Guardians Top Pitching Prospect Shut Down For Two Months

One of the top prospects in the sport has been shut down for at least two months. The Cleveland Guardians say that 22-year-old right-handed phenom Daniel Espino has a strain of his subscapularis and a tear of the anterior capsule in his right shoulder. He'll be banned from throwing for at least eight weeks. 

 All of the major prospects rankings—Baseball America, MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus—have Espino in their Top 25 prospects in baseball. With a triple-digit heater and lethal breaking pitches, "big league hitters stopped in their tracks during batting practice to look over on the backfields" at Espino during spring training last year, according to Guardians beat writer Mandy Bell. 

He began his 2022 season in Double-A by striking out more than 50% of the batters he faced in his first four starts—17.2 K/9— with a 2.45 ERA. But then tendinitis in his knee, and shoulder troubles derailed him for the rest of the minor league season. 

Now the hard-luck youngster will have to wait another two months due to more shoulder issues.

He was selected in the 1st round by Cleveland in the 2019 Draft (24th overall), and in his run through the minors thus far, he's blown away 14.9 batters per nine innings, with a 3.77 ERA and 1.06 WHIP.

If he can ever stay healthy, the Guardians have another ace up their sleeve.

Photo: GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS / USA TODAY NETWORK