Xzavion Curry is our No. 20 Guardians prospect for 2023

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Our top prospects list is capped off by 24-year-old Xzavion Curry, who made his debut with the Guards last season

For a hot minute there it looked like we might have our first (and only) vote-off of the top-20 prospect list as the final spot came down to the wire between Will Dion and Xzavion Curry. But, with 28% of the vote, Curry takes the spot and rounds out our list.

Curry made his debut against the Tigers last season, with...

N&N: Bo Bichette was February 7th’s happiest baseball player

Not Bo’s hands | Photo by: Sophy Holland/E! Entertainment/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Morning news and notes for Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023

A very slow news day means we’re starting with a very lame attempt at that Bo Bichette meme from a couple years ago.........

You ready?...........

................

...... By signing a 3-year contract with Toronto, Bo Bichette now has Mo’ Cashette.

Aaaalrighty. On to the rest of the “news”...

Amanda Kamekona Hired as Guardians' 1st Female On-Field Coach in Franchise History

The Cleveland Guardians have hiredAmanda Kamekona to serve as a minor league hitting instructor, per the Associated Press (h/t

Guardians hire female hitting instructor

The Cleveland Guardians hired former UCLA softball player Amanda Kamekona as a hitting instructor. The franchise's first female on-field coach will be based at the year-round complex in Goodyear, Ariz.

Guardians spring training battles: Fifth starter

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Can any pitcher unseat Zach Plesac in Guardians camp?

As the curtain lifts on the spring training stage, I’m hoping for some drama to unfold in a battle for the fifth starter spot.

The top four spots in the Guardians’ starting rotation seem pretty set in stone, barring injury, with Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie, Cal Quantrill, and Aaron Civale holding their respective places. But what about that fifth spot?

Maybe seniority...

Jaison Chourio is our No. 19 Guardians prospect. Who should be No. 20?

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Jaison Chourio is going to be a name to remember in a few years

With an overwhelming 42% of the vote, 17-year-old outfielder Jaison Chourio narrowly makes our top-20 prospect list at No. 19.

Chourio was an international free-agent signing last January for $1.2 million. I won’t pretend to know too much about him, having never seen him play with my own eyes, but he was the 20th overall IFA free agent according to MLB Pipeline last year....

N&N: Get ready for spring training

Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Morning news and notes for Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023

Not a lot of news yesterday outside of general spring training excitement, so allow me to use this opportunity to once again remind you that Covering the Corner has a Discord!

It’s put together (and managed) by community member evilchameleon, who you may recognize from many a Game Threads. Come for the live Guardians discussion; stay for the server emojis of Josh Naylor’s face.

>>>Join the...

Guardians spring training battles: Backup catcher

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Who will split time with Mike Zunino?

As spring training finally arrives at our doorsteps, I wanted to take a look at the few spots on the Guardians’ roster where there is a position battle. Why not start with the most exciting position in baseball? Backup catcher!

While you may sense the sarcasm — given that starting Guardians catcher, Mike Zunino, is coming back from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery — backup catcher may...

N&N: Josh Bell’s history of first half success a welcome addition

Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Morning news and notes for Monday, Feb. 6, 2023

Here’s to a great week!

Josh Bell could bring hot start to Guardians | cleguardians.com
From Mandy Bell:

Bell has built a reputation of getting off to a hot start. Guardians manager Terry Francona’s teams have been known for the opposite. Bell can bring some nice pop and energy to this lineup in the early (and sometimes brutal) weeks of the regular season in Cleveland. Last year, he was...

Petey Halpin is our No. 18 Guardians prospect. Who should be No. 19?

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Halpin is a contact wizard with plenty of room to grow

If Myles Straw doesn’t work out for the Guardians, they may have another similar player in our No. 18 prospect, Petey Halpin.

Now, granted, Halpin doesn’t have the defensive acumen of Straw, but few do. Halpin does have a lot of speed and contact ability without the slugging, though — which makes him an ideal replacement for Straw in this imaginary contest I’ve made up in my...

Yankees Sign Ian Hamilton To Minor League Deal

The Yankees have signed right-hander Ian Hamilton to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Hamilton will presumably be invited to participate in major league Spring Training.

Guardians announce 15 spring training invitees

Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Guards have announced eight internal and seven external invitees to spring training

With spring training just around the corner, the Guardians have announced 15 players invited to participate — in addition to everyone on the 40-man roster, of course.

Internal players

The internal...

Another Cal Quantrill theory to add to the pile

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What is Cal Quantrill? Who is Cal Quantrill? Most importantly, how is Cal Quantrill?

“How does Cal Quantrill keep doing this?” is a common question among baseball watchers, writers, and probably some coaches. Despite no particularly elite skill, he finished 2021 with a 2.89 ERA and followed it up with a 3.38 ERA season last year.

Other than health, which he’s been blessed with most of the past two seasons, what in the world...

IT’S TRUCK DAY

This is not a truck. | Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Morning news and notes for Friday, Feb. 3, 2023

This is not a drill — trucks carrying equipment for the Cleveland Guardians are bound for Goodyear, Arizona today, unofficially marking the beginning of baseball season hype (if it didn’t already start).

The trucks are on their way, and pitchers and catchers will follow in less than two weeks, with full team workouts starting on Feb. 21.

Are we underestimating Gabriel Arias?

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Is an injury-plagued season making us overlook Gabriel Arias?

The Guardians have so many middle-infield prospects, you can be excused for forgetting about one or two of them. I’m here today to tell you not to forget about Gabriel Arias.

At the age of 21, Gabriel Arias put up a 115 wRC+ in Triple-A Columbus in 2021. For comparison, the average age of a hitter in Triple-A in 2021 was 26.6 and the average age of a Triple-A pitcher was 27.2. So, he was a...

Justin Campbell is our No. 17 Guardians prospect. Who should be No. 18?

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Another tall, polished college arm debuts at No. 17 on our countdown

Justin Campbell joins fellow 2022 draftee Chase DeLauter on our top prospect list, edging out Petey Halpin for the No. 17 spot with 33% of the vote.

There is not a whole lot to go on for Campbell as he has yet to throw a professional inning, but his pre-draft hype should have Guardians fans excited regardless. He stands at a towering 6-foot-7 on the mound with the ability...

N&N: Spring training is right around the corner

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Morning news and notes for Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023

Any day now we’ll be getting our first video of a pitcher throwing in front of an airplane graveyard — the sound of a ball hitting a glove echoing through whatever shaky phone camera the beat reporter is using. Shortly after that, we’ll get our first spring training game, and the 2023 season will be off and running.

Compared to previous offseasons, these past couple of months have...

Dog-Eared Corner: The End of Baseball by Peter Schilling, Jr.

Set Number: X163234 TK1

A baseball novel about Bill Veeck and the stars of the Negro Leagues

I (Quincy) invited Chris D. Davies, resident Baseball book reviewer for Covering the Corner, to read Peter Schilling’s The End of Baseball, which has long been my favorite baseball novel, so that we could discuss it together, and Chris graciously agreed.

After re-reading, I discovered some issues with it that I hadn’t remembered and it was fun to compare notes.

Quincy: It’s probably...

Morning News and Notes for February 1

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Morning news and notes for Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023

A pretty slow day around baseball, but here are some things you might want to know:

• Dexter Fowler has retired.

• Wily Peralta has signed a MILB deal with Washington. He’s probably capable of better than 95% of the innings the Nats pitched in 2022.

• Chad Green has signed a complicated contract with Toronto. Long live Chad Green.

• Tony Gonsolin and the LA Dodgers teamed up to avoid arbitration.

Now,...

Jose Tena is our No. 16 Guardians prospect. Who should be No. 17?

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Tena has stood out in the AFL, but can he stand out during a full MiLB season?

After missing the top vote by two votes in the previous round, Jose Tena defeated second-place Justin Campbell by 38 votes this time around to earn the title of No. 16 Cleveland Guardians prospect.

Tena was part of Cleveland’s vaunted 2017 international signing class along with prospects already voted in ahead of him like No. 3 George Valera, No. 5...