Guardians Prospect Again Chosen As Break Out Candidate For 2025

Another MLB analyst is predicting that Cleveland Guardians' prospect Welbyn Francisca will have a big 2025 season.

A ball cap sports the Cleveland Guardians logo in the third inning of the MLB Inter-league game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Guardians at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Tuesday, April 12, 2022. / Sam Greene / The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK

It's difficult to judge a prospect's potential. Many factors play into this, such as age, level, development, and how long it takes a player to adapt to better pitching as they move through an organization.

However, there's one Cleveland Guardians prospect that analysts appear pretty high on heading into the 2025 season.

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report chose Cleveland's ninth-ranked prospect, SS Welbyn Francisca, as his breakout candidate for the 2025 Minor League season.

"A switch-hitting middle infielder with an advanced hit tool, Francisca signed for $1.375 million in 2023, and he hit .326/.411/.474 with 27 extra-base hits and 19 steals in 74 games between rookie ball and Single-A in his stateside debut. He could be the 2025 version of Angel Genao, who offers a similar profile and jumped onto Top 100 lists in 2024," wrote Francisca.

Mar 27, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Manager Andy Tracy and GM and president Ken Schnacke talk to players during Columbus Clippers practice at Huntington Park. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

What makes Reuter's prediction so interesting is that just a few days ago, MiLB also chose Francisca as their breakout candidate for next season.

Perhaps both of these predictions could be an in-store for Francisca next season.

He played only 29 games with the Lynchburg Hillcats (Single-A), so it seems most likely that he'll start the 2025 season at that level.

However, if Francisca hits as well as he did there at the end of last season, the organization could be forced to quickly move him up to the Lake County Captains (High-A).

A Francisca promotion could be directly associated with Travis Bazzana or Angel Geano's promotions, considering they're blocking the 18-year-old at the next level.

One thing is for sure: the Guardian's middle infield depth throughout the organization will continue to be the storyline during next season.