Jaison Chourio (CLE No. 8)
ROK/A: .321/.446/.418, 48 G, 1 HR, 28 RBI, 47 R, 44 BB, 20 SB
The younger brother of the sport’s No. 2 overall prospect, Jackson Chourio, Jaison was an ACL All-Star in his first season stateside. The 18-year-old had more walks than strikeouts in the ACL and ranked third on the circuit in OBP (.476) and seventh in average (.349). Cerfolio said that Chourio will likely start next season at Lynchburg, where he went 7-for-35 (.200) at the plate in his final nine games of the season.

RHP: Gavin Williams
AA/AAA: 4-2, 2.39 ERA, 60 ⅓ IP, 81 K, 24 BB, .170 BAA, 0.98 WHIP
Much like Tanner Bibee, Williams has likely left his Minor League days behind him after a brilliant season in Cleveland. But he still showed how truly dominant he can be during his time in Akron and Columbus. The 24-year-old held an 0.89 ERA with 41 punchouts over his first six starts across both levels. Out of the 959 pitchers to complete 60 innings in the Minors, his WHIP ranked ninth and BAA was 14th.

LHP: Will Dion (CLE No. 27)
A+/AA: 6-4, 2.39 ERA, 116 ⅔ IP, 129 K, 35 BB, .216 BAA, 1.08 WHIP
Dion was named the Pitching Prospect of the Year in an organization that probably has better lefty starter depth than any other system. Overall, he led all full-season qualifiers with a 2.86 FIP, ranked second in ERA and eighth in WHIP. Cerfolio lauded Dion’s ability to command his four-pitch mix. The 23-year-old was one of 12 pitchers in the Minors to record at least 120 strikeouts and issue fewer than 36 walks.

RP: Tyler Thornton
A+/AA: 5-1, 10 SV, 2.66 ERA, 50 ⅔ IP, 79 K, 32 BB, .138 BAA, 1.09 WHIP
The 23-year-old was one of the best in the Minors at limiting quality contact, leading to the third-best BAA among all pitchers to complete at least 50 innings this season. Thornton maintained a lower ERA (.220) after his promotion to Akron but struck out batters at a much higher rate in the Midwest League, where he posted a 15.99 K/9. The 2021 17th-rounder mixes a cutter and slider in with his mid-90’s fastball.