Guardians projected to take chance on converted ASU starting pitcher

Guardians projected to take chance on converted ASU starting pitcher originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Cleveland Guardians are never a team you can count out. Their front office does a great job of making the most out of their first-round draft picks.

This year, the Guardians will be selecting 19th overall. While the fanbase would much prefer a top-10 pick, selecting 19th is a vast improvement over picking 27th like they did last year.

There will be loads of talent still left on the board for the Cleveland brass to debate on. The question is, who will still be available to them?

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Guardians projected to take chance on converted ASU starting pitcher

The Guardians have focused on picking position players over the last few years. The last time they used their first-round pick on a pitcher was back in 2021 when they selected Gavin Williams 23rd overall.

However, Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter believes they will break that trend this season, selecting Arizona State pitcher Cole Carlon.

"After spending the first two seasons pitching primarily in relief, Carlon has shifted to a starting role this spring and continued to impress with a 4.11 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 46 innings. With a strong 6'5", 230-pound frame and a four-pitch mix, command is the question mark, and he has trimmed his walk rate to a manageable 9.5 percent this season."

Carlon is having a great spring, but there is a big concern here. He recently transitioned from the bullpen to a starting role, but he is more than holding his own out there in his new role.

Many teams would shy away from this as it's a huge red flag, but he does have the stuff to be a frontline starter. All he needs to do is stretch his arm out and work on his command a bit, and Carlon could have quite the ceiling in MLB.

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