CLEVELAND -- Guardians outfield prospect Wuilfredo Antunez has felt a sense of calm as he has made his way up Cleveland’s farm system. Of course, the 23-year-old understands that he will face a stronger level of competition at each new Minor League level he reaches.
But Antunez’s mindset is also strong.
“Whenever I get to a new league, I give it my all,” Antunez said last week through translator Anna Bolton. “I really think that's part of the results that I'm able to have. It's just like, I'm so excited that I've gotten to the next level that I actually feel relaxed.
“I don't put pressure on myself, because what I feel is that I reached my goal and that I'm in the position that I've earned -- like, I’ve earned my way there.”
That is a good backdrop for what we saw from Antunez this month in the Arizona Fall League.
He earned a spot representing the Guardians after his strong 2025 season. Though he was limited to two games before he was sidelined by right shoulder tendinitis, Antunez showed why he has increasingly been on the radar in Cleveland’s farm system.
Suiting up for the Surprise Saguaros, Antunez went 3-for-6 with two homers and four RBIs.
Antunez won’t return to play in the AFL due to the shoulder issue, but he is expected to be fully healthy for Spring Training. There, he will be a non-roster invitee in big league camp after the Guardians re-signed him to a Minor League deal on Oct. 3.
While it was just a two-game sample, Antunez’s AFL stint was emblematic of an encouraging trend. He has continued to grow offensively as he has progressed through Cleveland's farm system. Consider his production over the past three seasons:
- 2023 (Single-A Lynchburg): 89 games, six homers, .774 OPS
- 2024 (Lynchburg and High-A Lake County): 96 games, 10 homers, .784 OPS
- 2025 (Lake County and Double-A Akron): 101 games, 18 homers, .856 OPS
“He has consistently put up pretty good numbers, especially as you look at the last year and a half, specifically the OPS,” Guardians VP of player development Stephen Osterer said. “His ability to put the ball in play and maximize launch angles are carrying traits for him. He hits the ball with impact, but he does it at good angles, and it leads to really productive outcomes.
“He's an aggressive hitter. I think his evolution over the last year and a half, honestly, has been more about knowing himself and learning and growing about his strengths and his weaknesses, and how to identify and harness both of those things.”
That includes Antunez understanding when and where in the strike zone he can be most aggressive, and components such as the posture he needs in the batter’s box and how to load himself well in order to get his best swing off consistently.
Continuing that process was among the goals for Antunez in the AFL before his stint was cut short. But his finish to the season was nonetheless encouraging. Antunez slashed .301/.333/.528 with four homers over 31 games after he was promoted to Akron on July 18.
“A credit to him,” Osterer said. “He's put time into maturing and learning about himself as a hitter, and I think that has led to a lot more of the consistent success. It's been really fun to actually see that transfer over into Double-A this year.”
Antunez noted he gained valuable advice in Double-A from infielder Angel Genao (Cleveland’s No. 3 prospect and No. 59 overall, per MLB Pipeline) and outfielder Jorge Burgos, two of his friends. Genao and Burgos noted it’s important to keep a positive mindset and to stay focused, as it can be easy to grow frustrated while facing quality pitching that is prominent in Double-A.
Though Double-A is a few stops from the Majors, Antunez, Genao and Burgos talk about playing in the big leagues together one day. Antunez emphasized that it is not a competition to get there. Rather, the friends hope to play there together.
Antunez is on a good trajectory.
“We're competing to overcome ourselves and to improve as a player, to improve as a person and to just continue to overcome our personal goals at each level,” Antunez said. “I think that's really helped us improve and helped us stay close to our goals by keeping that type of focus on what we're doing.
“It's not overcoming your teammates. It's overcoming yourself, and I hope that we can achieve that goal together of playing in the big leagues together.”