Guards' No. 3 prospect Ingle swats 3 homers at Triple-A
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On May 31, Cooper Ingle got his first look at left field this season as the Guardians wanted to expand his defensive versatility ahead of a possible MLB callup. Nineteen days later -- and with a move back to catcher -- he showed why it’s still his bat that is pressing most for that move to Cleveland.
The No. 3 Guardians prospect homered three times from the leadoff spot for Triple-A Columbus on Thursday in the Clippers’ 7-5 win over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at Huntington Park.
The slugfest was Ingle’s second multihomer performance of 2026 -- the other coming April 19 at home against Iowa -- and the first three-homer game of his career since Cleveland took him in the third round out of Clemson in 2023.
The left-handed slugger went deep in the Clippers’ first at-bat of the game when he golfed a 1-2 sweeper from RailRiders right-handed starter Alexander Cornielle to the seats in right. He went to the opposite field for his second and third dingers: another solo shot off Cornielle in the third inning and a two-run homer off fellow Top 100 prospect Carlos Lagrange in the sixth. The latter came on a 98.6 mph fastball from Lagrange that Ingle barreled 401 feet to left with a 99.4 mph exit velocity. (It should be noted that winds were blowing out to left field at 17 mph in Columbus on Thursday.)
In between the long balls, Ingle added a fifth-inning double as part of his 4-for-4 afternoon. The four total knocks were his most in a game since last Aug. 6 with Double-A Akron and his most extra-base hits in a game since July 3 with the same club.
Ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 70 overall prospect, Ingle improved his season line to .304/.436/.590 through 47 games with Columbus. His 12 homers in 2026 already represent a new career high, besting his 11 at High-A and Double-A in 2024.
A career .285 hitter in the Minors, the 24-year-old has developed a hit-over-power reputation in the Minor Leagues, and despite this slugging surge, that mostly remains true with his strong contact and chase rates and more average exit velocities.
The Guardians acquired gifted defensive catcher Patrick Bailey from the Giants on May 9 and optioned Bo Naylor to Columbus the same day, clogging the backstop depth chart ahead of Ingle and necessitating him trying a new position. Since that May 31 debut on the grass, he’s made seven starts at catcher, four in left field and two at designated hitter. Where he’ll make his MLB debut remains up in the air, but with his strong offensive season coinciding with Cleveland’s push in both the AL Central and Wild Card races, it’s a debut that might not be far off.