Guardians' Pitchers Fantasy Baseball Preview | Emmanuel Clase, Tanner Bibee, Cade Smith, Shane Bieber, Ben Lively and More

Let's wrap up our fantasy baseball team preview on the Cleveland Guardians by looking at the team's pitchers. We looked at hitters in a different article.

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Top Fantasy Pitchers

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

Closer Emmanuel Clase is the first one going in drafts - he's at pick 36.97 on average.

Starter Tanner Bibee sits at pick 107.77. Cade Smith is at pick 193.67, and everyone else is over pick 200.

Clase was the top fantasy reliever last season and is the first one off draft boards in 2025.

In 74 games last season, Clase went 4-2 with a 0.61 earned run average. He earned 47 saves and struck out 66 batters over 74 1/3 innings.

Clase has a 1.67 career ERA, so a little regression is probably coming in his age-27 season. He's had over 40 saves in three straight seasons, so expecting that again is fair. He's not a huge strikeout guy, instead being a good fantasy asset by posting a low ERA and not losing many games.

It's a risk taking a closer that early in a fantasy draft, and is something I'd try to avoid even for an elite option like Clase. Sure, he was a top-five fantasy pitcher overall last season, but last year was a historic season for him. Getting him closer to pick 50 is where I prefer Clase, and if he goes before then, just focus your attention on getting a closer later.

Bibee saw his ERA regress in his second MLB season, but he won more games, pitched more innings and struck out more batters.

In 31 starts, Bibee went 12-8 with a 3.47 ERA. He struck out 187 batters over 173 2/3 innings.

I definitely see good fantasy value in grabbing Bibee around his ADP. He has been trending up of late, and I'd try to not grab him before pick 100 unless you are desperate for starting pitching. Getting him as a third or fourth fantasy starting pitcher should set your rotation up for a big season.

Smith is one of the setup men for Clase.

In 74 games in his first MLB season, Smith had a 6-1 record and 1.91 ERA. He picked up one save and struck out 103 batters over 75 1/3 innings.

It's not wise to grab non-closer fantasy relievers in standard leagues, but Smith certainly was a good option a season ago, and I'd expect more of the same in 2025. I'd still do my best to avoid taking Smith unless it was a deeper fantasy league though.

Other Starting Options

According to FanGraphs, Ben Lively, Gavin Williams, Luis L. Ortiz and Triston McKenzie are the other projected starting pitchers. Hunter Gaddis, Paul Sewald, Tim Herrin, Andrew Walters and Doug Nikhazy are the other projected bullpen arms, while Jakob Junis is the long reliever.

Shane Bieber and John Means are other starting options, but are still working their way back after having surgery (Tommy John). Sam Hentges, Erik Sabrowski and Trevor Stephan are more relief options who are injured right now.

Bieber only made two starts in 2024 before suffering his injury. He's been the team's ace and owns a 3.22 career ERA, so he's one to keep tabs on as he nears a return. He'll instantly be a standard league option when healthy, so keep close tabs on his return.

Lively made 29 starts last season. He went 13-10 with a 3.81 ERA and 118 strikeouts over 151 innings. Lively's strikeout numbers are lacking, but his innings and ERA are good marks to utilize in deeper leagues, while utilizing him in standard leagues when the matchups are right.

Williams took a step back in his second MLB season. In 16 starts, he went 3-10 with a 4.86 ERA and 79 punchouts over 76 innings. He has bounceback potential, and is another deep-league option to kick off the season. With a return to his rookie numbers in 2023, he could become a standard league streamer again.

Ortiz joined the Guardians in the offseason after three years with the Pirates. He made 15 starts across 37 appearances in 2024, going 7-6 with a 3.32 ERA, a save and 107 punchouts over 135 2/3 innings. I expect his ERA to worsen as a starter, but he's another deep-league option with standard league streaming potential if he keeps up last year's marks.

McKenzie still hasn't gotten back on track after a great 2022 season. In 20 starts in the two years since, McKenzie is 3-8 with a 5.11 ERA and 90 strikeouts over 91 2/3 innings. He's just a deep-league option to start the season, but if he finds his groove again, he's got standard league potential.

Junis had a 2.69 ERA across six starts and 24 games with the Reds and Brewers last season. He won't have much fantasy value as a long reliever, but if he gets some starts, he has some deep-league value.

With Clase and Smith dominating the bullpen, you'd think not many other bullpen arms would have fantasy value. Gaddis wasn't far behind Smith in fantasy points leagues last season, and Herrin was also pretty solid.

Means could have some value if he returns late in the season. There's a chance he misses the full season though.

Top Prospects

Cleveland has no pitching prospects on the top-100 list. Joey Cantillo, Walters, Parker Messick, Sabrowski, Nikhazy and Austin Peterson are top-30 prospects of the team with 2025 ETAs.

Cantillo made eight starts across nine MLB appearances in 2024, going 2-4 with a 4.89 ERA and 44 punchouts over 38 2/3 innings. In 401 1/3 minor league innings, Cantillo has a 3.07 ERA, 526 punchouts, 190 walks and a .206 average against him.

Walters made a start and nine MLB appearances for the Guardians last season. He went 1-0 and didn't allow an earned run over 8 2/3 innings, with six strikeouts and five walks along the way. In 50 1/3 minor league innings, he had a 2.32 ERA, 79 strikeouts, 25 walks and a .180 average against him.

Messick has worked 255 1/3 minor league innings, posting a 3.28 ERA. He also has 301 punchouts, 89 walks and a .229 average against him.

Sabrowski made eight appearances in 2024, not allowing an earned run, picking up a save, striking out 19, walking four and having a .140 average against him. In 99 1/3 minor league innings, Sabrowski has a 2.81 ERA, 148 punchouts, 62 walks and a .212 average against him.

Nikhazy has worked 328 minor league innings so far. He has a 3.90 ERA, 380 strikeouts, 205 walks and a .209 average against him.

Peterson has a 3.44 ERA across 277 minor league innings so far. He has 261 strikeouts, 48 walks and a .243 average against him as well.

Slade Cecconi, Will Dion, Ryan Webb, Daniel Espino and Franco Aleman are other pitchers age 25 or below who were in camp with the team this year.