The Cleveland Guardians have a seemingly endless supply of middle infield prospects.
Amed Rosario, Andres Gimenez, and Tyler Freeman are just a few of them.
The best of them all, however, may be Gabriel Arias.
Rated as the Guardians’ number three prospect, the shortstop has been called up to the major leagues and will make his debut today.
“Guardians call up No. 3 prospect Gabriel Arias who will start at 2B today! The 22 year-old has played 124 games in Triple-A hitting .284 with 14 HR and a .804 OPS,” the Farm to Fame podcast tweeted on Wednesday afternoon.
Guardians call up No. 3 prospect Gabriel Arias who will start at 2B today!
The 22 year-old has played 124 games in Triple-A hitting .284 with 14 HR and a .804 OPS
— Farm To Fame (@FarmToFame_) April 20, 2022
With the tweet, there is a video of Arias demolishing a pitch, sending it to dead center for a home run.
He Isn’t Expected To Be Up For Long, But Will Be One To Watch
For now, the prized prospect isn’t expected to stick with the major league team, as he was called up as the 29th man on the roster for the doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox.
However, he is very, very good, and is about ready to make an impact in MLB.
He will probably get the chance to do just that later in the year.
He was off to a solid start in Triple-A this year, hitting .278/.350/.472 with a homer in 40 plate appearances.
For years, prospect evaluators have loved Arias’ all-around game, but have also cautioned that his approach may be overly aggressive.
“Arias has everyday physical ability led by a plus glove and above-average power, and he also has a very aggressive approach that might be a problem versus major league arms,” FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen wrote a couple of years ago.
He will likely play every day at Triple-A for a couple of months until there is an opening in Cleveland’s lineup.
For now, he will get his first chance to impress.
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