Guardians Focus On Contact Bats On Day Two Of 2023 MLB Draft, Full Overview Of Selections

The Cleveland Guardians take a lot of prospects in the 2023 MLB Draft who will still need to develop power before reaching the Big League level.

Author:
Tommy Wild
Jul 10, 2023 6:06 PM EDT

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Cleveland Guardians

The Cleveland Guardians typically use the draft to select pitchers they can develop into MLB's best. They take a different approach on day two of the 2023 Draft and selected six position players and just two pitchers:

Here's a breakdown of each player the Guardians took on day two:

Pick 93: CJ Kayfus - OF/1B - University of Miami

The Guardians took C.J. Kayfus out of the University of Miami with the 93rd overall pick. Kayfus just wrapped up his junior year and is clearly ready to take his talent to the next level.

He hit .348 last season along with a career-high 13 home runs and drove in 41 RBI. He also walked more (46) than struck out (44) last season demonstrating his plate discipline.

Pick 125: Cooper Ingle - C - Clemson

Cleveland continued drafting position players as they selected C Cooper Ingle with the 125th pick in the draft. Ingle is a catcher out of Clemson University and is currently the 232nd-ranked prospect on MLB.com.

Cooper is more of a contact hitter who gets on base a lot rather than a power. He only slugged .461 last season but hit .328 with an OBP of .417.

This is now the second catcher the Guardians have selected this draft as they took Ralphy Velazquez in the first round of the draft.

Pick 161: Christian Knapczyk - SS - Louisville

Next up to be selected by the Guardians was SS Christian Knapczyk out of Louisville. This selection marks the first infielder Cleveland took in the draft.

Knapczyk's biggest strength is that he can make a ton of contact. He hit .331 and has an OPS of .863. Cleveland will hope they can develop his power because he only slugged .408 last season while only hitting three home runs in his four-year collegiate career.

Pick 188: Tommy Hawke - OF - Wake Forest

The Guardians continued to bolster their young outfield depth by selecting Tommy Hawke with the 188th pick. Hawke is another high-contact hitter that gets on base a ton.

Tommy had a slash line of .351/.459/.506 last season with Wake Forest. The Guardians will also need to work on developing his power as he works his way through the system.

A huge plus with Hawke is his speed. He stole 14 bases last season and 22 the year before.

Pick 218: Alex Mooney - SS - Duke

Cleveland took another position player and took SS Alex Mooney out of Duke.

Just like their previous draft picks of the day. Mooney has a high contact rate but will still need to work on his power. He hit .315 last season with an OPS of .938. However, he only slugged .504 with eight home runs.

Pick 248: Jonah Advincula - OF - Washington State

The next outfielder the Guardians took was Jonah Advincula out of Washington State.

Advincula is a left-handed batter who hit .350 last season and slugged .565. while posting an OPS of 1.020. Jonah is an on-base machine who makes stuff happen with his base running.

He stole 24 bases last season and was only caught twice. This will play nicely into the new rules implemented into MLB this season.

Pick 278: Jay Driver - RHP - Harvard

The Guardians finally take their first pitcher on day two of the draft. Cleveland selected RHP Jay Driver out of Harvard with the 278th pick.

Driver made 12 starts last season and posted a 4.41 ERA of 67.1 innings. That does seem high, however, he also struck out 69 batters and walked just 29. It appears Jay has the command to throw strikes but needs to work on his swing-and-miss rate.