Guardians Promote Reigning Hitting Prospect Of The Year, DFA Ramón Laureano

On Monday, Cleveland announced that it is promoting outfield prospect Johnathan Rodríguez from Triple-A Columbus.

Mar 2, 2024; Goodyear, Arizona, USA; Cleveland Guardians right fielder Johnathan Rodriguez (67) bats against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Goodyear Ballpark. / Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Guardians enter their three-game home series against the New York Mets atop the American League Central standings with a 30-17 record.

After outfielder Will Brennan completed a three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins with a walk-off, three-run home run on Sunday afternoon, Cleveland is now adding another outfielder with plenty of home run power.

On Monday, the Guardians announced that they are promoting outfield prospect Johnathan Rodríguez to their Major League roster. In a corresponding move, the team is designating outfielder Ramón Laureano for assignment.

Currently MLB Pipeline’s 16th-ranked Cleveland prospect, Rodríguez was a third-round pick by the club in the 2017 MLB Draft out of the Carlos Beltrán Baseball Academy. Over the past two-plus years, the 24-year-old has been one of the premier power hitters in the Guardians’ player development system.

This season, in 43 games with the Triple-A Columbus Clippers, he has hit .276 with seven home runs and 28 RBI, while recording 43 hits, six doubles, and an .832 OPS.

Mar 2, 2024; Goodyear, Arizona, USA; Cleveland Guardians right fielder Johnathan Rodriguez (67) bats against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Goodyear Ballpark. / Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

In 2023, Rodríguez was named MiLB’s Cleveland Guardians Hitting Prospect of the Year. He won the Cleveland player development system’s Triple Crown, hitting a combined .286 with 29 home runs and 88 RBI with the Double-A Akron RubberDucks and Triple-A Columbus. The Toa Baja, Puerto Rico native also led the Guardians’ player development system in: slugging percentage (.529), OPS (.897), hits (142), extra-base hits (59), and total bases (263).

In 2022, he led the High-A Midwest League with 21 home runs as a member of the Lake County Captains. Rodríguez also hit five more home runs in 28 additional games with Double-A Akron.

Cleveland looks to extend its winning streak to four games when it hosts the Mets on Monday night at 6:10 p.m.