Guardians restock pitching depth, take RHP Peterson 19th overall

CLEVELAND -- The Guardians organization has long been renowned for its pitching factory, which has churned out myriad quality hurlers through the years. In the first round of the MLB Draft on Saturday, Cleveland added a new face to the assembly line.

With the No. 19 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, the Guardians selected University of Florida right-hander Liam Peterson.

The Guardians have a longstanding relationship with Peterson, who was ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 20 Draft prospect. He was also a Draft prospect in 2023, coming out of Calvary Christian High School in Clearwater, Florida, before he opted to play collegiately.

Cleveland is excited to bring him into the organization now.

“We've known him for a really long time from his days at Calvary Christian, where he was a top prospect as well,” Guardians senior vice president of scouting Paul Gillispie said of Peterson, who was ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 85 Draft prospect in 2023.

“His mindset, his desire to get better, I think fits really well in our organization.”

Peterson (who only turned 21 on June 10) has the pitch arsenal of a future rotation mainstay. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound hurler attacks hitters with a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and can top out at 99 mph. His mid-80s slider is one of the best in this year’s class, while his 12-to-6 curveball is an above-average third offering that he could stand to utilize more often. Peterson also has a changeup which shows promise.

Peterson produced a 5.03 ERA across 216 2/3 innings with Florida. This past spring, he had a 4.59 ERA in 84 1/3 frames. He struck out 111 batters and did show slightly better control than in years past, but harnessing his stuff remains his biggest issue, as evidenced by his career 4.7 BB/9 rate in college.

The Guardians are optimistic about Peterson’s potential given his foundation of tools and intangibles.

“The things that he already does and the things that he brings to the table are really hard to teach,” Gillispie said, “just with the physicality, just with the arm speed and just with the stuff. We think when we bring him into our organization, there's a lot of things we can do with just some of the finer points of pitching and refinement and those types of things.”

Peterson knows that his results haven’t matched his stuff, and he told MLB Network’s Dan O’Dowd last month that he is “certainly not happy with the way I have performed.” But that hasn’t shaken the Palm Harbor, Fla., native’s belief in his own talent.

“I think I really have the potential to be a Cy Young, top-end starter in MLB,” Peterson said. “And I don’t mean that in a cocky way. I just think you’ve got to be confident in yourself. I know what I have, and I know I haven’t necessarily shown that in my performances so far. But I really do think I’m close to getting where I want to be.”

Cleveland has a longstanding track record of developing pitching, and we’ve seen that up close in the Majors this year. The Guardians are the only team in the Majors this season to have used just five starting pitchers.

Four of those starters are homegrown in Williams, Tanner Bibee, Joey Cantillo and Parker Messick. The fifth, Slade Cecconi, was acquired from the D-backs in the December 2024 trade of Josh Naylor. The starting staff has been the club’s backbone; the Guardians entered Saturday ranked eighth in the Majors with a 3.76 ERA.

While Cleveland’s rotation has led the way this season, Peterson’s selection makes sense to help replenish the organization's pitching pipeline.

There are just 10 pitchers ranked on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Prospects list for the Guardians, three of whom are in the Top 10 in right-handers Braylon Doughty (No. 4, No. 95 overall) Khal Stephen (No. 7) and Joey Oakie (No. 9). Each is a ways away from the Majors to varying degrees.

Cleveland promoted Doughty (a 20-year-old who was the No. 36 overall pick in the 2024 Draft) to Double-A Akron on June 30. Stephen was with Akron, but he underwent right UCL repair surgery on Monday and is expected to miss 10-12 months. Oakie, 20, is with Single-A Hill City.

Peterson now figures to stand among that trio as one of the Guardians’ top pitching prospects.

“Just being a development-focused organization, we think he'll do quite well here,” Gillispie said.