Guardians' Hitters Fantasy Baseball Preview | Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan, Carlos Santana, Kyle Manzardo, Lane Thomas and More

It's time for another fantasy baseball team preview. We'll cover the Cleveland Guardians to start the day, beginning with the team's hitters - check back later for the pitcher writeup.

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Top Fantasy Hitters

There's a few Cleveland hitters on the ADP list.

Jose Ramirez is the first one off draft boards, going at pick 5.57 on average. Steven Kwan is next, but not until pick 73.21. Nobody else has a mark below 200.

Ramirez has been about as steady as they come over the years, and he rarely misses games.

In 158 contests in 2024, Ramirez had a .279 average and .335 on-base percentage, along with 39 home runs, 118 RBIs, 41 stolen bases and 114 runs scored.

He finished fifth among fantasy hitters in points leagues last season, and was at that spot if you included pitchers, so I think Ramirez's ADP is perfect. Getting him after pick five could help him exceed expectations, but really getting him anytime after pick three is a good thing in my mind. After taking him, you can avoid third basemen the rest of the way.

Kwan started last season hot, but got hurt and fizzled out as the season went along.

In 122 games, Kwan had a .292 average and .368 OBP. He added 14 homers, 44 RBIs, 12 stolen bases and 83 runs scored.

He'll leadoff for Cleveland and hit before Ramirez, which puts Kwan in a great spot to put up fantasy numbers. Kwan played at least 147 games in his first two seasons, so I wouldn't be too worried about his durability, and think he could post career-best numbers in 2025. Getting him around his ADP as a second fantasy outfielder feels like good value, with room to exceed expectations too.

Other Starting Options

According to FanGraphs, Kyle Manzardo is the projected No. 3 hitter, but in a platoon. Will Brennan is another projected platoon player, but batting sixth. Jhonkensy Noel and Johnathan Rodriguez are the right-handed hitters in those projected platoons.

Carlos Santana is the cleanup hitter, while Lane Thomas is projected to hit fifth. Bo Naylor, Gabriel Arias and Brayan Rocchio are the 7-9 hitters. Austin Hedges is the projected backup catcher, while Tyler Freeman is the other bench bat.

Manzardo got in 53 games in his rookie season in 2024. He hit .234 and got on base at a .282 clip, while also having five homers, 15 RBIs, no stolen bases and 11 runs scored. He's a highly-regarded prospect with a ton of pop, and if he can get going at the plate, he might earn an everyday role and be a standard league option, so keep tabs on him.

Santana is nearly 39, but he's still producing. In 150 games with the Twins last season, he had a .238 average and .328 OBP, along with 23 homers, 71 RBIs, four stolen bases and 63 runs scored. 

I like his spot in the Cleveland order and think he could be a big fantasy sleeper this season - he's a deep-league option to start the season, but might become a standard leaguer in a hurry. Keep a very close eye on Santana, especially if your first base position isn't elite.

Thomas is another fantasy sleeper in my eyes. In 130 games between the Nationals and Guardians last season, he had a .237 average, .309 OBP, 15 homers, 63 RBIs, 32 stolen bases and 65 runs scored.

Even with a lower average, which I could see him bouncing back from, Thomas fills the stat sheet and offers plenty of fantasy value. He's another deep-league option to start the season, but is someone who I think could be at least a bench fantasy option in your outfield in standard leagues.

Brennan is going to be capped with his fantasy value if he's indeed platooning. He could at least have some deep-league value though.

Naylor played in 123 games last season, finishing with a .201 average, .264 OBP, 13 homers, 39 RBIs, six stolen bases and 39 runs scored. At a weak fantasy catcher position, he's worth keeping tabs on, but he's just a deep-league option to open the regular season.

Arias has played in 191 MLB games over three seasons. He has just a .212 average and .274 OBP, along with 14 homers, 46 RBIs, nine stolen bases and 60 runs scored. He'd need to improve several stats to be more than a deep-league option.

Rocchio appeared in 146 games for Cleveland in 2024. He had a .206 average and .298 OBP, along with eight homers, 36 RBIs, 10 stolen bases and 50 runs scored. He's another deep-league option only right now, but also just turned 24, so maybe a breakout season is coming in 2025.

Noel had some nice fantasy outings in 2024, but doesn't have a path to consistent playing time at this point. Pick him up if he starts getting regular starts, but otherwise he's just a deep-league option. Rodriguez will only be a deep leaguer unless there's an injury or two to outfielders.

Hedges likely won't play much unless Naylor is injured. Freeman can play all over the field, so that helps him, but injuries are again needed for him to get consistent playing time.

David Fry will eventually be an option, but he's on the 60-day injured list to open the season. He might be eligible to start at several positions, so he'll have some fantasy value when he's ready to hit the field again.

Top Prospects

Travis Bazzana is the No. 10 prospect in baseball, and despite being drafted last summer, he's expected to debut in 2025. Chase DeLauter (No. 36), Jaison Chourio (No. 59) and Angel Genao (No. 61) are other top-100 prospects, with differing ETAs.

C.J. Kayfus, Juan Brito and Rodriguez are other top-30 prospects of the team with 2025 ETAs.

Bazzana was the No. 1 pick, but struggled a bit in 27 minor league games. He had a .238 average and .369 OBP, along with three homers, 12 RBIs, five stolen bases, 20 runs scored, 17 walks and 31 strikeouts. He plays second base.

DeLauter is an outfielder with 96 minor league games under his belt. He's got a .317 average, .387 OBP, 13 homers, 63 RBIs, seven stolen bases, 60 runs scored, 42 walks and 52 strikeouts so far.

Kayfus has played 124 minor league games. He has a .289 average, .398 OBP, 21 homers, 111 RBIs, 10 stolen bases, 83 runs scored, 74 walks and 129 strikeouts.

Brito has played in 440 minor league games, posting a .275 average and .384 OBP. He also has 52 homers, 268 RBIs, 54 stolen bases, 300 runs scored, 275 walks and 300 strikeouts.

Rodriguez played in 13 MLB games last season, finishing with a .129 average and .325 OBP. In 587 minor league games, he has a .281 average, .356 OBP, 98 homers, 360 RBIs, 30 stolen bases, 339 runs scored, 239 walks and 636 strikeouts.

Kody Huff, Cooper Ingle, Dayan Frias, Milan Tolentino, Yordys Valdes, Petey Halpin, Angel Martinez and George Valera are other hitters age 25 or below who were in camp with the team this spring.