The Guardians will select righty Hunter Gaddis to make his major league debut tomorrow, manager Terry Francona told reporters (including Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon-Journal). Kirk McCarty has been optioned to Triple-A Columbus to clear an active roster spot, while the team will announce a corresponding 40-man roster move tomorrow.
Gaddis, 24, was Cleveland’s fifth-round pick out of Georgia State in 2019. The 6’6″ righty has posted incredible strikeout numbers virtually from the day he entered the professional ranks. He’s fanned 32.6% of opposing hitters throughout his minor league career, including a nearly identical clip between Double-A Akron and Columbus this season. The bulk of his work has come in Akron, where he’s pitched to a 4.24 ERA through 76 1/3 innings with a 32.7% strikeout rate and a decent 8.3% walk percentage. He was promoted to Triple-A a couple weeks ago and made just two starts there before earning his first big league look.
Baseball America recently ranked Gaddis the #19 prospect in a strong Guardians farm system. The outlet cited his four-pitch mix, including a low-mid 90s fastball and a pair of quality secondary offerings in his slider and changeup. He’s generally shown solid control throughout his time in the minors as well, although his incredibly low ground-ball rates have led to some home run concerns.
Gaddis would’ve been eligible for the Rule 5 draft this offseason if not added to the 40-man roster. Cleveland will give him a roster spot a few months early and plug him right into the fire, starting a game against the Astros while the Guards are just a game back of the Twins in the AL Central. With Aaron Civale beginning a rehab assignment in Columbus tomorrow, it’s possible Gaddis’ initial stint consists of just a spot start. That he’s now on the 40-man firmly cements him as viable rotation depth for the big league club down the stretch though.
Youth movement
#13
The other day I wrote that Cleveland was bringing up and sending down so many players that it was confusing what were trying to do. Did they lose faith in guys so quickly? Were they showcasing youngsters for trades in the offseason? Finally figured it out…….
MLB changed the rules about expanding rosters in September. Teams have to stick with 26 players. So the only way to replicate seeing players at the ML level and having the parent teams coaches work with them is to move their players up and down.
@samuel
I don’t believe that is correct. I think the active rosters expand to 28 in September.
Cleveland isn’t doing anything differently than other teams are at this stage of the season as they use their 40 man to address injury issues. Gaddis is simply being added to the 40 man now because the team knows it will roster him after the season anyway. May as well use him to plug a temporary hole in the rotation.
Had Plesac not been forced out Cleveland’s game so early Thursday night,the club probably would have opted for an opener rather than promoting Gaddis. So I wouldn’t draw many conclusions from this isolated move, other than the Tribe deep-thinkers being disgusted that they had to make the move at all.
Gaddis will be player 46 on the season for Cleveland in 2022.. at this point in the season, that’s not exceptionally high.
Being the 13th to make his mlb debut seems high. The corresponding 40 man crunch will be interesting. Is it Castro, clement, call, or someone else? I don’t think anyone left can clear waivers.
@IndiansJoe I agree, it will be interesting to see how they play it. They have only a few guys able to hit FA – Hedges, Maile, Shaw (who had an option).. that’s it, I believe. Plus you have Franmil as a non-tender candidate.
Maybe they try to swing an early-offseason trade to clear a spot or two. I figure next year they are going to be relying on guys like Battenfield, Pilkington, Gaddis, or Curry to help fill-out the rotation. Maybe midseason we see a potential impact arm brought up, like Williams, Espino, Allen, or Burns.
Castro is my choice, he hasn’t shown much in Cleveland and don’t think his numbers at Columbus are much better
13th player to make their MLB debut for Cleveland this season.
Sweet! Best of luck to Gaddis – GA State Panther. He should be the first GSU player to break MLB since they started playing in the former Turner Field (now Center Parc). Hope to see more.
I have no problem playing the kids. Give them a look. That’s part of the rebuild