Musings from the WBC. What do we have in these players?

Besides spurring nationalistic sentiments for Team USA that go something like: "What the heck?  These guys are superstars and they have can't even win their pool?" there are stories coming out of the WBC involving first, second and third level Guardians' prospects.  Let's dive in to guess at whether some of those guys are poised for breakout years.

JOSH WOLF

Wolf was obtained in the Francisco Lindor deal before the 2021.  At draft time he was throwing 91-96 mph.  Since he has been with the Guardians he has been injured a lot and when he wasn't injured he didn't pitch well, not making it out of low A although he is already 22.6 years old.  At the time of the trade he was the Mets #10 prospect, a look at Guardians' prospect ratings from all available sites does not show him listed on ANY of those sites, including mine, some of those lists going 50 or more prospects deep!  

It is hard to believe that this kid could be anything more than organizational depth plus an extreme lottery ticket at this point in his career.  However, he pitched a couple of times in the WBC, striking out 3 batters in 2 innings and pitching 95-6 mph.  This was in addition to striking out 3 batters in one inning in an exhibition game against the Nationals right before the WBC.

What can't be lost in this, as well, is that Wolf's worth as a trade chip no doubt increased as a result of his exposure in the WBC.  This might be important now (inclusion in a Brian Reynolds/Dan Bednar trade) or at the deadline.

Hopefully this will be a chance for the kid to reclaim his career with the Guardians seeing what happened in the WBC and converting him to a reliever.  

BO NAYLOR

Naylor showed power and some throwing ability in the WBC but looked like a rookie who needed more seasoning at times, as well.  SURPRISE!  That is what the astute Guardians have planned for him.  Still, he didn't choke on the big stage that is the WBC and showed flashes of what makes him a top 100 prospect in baseball.

DAYAN FRIAS

His numbers look EXACTLY what you would expect a GOOD low A prospect would have in the WBC.  He clearly looked overmatched at times but flashed some tools that tells me he is going to be just fine, and maybe even an all-star, at Lake County this year if he stays healthy.   Add him to the list of  excellent shortstop prospects in the Guardians' system and, like Wolf, puts him on the radar as a trade chip now and at the deadline in July.

CADE SMITH

Cade's inclusion on the Team Canada roster will no doubt help him be ready for the competition level at Akron when he comes back to spring training today.  Heck, it might even lead to the Guardians pushing him to Columbus to start the season to prep him for a callup later in the year.  His numbers in the WBC did not look that good but his pedigree tells me we could be seeing Mr. Smith in Cleveland this year or as part of a trade package at the deadline.

There were also 4 veterans (Gimenez, Quantrill, Palacios and Viloria) who played in the WBC but this article was just about our prospects.