September 6, 2025 • 39 mins
The Guardians continue to push towards a wildcard spot, we'll look back at a couple big wins this week keeping them in contention. Also, starter Joey Cantillo stops by to talk about his recent strong outing against Boston. Plus, George Valera sits down with Rosey to reflect on his Major League debut at Fenway Park. That's all on this edition of Guardians Weekly with Jim Rosenhaus on the Cleveland Guardians Radio Network.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Guardians Radio Network.
Guardians Weekly is brought to you by Progressive, helping Guardians
fans save hundreds on car insurance. Hi, everyone, welcome to
(01:09):
Guardian's Weekly. Jim Rosen house along with you from Tampa,
Florida this weekend where the Guardians are playing the Tampa
Bay Rays. Good show lined up for you this week.
As in just a little bit, we'll take a look
back at the week in review, a key road trip
that the Guardians are in right now with a four
game set here in Tampa after three at Fenway Park
(01:31):
against the Red Sox. Later on in the show, we
will have a full minor league report from Vice president
of player Development Stephen Osterer. Will also visit with George Valera,
who made his major league debut earlier this week. We'll
check in with hitting coach Grant Fink and also be
joined by Joey Cantillo, Guardian starting pitcher who picked up
(01:51):
a win at Fenway Park earlier on the road trip. Man,
let's take a look back at the weekend review Monday,
Labor Day, Monday, the road trip began in Boston with
a six to four loss to the Red Sox. Then
on Tuesday, another loss to the Red Sox, but the
Guardians offense showed some great signs, but unfortunately the pitching
staff couldn't make it hold up in an eleven to
(02:13):
seven Boston win. On Wednesday, the Guardians would salvage the
series finale, a bullpen day for the Red Sox, and
the Guardians took full advantage. Early on. Jose Ramirez drove
in the game's first run with a first inning ground out.
Then in the second inning, bo Naylor led off with
a double, bringing Gabrielarius to the plate.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Now the two to two swung un hit high hit,
deep cul aft. There she goes again.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Out of Fenway Park on the Lansdown Street. Gabriel Larius clears,
the Green Monster flies over the seats and on the
Lansdown Street behind the ballpark and the Guardians with a
three nothing lead, and Gabriel Rarrius with his tenth foam
(03:02):
run giving him forty seven RBIs. Four times in the
last two nights, Cleveland has climbed that Green Monster. Later
on in the second two men aboard for Stephen Kwan
and he delivered Stephen Mantz, third pitcher to work. Tonight,
runners at the corners, Kwan ground ball base hit in
(03:22):
the left. That'll make it a three run inning, four
nothing Cleveland cafus scores, Rochio stops at second. Five straight
hits to start this second inning. Kwan has doubled in
single tonight and Cleveland is making Alex Cora rue the
day that he decided to do a bullpen game. Another
(03:46):
run scored in the second on a catcher's interference call,
making it five nothing Guardians. Then a wild pitch brought
Stephen Kuan home to make it six nothing, with Kyle
Manzarto at the plate trying to keep the big inning going,
and the pitch and he swings and lines it to left,
a ran back and it's off his cloth as he
raced back toward the warning track end the score.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Ramirez three the second.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Sliding double four man Sarto and the Guardians baga seven
to nothing as they have scored six here in the
second inning. The Red Sox got on the board with
a run in the fourth, but that would be it
as Joey Cantillo was sharpened this one from the start.
The pitch and he sends one in the air to right,
(04:29):
not deep. What a job by Cantillo, Johnkinzie Noel comes
in to grab it and a one hundred and four
pitch night for Joey Cantillo. He went six dominant innings,
seven to one. Cleveland Cjkapis's sack fly and the eighth
inning made it an eight to one ball game, and
then Eric Sabrowski was on in the ninth to finish
(04:51):
things up. Now the set now the two two got
him swinging ballgame, so Cleveland salvages the final. They got
six in the second. Joey Cantillo was tremendous and Cleveland
beats up the Red Sox eight to one. After the
ballgame in Boston, it was on to Tampa to open
(05:13):
a four game series against the Rays on Thursday night.
Tampa Bay won it by a final score of four
to two, but the Guardians bounced back nicely on Friday night,
facing another bullpen day from the opposition, and again they
had success early on, as in the second inning, they
loaded the bases with one out for suddenly red hot
Stephen Kwan Arius said third Rochio at second hedges at first.
(05:38):
The bitch swing on trail to center. That's a Bay, said,
that'll score Arius. Rochio coming around third will score and
in the third is Hedges. So Stephen Kuan, in front
of a Cleveland Guardians partisan crowd, rips a two run
single to center and it's two nothing. Cleveland give Stephen
(06:00):
Kwan forty six run spanned in and then with two
outs another suddenly hot hitter, Jose Ramirez delivered now the
two to one swung on drill the left field, Bencoes
Palassios jumps amy it is over his head, Rick assets
off the wall. Hedges scores Kwan around third scores Ramirez
(06:21):
in the second rifling a two out, two run double
off the wall and left, and it's four nothing Cleveland.
Tampa Bay pitches to Ramirez. Tampa Bay pays the price.
Jose Ramirez now base hits in four straight advance his
(06:41):
twenty sixth double, giving him seventy three rby eyes, and
then David fry kept the beginning going.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Now the two zero swung on.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Hammered dp bluff field down the line, off the wall
in the score Ramirez. Fry holds the long RBI single
five nothing Cleveland and David frye with RBI number twenty one,
and Cleveland has erupted for five here in the second inning.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
They've gotten three of those with two out hits.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
The Rays look to answer in the bottom half of
the second inning, but on hell Martinez in center field
had other plans. Here's the cent and the O two
swung on. This has hit pretty well to the gamp
and right center. Long run for Martinez. Made the diving
catch from his Billy throws it back in. What a
(07:38):
sensational diving catch and right center by the center fielder
on hell Martinez. Man, this guy was parallel to the
ground when he made that catch. Well done by on
hell Martinez to rob magnum of extra vases. Gavin Williams,
(08:00):
with another strong start, kept the Rays off the board,
and in the sixth inning, Austin Hedges led off with
yet another long ball. The pitch and it's hit high
and hit deep to left down the line. It goes
Palacio's track wall gone. Austin Hedges with a towering drive
down the left field line makes it six nothing. Cleveland
(08:24):
Hedges with two home runs on this road trip. Stephen
Quan followed with a single then stole second to set
up a memorable at bat for George Valera.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Now the O two swung on drilled in the right.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
That's of ace hit that'll score Stephen Kuan seven to nothing.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Cleveland.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
George Valera second major league hit, first Major league RBI.
Now hopefully he gets a lot more playing time this month.
Be fun to see what he can do. Why not
in a nice week for Valera and we'll hear from
him in just a little bit on the show. Tampa
broke up the shutout bid with a Junior Common Arrow
home run in the sixth that made it seven to one,
(09:05):
but that was all as Gavin Williams was on his
way to his tenth win of the season.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
So two down the vase is empty.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Yandi Diaz the batter two for three, couple of singles
the pitch and he swings bounces it too short. Arius
with that Bazooka throws to first, ending over and what
a job by Gavin Williams. Seven in the books. Tim
Herron came out of the bullpen to work a scoreless eighth,
and then Kate Smith was on to get some work
(09:32):
in and finish the job in the ninth. The pitch
swinging a ground ball to short, Arius has it, throws
it ballgame and the Guardians beat up the Rays tonight
seven to one, and with that win on Friday Night,
the Guardians have put themselves squarely in postseason contention with
quite a few other teams in the American League, all
(09:54):
battling for that third and final wildcard playoff spot. They're
just two and a half back of the team that's
in that spot. Right now, the Seattle Narratives, we'll take
a break and then we'll come back here from starting
picture Joey Cantillo. That's next on the Cleveland Clinic Guardians
Radio Network.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
A Progressive Home and Auto bundle can protect you round
the clock, but we can't protect you from those painful
moments in sports.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
The ref totally blew that call.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Oh, I'm sure he'll make the right call next time.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
It's too late. It cost us the game.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Well, it's just one game. That loss eliminated us from
the playoffs. Oh, the playoffs are on so late. Now
you'll be well rested. Okay, I need you to stop
talking now. At least your Homanado or protected with a
bundle from Progressive Progressive casual Canterns, company affiliates and other
inturists not available in those states. A situations.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Now, the two to two delivery, swing and miss, striking
out with a good curveball. Joey Cantillo looked sharp through two. Cantillo,
the action on his changeup has been so good, sinking action.
Now the pitch strike three call, He got them looking
(11:28):
and somehow Cantillo dances out of the jam with his
fifth strikeout. Here's the pitch called strike three. Fastball locked
him up and the side is retired. Seven strikeouts for
Joey Cantillo. The pitch and he sends one in the
air to right, not deep. What a job I can tillo.
(11:48):
Johnkinsie Noel comes in to grab it and a one
hundred and four pitch night for Joey Cantillo. He went
six dominant endings. Welcome back, It's Guardians Weekly. Jim rosen
House back with you from Tampa, Florida, where the Guardians
are taking on the Rays this weekend. Game three of
(12:11):
the series Saturday night at seven o five In the
series finale Sunday, a twelve ten first pitch. Joey Cantillo
is back in the starting rotation for the Guardians after
a brief stint in Columbus. He pitched an outstanding game
at Fenway Park in Boston on Wednesday to pick up
the win. He talked about what he worked on in
Columbus that allowed him to be so good in his
(12:33):
first start back with the big league team. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:35):
I think just working working day by day, little things
here and there where you're trying to execute. And I
told you, you know, every day you're trying to improve
on those things, and whether it's in the big leagues
or in the minor leagues. But I think in those
two starts, you know, I really just said, okay, hey,
I'm down here, and you know, the thing I can
be doing a lot better, which we all know is
(12:57):
throwing strikes. So let's just focus on that, and let's
just attack guys, get ahead of guys, which is what
you say you're gonna do every outing, but just really
keeping that at the forefront, which is how it should
always be. So just just learning from that, I think.
You know, obviously yesterday was a day where we were
able to throw a lot more strikes and get ahead
of guys and that led to success.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
And you mentioned throwing strikes and everybody talks about it
for every pitcher. For you, is it more mechanical or
is it that mindset of really attacking the hitter. I
think it's a number of things.
Speaker 4 (13:28):
And I think, you know, I think sometimes you know,
we're trying to be too fine and we're nibbling or
we're trying to make that perfect pitch early in the count.
And you know, I think yesterday I did a good
job of just you know, we're trying to be aggressive
in the zone early. And I think, you know, another
thing that they wanted me to work on too, is
when when you're ahead of guys, you know, you're not
(13:48):
wasting too many pitches and you're not throwing some uncompetitive
pitches and letting you know, the more balls you throw,
that batch just going more into the hitter's favor. So
trying to end at bats earlier. If you get ahead
of a guy, you know, that doesn't mean you need
to basically waste a couple of pitches. You know, you
can go expand in the strike zone a little bit,
but from right right from there, you know, get back
in the strike zone and try to look to put
(14:10):
away the hitter.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
So I think we did a better job of that
yesterday as well. The season you've had, you've you've made
great progress, first as a reliever, then then going back
down and getting some things done at the minor league level.
A couple of times, how you looked at at the
season in terms of progress and where you are now
with some key games coming up.
Speaker 4 (14:29):
Yeah, I think it's it's been a roller coaster, and
I mean I think sometimes I can be a little
hard on myself, which I think, you know, is a
good thing. And I think sometimes especially in this game
like it can it can, it can be challenging just
because you know, you know, it's it's really hard to
have success in this league, and you know, the hitters
get paid a lot of money too, and you know,
(14:50):
everyone's everyone's elite at what they do, and you're gonna
run into challenges, you know. I think overall, you know,
I'm continuing to see some growth in the areas that
we're looking for, and I think, you know, especially the
things I learned last year and just trying to trying
to stay with the process of like I said, you know,
that's and that and that's that is. You know, every
day you come to the baseball field, you know, you're
(15:11):
trying to get better, You're trying to execute pitches, you're
trying to work and see different things and I think,
like you said, you know, there's some big games coming up,
and you know every single outing is an opportunity to
learn what you did well, what you can improve on,
what's working against these hitters, what what do you do well?
And I think we've collected enough data for me at
this point where it's like, we know what I do well,
and we know that my stuff play is so you
(15:33):
know everything we're talking about, like, it's go put yourself
in a position to have that stuff play and keep
it really simple.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
All those things you're talking about is experience. And and
you hear that quote there's no substitute for experience, and
you're are you living that now? For sure? For sure?
Speaker 4 (15:50):
Yeah, I think you never really know coming into this,
like you know, you work your whole life to get
get caught up to the big leagues and you don't
know what it's going to be, and you have all
these expectations. And I think you said it perfectly.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
You know that that it is. It's experienced.
Speaker 4 (16:02):
You know, you're seeing you're seeing what pitches play, where,
you're seeing what works, what doesn't work, what what you
need to do. You're getting instant feedback, and yeah, it's
just just learning from each outing.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
You get a win at Fenway Park, one of the
great ball parks. What was that experience like for you?
That was awesome? That was awesome.
Speaker 4 (16:20):
I had, you know, I had some family that, you know,
some family friends that are from the Vermont, the the
you know, New England area, so they came down and
we were able to see the game, and I had
some other friends that were there. But just that the
whole environment is just super special. You know, you can
feel the energy Boston itself, you know, beautiful city. But yeah,
(16:41):
you know, that's obviously a big it was a big
series there, and it was good for us to pull
away with a w at the end there. And yeah,
good teams, some really good, really good lineup. So yeah,
just happy we got a win and we were able
to get out of there.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Nice going on to win at Fenway. Always good to
have you on. Thank you, Thank you, Rosie. That's Joey
Cantillo and Ken. You talk to the pitching group for
the Guardians, specifically Carl Willis the Guardian's pitching coach, and
they feel Cantillo has some great potential and he's already
having a solid campaign, but they feel he can be
that much better and really be a big winner in
(17:17):
the big leagues. Stay with us when we come back.
We'll visit with a rookie who made his major league
debut earlier on this road trip. Outfielder George Palera. That's name.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Here.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
It comes swung on a little fly ball to left
that's really carrying over the head of Duran. Jumps can't
make the catch, banks up against the wall. George Valerius
got his first angel he hit and it comes here
at Fenway a single that get over the head of
Duran in left, took a bounce up against the scoreboard
(18:58):
and that green monster. That'll be a memory for George Valera.
Welcome back. That was Wednesday night in Boston. A memorable
moment for outfielder George Valera. His first big league hit,
and he followed that up with his first RBI on
Friday night in Tampa. He made his debut on Monday
(19:19):
in Boston, and we caught up with him the next
day and talked about what it was like in his
first game in the major leagues that happened to come
at Fenway Park. It was amazing.
Speaker 5 (19:29):
Honestly, it was like the best day of my life. Honestly,
I had all my family here, a lot of my
teammates that I played with throughout my career, a lot
of my coaches that I've had in the past, and
like making it here and you know in Boston is
awesome too.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
And you mentioned that obviously family that that's obvious having
them here, but former teammates and then coaches that you
had worked up with. It as a young team and
it's a young coaching stat how important is that when
you finally get here to see them and have some
familiar faces around.
Speaker 5 (20:00):
I mean, honestly, it is my first time and I'm
super blessed that I had this opportunity to be in
the big leagues, but to also have this group of
guys here. You know, we're pretty young, but we all
have the same mentality and we all work hard. We
all are here for the same goal, and it's to
make a playoff push and win a championship.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Your first at bat, you draw a walk, which seems
like a really hard thing to do if you're excited
and you want to do something great and get a
base hit, but you were patient at the plate. How
difficult was it to be patient and do something good?
For the back club.
Speaker 5 (20:31):
Honestly, when I just got the call, I was super
excited and I was super relieved. You know, I've worked
so hard and I thank God for all the things
that I've gone through my career. Even though I had
a lot of injuries, I feel like I learned a
lot from them, and it just showed me patience, perseverance.
I feel like I belong and I really felt calm.
I didn't feel any nervousness or anxious at all. I
(20:54):
was just feeling like at home. So I was just
trying to take my bat like I normally would be
competitive and help the team win.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
However, I can you mentioned it comes at Penway Park,
and I feel like you appreciate that, and I'm guessing
the fan and every player would appreciate making a debut here.
And why was that special to you.
Speaker 5 (21:15):
I'm gonna be honest, I'm not a Boston Red Sox fan,
but the fact that I have families so close. My
parents weren't Dominican Republic. They were gonna come see me
in Columbus, but they were gonna surprise me. They had
flown into New York first to go to Columbus after
and the fact that it was just so close from
New York here, it just worked out perfectly. And then
I had a lot of family friends that I had
(21:35):
in New York that came and took the drive here
and they came to see me place.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
So that was really special. And if you alluded to it,
it's been a long road, You've had some injury issues.
Was there ever a point in time where you thought,
my goodness, it might not ever happen and this is
just too much, or was there something pushing you to
get through some of the tough times.
Speaker 5 (21:54):
I mean, honestly, I feel like I've had a lot
of injuries that happened to me throughout my career. I
wish everything happened sooner. But honestly, this turned out to
be a lot better than I expected. You know, I'm
super blessed. I'm I'm super into my faith. I'm thankful
to God because he took me and he took care
of me, and I never had a doubt that this
was going to happen because of my faith in God.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
And like it was such it was.
Speaker 5 (22:18):
Such an amazing experience because actually when I got the call,
I was praying, and I was praying and I asked
God right there and then at almost at the end
of my prayer, I said, God, could I please make
it to the big leagues this year? And right before
I finished praying, I got the call from our medical
staff and they told me to go to the to
the field and that's when they told me the news. So,
(22:39):
I mean, it's been tough. My journey's been tough, but
I've had God on my side. I have a lot
of good people around me. My family, my friends, my teammates,
my coaches, everybody was pulling for me, and I'm super
thankful that I had the opportunity.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
So you had that faith as you got closer to
yesterday when you first came back from the knee entry,
it's halfway through the season or so, and you get
rolling a little bit. Was there a point in time
where you said to yourself, you know what, I think
I'm playing okay here in making progress, that maybe it
could happen in September.
Speaker 5 (23:10):
Honestly, I was just I've learned a lot from my
past injuries and this one, this past one was one
of the biggest for me. With my knee injury, I
couldn't walk. I had my parents take care of me
for a while, you know, so I just got to
appreciate the little things, and I was just honestly taking
in the days, being in the present, not going too
(23:31):
far ahead and not thinking about the things that's happened before.
Just trying to stay positive and do what I know
how to do, and it to work hard and play baseball.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
George, A lot of people happy for you. Congratulations, Thanks,
thank you so much for having men really nice young
man George Valera, who has paid his dues to get
here with a lot of downtime due to injury, but
finally on a major league roster and looks like he
belongs so far. And we'll see how much playing time
he gets here in the month of September, but could
be a key for the Guardians in terms of an
(24:00):
offensive boost as they head down the stretch and overseeing
all of the hitters. Is hitting coach Grant Fink. With
so much talk about monitoring the workloads for pitchers late
in the season, what about the hitters and Guardian's hitting
coach Grant Fink talks about the offensive side and how
hitters are able to stay fresh in that final month
of the long season.
Speaker 6 (24:22):
Yeah, I think you're constantly monitoring that. You know, this
is a long season. Guys get hired, and you just
have to manage your body and your number of swings
you're taking on a daily basis to make sure you're
ready to compete, like on a nightly basis.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
Kyle Manzardo, it seems like pitchers try to sneak fastballs
by him and they end up in the seats. But
the other night he had a slider that goes out
to And how difficult is that for a young hitter
to be able to identify not only the fastball and
beyond it, but the breaking stuff too.
Speaker 6 (24:51):
Oh, especially in today's game with how hard these guys
are throwing their fastball and off speed, it's really hard
to cover both. And young hitters come up and they
have to realize that you can think the game a
little bit. And Manzell has been doing an unbelievable job
knowing when to hunt pitches and knowing when to like
sell out to something and then when to also be
in more of the like traditional hitting approach if I'm
(25:13):
through the middle, covering both, and I think he's learned
that a ton through this year, that there's times where
we're gonna take some chances, and then there's times where
we're going to play baseball and we're going to be
middle of the field and we don't have to do
too much and I'm going to be a good hitter here.
And that's been cool to watch him kind of grow
in that area.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
Grant Fink joining us, he's the Guardian's hitting coach. And
but Grant on the last home stand, you had Stephen
Kwan out early a day or two to work on
some things. He's a good hitter, what do you work
on with him if he is going through a stretch
where maybe he's not getting the results he wants.
Speaker 6 (25:46):
So Kwan's is just such a process oriented guy. So
you know he's been frustrated over the last few weeks.
You know, he hit some balls hard and then gone
out people. But we just went out and you know,
try to slow the game down a little bit, get
him to see ball flight on the field, Remind him
how talented he is. He knows it, and just continue
to build like that confidence that he's always had. He's
(26:07):
such a fun guy to work with because he's constantly
pushing the needle even when he's been at his best.
It's like, how can I get better? It's even when
he's back to back All Star years, in the first half,
he's like, what do I need to do to improve? So,
you know, getting him out on the field, it's just
fun because that guy is constantly, constantly finding ways to
gain an advantage. And that's why you see a player
(26:27):
like that that comes out and gets you consistently good
year after year.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
Let's stay on that on the field part and seeing
the ball flight in today's game. A lot of guys
do their work inside because they have access to things
that help them. But you mentioned being out on the
field seeing the ball flight. What can that do for
a hitter?
Speaker 6 (26:44):
I think sometimes it can just loosen you up and
you see balls, you see your flight in the gaps,
you see some balls land in the stands, you see
your ability to go to the opposite field. Like it's
just a psychological thing that I believe at some times
can really just get a guy going okay, now, I
can feel it, I can see it like I'm back,
And a lot of times that will jump into first
(27:06):
couple of games and then from there they take off for.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
A long time. Brian Rochio is leading the team in
RBI since the All Star break, and he comes to
the plate seemingly with a really good plan each time.
What are you seeing from him, especially since he's been back.
Speaker 6 (27:20):
So I think you're just seeing him slow the game down.
I mean, early on in the year he had talked
about his confidence. I felt like there was a little
speed up pressure on him that didn't need to be there.
And from the time he's gone down to triple A
to the time he's come back, you're seeing his one
prep in the cage just be way more diligent, and
then to his execution at the plate, like he's just
(27:42):
not trying to do too much. He's playing the game
of baseball the right way. When this situation presents itself
to go drive a ball, he does it. But you're
seeing him be like, stay within himself, and when we
just need to knock up the middle, that's what his
effort is. When we need to get moved, that's what
he tries to do. And when you stick to that,
good things happen.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Hillary he probably looks at the scoreboard, and maybe he doesn't,
but his scoreboard numbers average home runs RBI's not going
to end up probably where he wants him to be,
but it seems like the at bats are getting much
better down the stretch. What are you seeing from him
that says some good things as he heads into September.
Speaker 6 (28:16):
I think we're starting to see some real consistency. I
mean all year, you look at him, and he's had
some really really good at bats throughout the year. He's
had stretches where he's been a really really good player,
and he makes a lot of heart outs, you know,
and there's nothing he can do about that. So we're
just excited that he has stayed confident, he is stuck
to his process, and he's also found ways to be like, hey,
(28:36):
I got to get a little better here. I need
more consistency. And you've seen him shorten up his moves
in the last probably week and a half and that's
given him some consistency at the play when it comes
to just overall feel and timing, and you know, the
last month of the season, we're going to roll through
that with that new move and see how he feels
ending it as we go into the offseason.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
RANT thank you for the time. Hopefully there's more than
just the last month and maybe another month after that
with a lot of baseball left, but I appreciate you
coming back.
Speaker 6 (29:04):
Thank you, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
Cat's hitting coach Grant think Man. When we come back,
we'll take a look at the minor league side of
things with Stephen Ostro, the vice president of player Development.
A weekly minor league report coming your way.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
Next, the post crip assembly Press Compressing Progressive.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
Michael, you had some trouble putting the crip together today?
Speaker 2 (29:25):
What went wrong?
Speaker 6 (29:26):
You know those instructions can be tough, and well you
saw the outcome here.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
You've said when your wife pulled you and called in
the backup. No, I mean the baby needs a cred
to sleep, and so whatever it takes.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
You've got a changing table to put together. Next, it's
got a lot of drawers.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
What's your coming.
Speaker 7 (29:39):
We're done here, like.
Speaker 5 (29:41):
It or not.
Speaker 3 (29:42):
Sometimes you need a backup. That's why there's Progressive to
protect your home in Auto Progressive cash team erms coimping afflias,
other insuris not available in those states of situations.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
Kim Rose an ounce back with you Guardians Weekly and
Tampa Florida. Our final segment, and we check in on
the minor leagues with Steven Ostro. The Guardians vice president
of player Development, and some good things happening at the
Single A level as both Single A Lynchburg and also
Lake County pretty locked in in terms of going to
(30:20):
the postseason. Lynchberg for sure, and at the time of
this taping, Lake County is still on the fence trying
to get there for sure. But Austin talked about how
beneficial the extra games can be for young players in
the organization.
Speaker 8 (30:34):
Yeah, exciting to think about the prospect of playoff baseball
here for these guys starting next week. And I think
just the overarching theme in the minor league's development and
obviously there's a development of skills and tools that are
going to allow you to be successful to majlegue level,
but there's also developing the ability to win and.
Speaker 7 (30:55):
Win pressure situations.
Speaker 8 (30:57):
So you know, I think we do our best to
push our players and push our environments to be competitive
and win every night. But there's nothing like playoffs and
high stakes baseball, So you know, we value that experience
at a very high clip, and we're excited for those
guys to get the opportunity.
Speaker 7 (31:15):
To play in that next week.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
And Lynchberg's at that first step in terms of full
season baseball in the minor league Ladder, and they're going
to go into the postseason with a lot of players
who were drafted just this year. And tell us about
especially position player wise, some of those players who are contributing,
they're already very young in their pro careers.
Speaker 8 (31:35):
Yeah, it's almost a full new lineup, and I think
that's somewhat consistent too, just across baseball and how the
rossers work with new drafts. But yeah, we've got a
bunch of them out. All the position players are out,
they're all. Yeah, the whole group of them are performing
and contributing to wins right now. Is not even necessarily
a single player that's standing up, they're all. They're all
playing at really really high level in contributing to wins.
(31:58):
So it's been fun watching them. But yeah, I mean,
we're excited with what we're seeing on the field with
those guys, we're probably just as much or even more
excited about how they're gelling as a team and how
they're surrounding, how that group is surrounded themselves as like
a competitive group that is pushing each other, and the
environments of just being there and watching them kind of
(32:21):
good day to day and the excitement and the level
of energy that they're bringing is awesome.
Speaker 7 (32:26):
So yeah, it's great to get them all out there.
It's great that they're going to have an opportunity to
play real.
Speaker 8 (32:32):
Meaningful baseball here professionally at least in a few days.
And yeah, just watching that group get together and play
and compete is awesome.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
And it's interesting just to pick one example, not necessarily
what they're doing on the field, but say a Dean
Curly who had an outstanding college career at a high
level SEC school, what can he bring to at this
pro level, especially with some maybe young kids who didn't
have a chance to experience that.
Speaker 8 (33:00):
Yeah, it's him, and it's other guys. I think this
is the the nature of who they are. And you
know how they go about their work and.
Speaker 7 (33:09):
How they go about their bats, and you know, some.
Speaker 8 (33:13):
Of that's contagious, right, like learning how to win and
learning how to compete and handle the situations. There's there's
a contagiousness you know that guys like Curly you can
bring to the table. And there's a lot of guys
on that team who are also in that category. So yeah,
it's again, it's it's really beneficial I think for all
(33:34):
the players to be in those environments, and we view
that as a really valuable thing on the mound.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
Do you have a youngster who was drafted a year ago,
a high school drafted picture out of the state of Iowa,
Joey Oak and I know, notable for some performances recently.
What have you seen from him growth wise as he
gets deeper into this thing, still at just nineteen years old.
Speaker 8 (33:56):
Yeah, so fun to watch the last couple of weeks.
You know, a week ago he was named the player
of the week, going five innings, striking out eleven.
Speaker 7 (34:04):
I don't believe he gave up a hit.
Speaker 8 (34:06):
And then he almost repeated that performance a couple of
days ago, So he's he's really developing in general.
Speaker 7 (34:13):
I think, you know, the last time we talked about it,
there's you know, some of this with young guys.
Speaker 8 (34:17):
You throw really hard, where you know, you're building up
the routines and you're building up how you approach the
day in the week to allow yourself to be consistent
on the mound, and guys who throw really hard have
really big motors and it can be hard to just
control that and be consistent with it and that's what
we're shooting for. And I think there were signs leading
up for the last few weeks where we were seeing
that consistent delivery, you know, match the mentality and approach
(34:41):
that he's brought in the week and in the day,
and you know there's special stuff coming out of hand
right now and he's able to access a little bit
more command and yeah, the results are showing.
Speaker 7 (34:51):
So it's just exciting watching him do those things.
Speaker 1 (34:53):
Steven Ostro the vice president of player development for the Guardians,
and we're talking single a Lynchberg in the postseason Lake
County as of this recording, hoping to get there and
some of their young players who are having impressive growth seasons.
Let's start position player wise, osty with Jose Devers, who
I know had a big week this past week with
(35:16):
some huge hits late in games. And when you look
at some of his progress of what has really stood
out for him this year.
Speaker 8 (35:22):
Yeah, he's I mean one, he's had a really good
year and has turned it on more so you know
in the second half. I think that, Yeah, there were
some signs in the early parts of the season where
the bat was turning around, and yeah, he came out
really hot and you know, kind of did a bit
of a dip and then has turned it back on again.
And you know, Devers is someone who is maybe viewed
(35:43):
as the best defensive player we have in the in
the system, and you know, not just as a shortstop
but overall. And you know, the bat is the thing
that needs to take a step forward, and yeah, he's
really done a nice job with that over the last
couple of months. And you know, set the Lake County
record for most double in a year. Is hit a
few more home runs again and he's coming up clutch
(36:05):
down the stretch. So a guy who's thriving under pressure
and thriving in big moments right now, and it's been
really exciting to see that that kind of catch up
a little bit to how good the defense is.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
Jason Curio another name that we've talked about a bunch,
still only twenty years old and seems like a good
learning year for him after a tremendous season a year ago.
Speaker 7 (36:26):
Yeah, Yeah, and he's playing really well recently.
Speaker 8 (36:28):
You know, he's starting to show maybe more consistent outcomes
to you know what we've seen in the past. And
I think last time we talked about just how sometimes
guys who go through injuries, it takes a bit of
time to fully trust that you're back to healthy and
is someone like Jason is just a phenomenal athlete with
some horsepower and yeah, he's got the ability to rev
things up and do things at a high speed. It
(36:50):
can take a bit of time to again to put
your foot on the gas and to really get after
it with full intent, and he's done a nice job
that recently. I think just overall zooming out on Jason,
He's in a lot of progress on the physical side
this year, which is really hard to do in season
for young players.
Speaker 7 (37:08):
And you know, he's extremely.
Speaker 8 (37:10):
Motivated heading into this offseason to continue to build off
of that and to access even more ceiling. So for
a really toolsy guy, it's nice to see how he's
trending right now at the end of the year, and
I think this offseason would be a really big one
for him to continue to build on the you know,
some of the elite tools that he has and show
up next season in a really good spot.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
Well, asky good stuff on both Lynchburg and Lake County.
Hopefully we'll be able to talk about some championships for them.
But at least an opportunity to participate in the postseason
and we'll catch up with you soon. Thanks a lot
for coming by, all right, Thanks Rosie, and is Steven Oster,
the vice president of the player development for the Guardians.
And that's going to do it for this week's edition
(37:52):
Guardians Weekly. Thanks so much as always to Brian Matze
for putting together our show each and every week until
next week when we join you from Call that Progressive Deal.
Missus Jim rosen House reminding you that you've been listening
to Guardians Weekly of the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network.
(38:22):
Guardians Weekly has been brought to you by Progressive helping
Guardians fans save hundreds on car insurance.
Speaker 8 (39:01):
Yeah,
Welcome to Guardians Weekly on the Cleveland Guardians Radio Network.
Guardians Weekly is brought to you by Progressive, helping Guardians
fans save hundreds on car insurance. Hi, everyone, welcome to
(01:09):
Guardian's Weekly. Jim Rosen house along with you from Tampa,
Florida this weekend where the Guardians are playing the Tampa
Bay Rays. Good show lined up for you this week.
As in just a little bit, we'll take a look
back at the week in review, a key road trip
that the Guardians are in right now with a four
game set here in Tampa after three at Fenway Park
(01:31):
against the Red Sox. Later on in the show, we
will have a full minor league report from Vice president
of player Development Stephen Osterer. Will also visit with George Valera,
who made his major league debut earlier this week. We'll
check in with hitting coach Grant Fink and also be
joined by Joey Cantillo, Guardian starting pitcher who picked up
(01:51):
a win at Fenway Park earlier on the road trip. Man,
let's take a look back at the weekend review Monday,
Labor Day, Monday, the road trip began in Boston with
a six to four loss to the Red Sox. Then
on Tuesday, another loss to the Red Sox, but the
Guardians offense showed some great signs, but unfortunately the pitching
staff couldn't make it hold up in an eleven to
(02:13):
seven Boston win. On Wednesday, the Guardians would salvage the
series finale, a bullpen day for the Red Sox, and
the Guardians took full advantage. Early on. Jose Ramirez drove
in the game's first run with a first inning ground out.
Then in the second inning, bo Naylor led off with
a double, bringing Gabrielarius to the plate.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Now the two to two swung un hit high hit,
deep cul aft. There she goes again.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Out of Fenway Park on the Lansdown Street. Gabriel Larius clears,
the Green Monster flies over the seats and on the
Lansdown Street behind the ballpark and the Guardians with a
three nothing lead, and Gabriel Rarrius with his tenth foam
(03:02):
run giving him forty seven RBIs. Four times in the
last two nights, Cleveland has climbed that Green Monster. Later
on in the second two men aboard for Stephen Kwan
and he delivered Stephen Mantz, third pitcher to work. Tonight,
runners at the corners, Kwan ground ball base hit in
(03:22):
the left. That'll make it a three run inning, four
nothing Cleveland cafus scores, Rochio stops at second. Five straight
hits to start this second inning. Kwan has doubled in
single tonight and Cleveland is making Alex Cora rue the
day that he decided to do a bullpen game. Another
(03:46):
run scored in the second on a catcher's interference call,
making it five nothing Guardians. Then a wild pitch brought
Stephen Kuan home to make it six nothing, with Kyle
Manzarto at the plate trying to keep the big inning going,
and the pitch and he swings and lines it to left,
a ran back and it's off his cloth as he
raced back toward the warning track end the score.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Ramirez three the second.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Sliding double four man Sarto and the Guardians baga seven
to nothing as they have scored six here in the
second inning. The Red Sox got on the board with
a run in the fourth, but that would be it
as Joey Cantillo was sharpened this one from the start.
The pitch and he sends one in the air to right,
(04:29):
not deep. What a job by Cantillo, Johnkinzie Noel comes
in to grab it and a one hundred and four
pitch night for Joey Cantillo. He went six dominant innings,
seven to one. Cleveland Cjkapis's sack fly and the eighth
inning made it an eight to one ball game, and
then Eric Sabrowski was on in the ninth to finish
(04:51):
things up. Now the set now the two two got
him swinging ballgame, so Cleveland salvages the final. They got
six in the second. Joey Cantillo was tremendous and Cleveland
beats up the Red Sox eight to one. After the
ballgame in Boston, it was on to Tampa to open
(05:13):
a four game series against the Rays on Thursday night.
Tampa Bay won it by a final score of four
to two, but the Guardians bounced back nicely on Friday night,
facing another bullpen day from the opposition, and again they
had success early on, as in the second inning, they
loaded the bases with one out for suddenly red hot
Stephen Kwan Arius said third Rochio at second hedges at first.
(05:38):
The bitch swing on trail to center. That's a Bay, said,
that'll score Arius. Rochio coming around third will score and
in the third is Hedges. So Stephen Kuan, in front
of a Cleveland Guardians partisan crowd, rips a two run
single to center and it's two nothing. Cleveland give Stephen
(06:00):
Kwan forty six run spanned in and then with two
outs another suddenly hot hitter, Jose Ramirez delivered now the
two to one swung on drill the left field, Bencoes
Palassios jumps amy it is over his head, Rick assets
off the wall. Hedges scores Kwan around third scores Ramirez
(06:21):
in the second rifling a two out, two run double
off the wall and left, and it's four nothing Cleveland.
Tampa Bay pitches to Ramirez. Tampa Bay pays the price.
Jose Ramirez now base hits in four straight advance his
(06:41):
twenty sixth double, giving him seventy three rby eyes, and
then David fry kept the beginning going.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Now the two zero swung on.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Hammered dp bluff field down the line, off the wall
in the score Ramirez. Fry holds the long RBI single
five nothing Cleveland and David frye with RBI number twenty one,
and Cleveland has erupted for five here in the second inning.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
They've gotten three of those with two out hits.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
The Rays look to answer in the bottom half of
the second inning, but on hell Martinez in center field
had other plans. Here's the cent and the O two
swung on. This has hit pretty well to the gamp
and right center. Long run for Martinez. Made the diving
catch from his Billy throws it back in. What a
(07:38):
sensational diving catch and right center by the center fielder
on hell Martinez. Man, this guy was parallel to the
ground when he made that catch. Well done by on
hell Martinez to rob magnum of extra vases. Gavin Williams,
(08:00):
with another strong start, kept the Rays off the board,
and in the sixth inning, Austin Hedges led off with
yet another long ball. The pitch and it's hit high
and hit deep to left down the line. It goes
Palacio's track wall gone. Austin Hedges with a towering drive
down the left field line makes it six nothing. Cleveland
(08:24):
Hedges with two home runs on this road trip. Stephen
Quan followed with a single then stole second to set
up a memorable at bat for George Valera.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Now the O two swung on drilled in the right.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
That's of ace hit that'll score Stephen Kuan seven to nothing.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Cleveland.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
George Valera second major league hit, first Major league RBI.
Now hopefully he gets a lot more playing time this month.
Be fun to see what he can do. Why not
in a nice week for Valera and we'll hear from
him in just a little bit on the show. Tampa
broke up the shutout bid with a Junior Common Arrow
home run in the sixth that made it seven to one,
(09:05):
but that was all as Gavin Williams was on his
way to his tenth win of the season.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
So two down the vase is empty.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Yandi Diaz the batter two for three, couple of singles
the pitch and he swings bounces it too short. Arius
with that Bazooka throws to first, ending over and what
a job by Gavin Williams. Seven in the books. Tim
Herron came out of the bullpen to work a scoreless eighth,
and then Kate Smith was on to get some work
(09:32):
in and finish the job in the ninth. The pitch
swinging a ground ball to short, Arius has it, throws
it ballgame and the Guardians beat up the Rays tonight
seven to one, and with that win on Friday Night,
the Guardians have put themselves squarely in postseason contention with
quite a few other teams in the American League, all
(09:54):
battling for that third and final wildcard playoff spot. They're
just two and a half back of the team that's
in that spot. Right now, the Seattle Narratives, we'll take
a break and then we'll come back here from starting
picture Joey Cantillo. That's next on the Cleveland Clinic Guardians
Radio Network.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
A Progressive Home and Auto bundle can protect you round
the clock, but we can't protect you from those painful
moments in sports.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
The ref totally blew that call.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Oh, I'm sure he'll make the right call next time.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
It's too late. It cost us the game.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Well, it's just one game. That loss eliminated us from
the playoffs. Oh, the playoffs are on so late. Now
you'll be well rested. Okay, I need you to stop
talking now. At least your Homanado or protected with a
bundle from Progressive Progressive casual Canterns, company affiliates and other
inturists not available in those states. A situations.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Now, the two to two delivery, swing and miss, striking
out with a good curveball. Joey Cantillo looked sharp through two. Cantillo,
the action on his changeup has been so good, sinking action.
Now the pitch strike three call, He got them looking
(11:28):
and somehow Cantillo dances out of the jam with his
fifth strikeout. Here's the pitch called strike three. Fastball locked
him up and the side is retired. Seven strikeouts for
Joey Cantillo. The pitch and he sends one in the
air to right, not deep. What a job I can tillo.
(11:48):
Johnkinsie Noel comes in to grab it and a one
hundred and four pitch night for Joey Cantillo. He went
six dominant endings. Welcome back, It's Guardians Weekly. Jim rosen
House back with you from Tampa, Florida, where the Guardians
are taking on the Rays this weekend. Game three of
(12:11):
the series Saturday night at seven o five In the
series finale Sunday, a twelve ten first pitch. Joey Cantillo
is back in the starting rotation for the Guardians after
a brief stint in Columbus. He pitched an outstanding game
at Fenway Park in Boston on Wednesday to pick up
the win. He talked about what he worked on in
Columbus that allowed him to be so good in his
(12:33):
first start back with the big league team. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:35):
I think just working working day by day, little things
here and there where you're trying to execute. And I
told you, you know, every day you're trying to improve
on those things, and whether it's in the big leagues
or in the minor leagues. But I think in those
two starts, you know, I really just said, okay, hey,
I'm down here, and you know, the thing I can
be doing a lot better, which we all know is
(12:57):
throwing strikes. So let's just focus on that, and let's
just attack guys, get ahead of guys, which is what
you say you're gonna do every outing, but just really
keeping that at the forefront, which is how it should
always be. So just just learning from that, I think.
You know, obviously yesterday was a day where we were
able to throw a lot more strikes and get ahead
of guys and that led to success.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
And you mentioned throwing strikes and everybody talks about it
for every pitcher. For you, is it more mechanical or
is it that mindset of really attacking the hitter. I
think it's a number of things.
Speaker 4 (13:28):
And I think, you know, I think sometimes you know,
we're trying to be too fine and we're nibbling or
we're trying to make that perfect pitch early in the count.
And you know, I think yesterday I did a good
job of just you know, we're trying to be aggressive
in the zone early. And I think, you know, another
thing that they wanted me to work on too, is
when when you're ahead of guys, you know, you're not
(13:48):
wasting too many pitches and you're not throwing some uncompetitive
pitches and letting you know, the more balls you throw,
that batch just going more into the hitter's favor. So
trying to end at bats earlier. If you get ahead
of a guy, you know, that doesn't mean you need
to basically waste a couple of pitches. You know, you
can go expand in the strike zone a little bit,
but from right right from there, you know, get back
in the strike zone and try to look to put
(14:10):
away the hitter.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
So I think we did a better job of that
yesterday as well. The season you've had, you've you've made
great progress, first as a reliever, then then going back
down and getting some things done at the minor league level.
A couple of times, how you looked at at the
season in terms of progress and where you are now
with some key games coming up.
Speaker 4 (14:29):
Yeah, I think it's it's been a roller coaster, and
I mean I think sometimes I can be a little
hard on myself, which I think, you know, is a
good thing. And I think sometimes especially in this game
like it can it can, it can be challenging just
because you know, you know, it's it's really hard to
have success in this league, and you know, the hitters
get paid a lot of money too, and you know,
(14:50):
everyone's everyone's elite at what they do, and you're gonna
run into challenges, you know. I think overall, you know,
I'm continuing to see some growth in the areas that
we're looking for, and I think, you know, especially the
things I learned last year and just trying to trying
to stay with the process of like I said, you know,
that's and that and that's that is. You know, every
day you come to the baseball field, you know, you're
(15:11):
trying to get better, You're trying to execute pitches, you're
trying to work and see different things and I think,
like you said, you know, there's some big games coming up,
and you know every single outing is an opportunity to
learn what you did well, what you can improve on,
what's working against these hitters, what what do you do well?
And I think we've collected enough data for me at
this point where it's like, we know what I do well,
and we know that my stuff play is so you
(15:33):
know everything we're talking about, like, it's go put yourself
in a position to have that stuff play and keep
it really simple.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
All those things you're talking about is experience. And and
you hear that quote there's no substitute for experience, and
you're are you living that now? For sure? For sure?
Speaker 4 (15:50):
Yeah, I think you never really know coming into this,
like you know, you work your whole life to get
get caught up to the big leagues and you don't
know what it's going to be, and you have all
these expectations. And I think you said it perfectly.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
You know that that it is. It's experienced.
Speaker 4 (16:02):
You know, you're seeing you're seeing what pitches play, where,
you're seeing what works, what doesn't work, what what you
need to do. You're getting instant feedback, and yeah, it's
just just learning from each outing.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
You get a win at Fenway Park, one of the
great ball parks. What was that experience like for you?
That was awesome? That was awesome.
Speaker 4 (16:20):
I had, you know, I had some family that, you know,
some family friends that are from the Vermont, the the
you know, New England area, so they came down and
we were able to see the game, and I had
some other friends that were there. But just that the
whole environment is just super special. You know, you can
feel the energy Boston itself, you know, beautiful city. But yeah,
(16:41):
you know, that's obviously a big it was a big
series there, and it was good for us to pull
away with a w at the end there. And yeah,
good teams, some really good, really good lineup. So yeah,
just happy we got a win and we were able
to get out of there.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Nice going on to win at Fenway. Always good to
have you on. Thank you, Thank you, Rosie. That's Joey
Cantillo and Ken. You talk to the pitching group for
the Guardians, specifically Carl Willis the Guardian's pitching coach, and
they feel Cantillo has some great potential and he's already
having a solid campaign, but they feel he can be
that much better and really be a big winner in
(17:17):
the big leagues. Stay with us when we come back.
We'll visit with a rookie who made his major league
debut earlier on this road trip. Outfielder George Palera. That's name.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Here.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
It comes swung on a little fly ball to left
that's really carrying over the head of Duran. Jumps can't
make the catch, banks up against the wall. George Valerius
got his first angel he hit and it comes here
at Fenway a single that get over the head of
Duran in left, took a bounce up against the scoreboard
(18:58):
and that green monster. That'll be a memory for George Valera.
Welcome back. That was Wednesday night in Boston. A memorable
moment for outfielder George Valera. His first big league hit,
and he followed that up with his first RBI on
Friday night in Tampa. He made his debut on Monday
(19:19):
in Boston, and we caught up with him the next
day and talked about what it was like in his
first game in the major leagues that happened to come
at Fenway Park. It was amazing.
Speaker 5 (19:29):
Honestly, it was like the best day of my life. Honestly,
I had all my family here, a lot of my
teammates that I played with throughout my career, a lot
of my coaches that I've had in the past, and
like making it here and you know in Boston is
awesome too.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
And you mentioned that obviously family that that's obvious having
them here, but former teammates and then coaches that you
had worked up with. It as a young team and
it's a young coaching stat how important is that when
you finally get here to see them and have some
familiar faces around.
Speaker 5 (20:00):
I mean, honestly, it is my first time and I'm
super blessed that I had this opportunity to be in
the big leagues, but to also have this group of
guys here. You know, we're pretty young, but we all
have the same mentality and we all work hard. We
all are here for the same goal, and it's to
make a playoff push and win a championship.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Your first at bat, you draw a walk, which seems
like a really hard thing to do if you're excited
and you want to do something great and get a
base hit, but you were patient at the plate. How
difficult was it to be patient and do something good?
For the back club.
Speaker 5 (20:31):
Honestly, when I just got the call, I was super
excited and I was super relieved. You know, I've worked
so hard and I thank God for all the things
that I've gone through my career. Even though I had
a lot of injuries, I feel like I learned a
lot from them, and it just showed me patience, perseverance.
I feel like I belong and I really felt calm.
I didn't feel any nervousness or anxious at all. I
(20:54):
was just feeling like at home. So I was just
trying to take my bat like I normally would be
competitive and help the team win.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
However, I can you mentioned it comes at Penway Park,
and I feel like you appreciate that, and I'm guessing
the fan and every player would appreciate making a debut here.
And why was that special to you.
Speaker 5 (21:15):
I'm gonna be honest, I'm not a Boston Red Sox fan,
but the fact that I have families so close. My
parents weren't Dominican Republic. They were gonna come see me
in Columbus, but they were gonna surprise me. They had
flown into New York first to go to Columbus after
and the fact that it was just so close from
New York here, it just worked out perfectly. And then
I had a lot of family friends that I had
(21:35):
in New York that came and took the drive here
and they came to see me place.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
So that was really special. And if you alluded to it,
it's been a long road, You've had some injury issues.
Was there ever a point in time where you thought,
my goodness, it might not ever happen and this is
just too much, or was there something pushing you to
get through some of the tough times.
Speaker 5 (21:54):
I mean, honestly, I feel like I've had a lot
of injuries that happened to me throughout my career. I
wish everything happened sooner. But honestly, this turned out to
be a lot better than I expected. You know, I'm
super blessed. I'm I'm super into my faith. I'm thankful
to God because he took me and he took care
of me, and I never had a doubt that this
was going to happen because of my faith in God.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
And like it was such it was.
Speaker 5 (22:18):
Such an amazing experience because actually when I got the call,
I was praying, and I was praying and I asked
God right there and then at almost at the end
of my prayer, I said, God, could I please make
it to the big leagues this year? And right before
I finished praying, I got the call from our medical
staff and they told me to go to the to
the field and that's when they told me the news. So,
(22:39):
I mean, it's been tough. My journey's been tough, but
I've had God on my side. I have a lot
of good people around me. My family, my friends, my teammates,
my coaches, everybody was pulling for me, and I'm super
thankful that I had the opportunity.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
So you had that faith as you got closer to
yesterday when you first came back from the knee entry,
it's halfway through the season or so, and you get
rolling a little bit. Was there a point in time
where you said to yourself, you know what, I think
I'm playing okay here in making progress, that maybe it
could happen in September.
Speaker 5 (23:10):
Honestly, I was just I've learned a lot from my
past injuries and this one, this past one was one
of the biggest for me. With my knee injury, I
couldn't walk. I had my parents take care of me
for a while, you know, so I just got to
appreciate the little things, and I was just honestly taking
in the days, being in the present, not going too
(23:31):
far ahead and not thinking about the things that's happened before.
Just trying to stay positive and do what I know
how to do, and it to work hard and play baseball.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
George, A lot of people happy for you. Congratulations, Thanks,
thank you so much for having men really nice young
man George Valera, who has paid his dues to get
here with a lot of downtime due to injury, but
finally on a major league roster and looks like he
belongs so far. And we'll see how much playing time
he gets here in the month of September, but could
be a key for the Guardians in terms of an
(24:00):
offensive boost as they head down the stretch and overseeing
all of the hitters. Is hitting coach Grant Fink. With
so much talk about monitoring the workloads for pitchers late
in the season, what about the hitters and Guardian's hitting
coach Grant Fink talks about the offensive side and how
hitters are able to stay fresh in that final month
of the long season.
Speaker 6 (24:22):
Yeah, I think you're constantly monitoring that. You know, this
is a long season. Guys get hired, and you just
have to manage your body and your number of swings
you're taking on a daily basis to make sure you're
ready to compete, like on a nightly basis.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
Kyle Manzardo, it seems like pitchers try to sneak fastballs
by him and they end up in the seats. But
the other night he had a slider that goes out
to And how difficult is that for a young hitter
to be able to identify not only the fastball and
beyond it, but the breaking stuff too.
Speaker 6 (24:51):
Oh, especially in today's game with how hard these guys
are throwing their fastball and off speed, it's really hard
to cover both. And young hitters come up and they
have to realize that you can think the game a
little bit. And Manzell has been doing an unbelievable job
knowing when to hunt pitches and knowing when to like
sell out to something and then when to also be
in more of the like traditional hitting approach if I'm
(25:13):
through the middle, covering both, and I think he's learned
that a ton through this year, that there's times where
we're gonna take some chances, and then there's times where
we're going to play baseball and we're going to be
middle of the field and we don't have to do
too much and I'm going to be a good hitter here.
And that's been cool to watch him kind of grow
in that area.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
Grant Fink joining us, he's the Guardian's hitting coach. And
but Grant on the last home stand, you had Stephen
Kwan out early a day or two to work on
some things. He's a good hitter, what do you work
on with him if he is going through a stretch
where maybe he's not getting the results he wants.
Speaker 6 (25:46):
So Kwan's is just such a process oriented guy. So
you know he's been frustrated over the last few weeks.
You know, he hit some balls hard and then gone
out people. But we just went out and you know,
try to slow the game down a little bit, get
him to see ball flight on the field, Remind him
how talented he is. He knows it, and just continue
to build like that confidence that he's always had. He's
(26:07):
such a fun guy to work with because he's constantly
pushing the needle even when he's been at his best.
It's like, how can I get better? It's even when
he's back to back All Star years, in the first half,
he's like, what do I need to do to improve? So,
you know, getting him out on the field, it's just
fun because that guy is constantly, constantly finding ways to
gain an advantage. And that's why you see a player
(26:27):
like that that comes out and gets you consistently good
year after year.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
Let's stay on that on the field part and seeing
the ball flight in today's game. A lot of guys
do their work inside because they have access to things
that help them. But you mentioned being out on the
field seeing the ball flight. What can that do for
a hitter?
Speaker 6 (26:44):
I think sometimes it can just loosen you up and
you see balls, you see your flight in the gaps,
you see some balls land in the stands, you see
your ability to go to the opposite field. Like it's
just a psychological thing that I believe at some times
can really just get a guy going okay, now, I
can feel it, I can see it like I'm back,
And a lot of times that will jump into first
(27:06):
couple of games and then from there they take off for.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
A long time. Brian Rochio is leading the team in
RBI since the All Star break, and he comes to
the plate seemingly with a really good plan each time.
What are you seeing from him, especially since he's been back.
Speaker 6 (27:20):
So I think you're just seeing him slow the game down.
I mean, early on in the year he had talked
about his confidence. I felt like there was a little
speed up pressure on him that didn't need to be there.
And from the time he's gone down to triple A
to the time he's come back, you're seeing his one
prep in the cage just be way more diligent, and
then to his execution at the plate, like he's just
(27:42):
not trying to do too much. He's playing the game
of baseball the right way. When this situation presents itself
to go drive a ball, he does it. But you're
seeing him be like, stay within himself, and when we
just need to knock up the middle, that's what his
effort is. When we need to get moved, that's what
he tries to do. And when you stick to that,
good things happen.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Hillary he probably looks at the scoreboard, and maybe he doesn't,
but his scoreboard numbers average home runs RBI's not going
to end up probably where he wants him to be,
but it seems like the at bats are getting much
better down the stretch. What are you seeing from him
that says some good things as he heads into September.
Speaker 6 (28:16):
I think we're starting to see some real consistency. I
mean all year, you look at him, and he's had
some really really good at bats throughout the year. He's
had stretches where he's been a really really good player,
and he makes a lot of heart outs, you know,
and there's nothing he can do about that. So we're
just excited that he has stayed confident, he is stuck
to his process, and he's also found ways to be like, hey,
(28:36):
I got to get a little better here. I need
more consistency. And you've seen him shorten up his moves
in the last probably week and a half and that's
given him some consistency at the play when it comes
to just overall feel and timing, and you know, the
last month of the season, we're going to roll through
that with that new move and see how he feels
ending it as we go into the offseason.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
RANT thank you for the time. Hopefully there's more than
just the last month and maybe another month after that
with a lot of baseball left, but I appreciate you
coming back.
Speaker 6 (29:04):
Thank you, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
Cat's hitting coach Grant think Man. When we come back,
we'll take a look at the minor league side of
things with Stephen Ostro, the vice president of player Development.
A weekly minor league report coming your way.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
Next, the post crip assembly Press Compressing Progressive.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
Michael, you had some trouble putting the crip together today?
Speaker 2 (29:25):
What went wrong?
Speaker 6 (29:26):
You know those instructions can be tough, and well you
saw the outcome here.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
You've said when your wife pulled you and called in
the backup. No, I mean the baby needs a cred
to sleep, and so whatever it takes.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
You've got a changing table to put together. Next, it's
got a lot of drawers.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
What's your coming.
Speaker 7 (29:39):
We're done here, like.
Speaker 5 (29:41):
It or not.
Speaker 3 (29:42):
Sometimes you need a backup. That's why there's Progressive to
protect your home in Auto Progressive cash team erms coimping afflias,
other insuris not available in those states of situations.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
Kim Rose an ounce back with you Guardians Weekly and
Tampa Florida. Our final segment, and we check in on
the minor leagues with Steven Ostro. The Guardians vice president
of player Development, and some good things happening at the
Single A level as both Single A Lynchburg and also
Lake County pretty locked in in terms of going to
(30:20):
the postseason. Lynchberg for sure, and at the time of
this taping, Lake County is still on the fence trying
to get there for sure. But Austin talked about how
beneficial the extra games can be for young players in
the organization.
Speaker 8 (30:34):
Yeah, exciting to think about the prospect of playoff baseball
here for these guys starting next week. And I think
just the overarching theme in the minor league's development and
obviously there's a development of skills and tools that are
going to allow you to be successful to majlegue level,
but there's also developing the ability to win and.
Speaker 7 (30:55):
Win pressure situations.
Speaker 8 (30:57):
So you know, I think we do our best to
push our players and push our environments to be competitive
and win every night. But there's nothing like playoffs and
high stakes baseball, So you know, we value that experience
at a very high clip, and we're excited for those
guys to get the opportunity.
Speaker 7 (31:15):
To play in that next week.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
And Lynchberg's at that first step in terms of full
season baseball in the minor league Ladder, and they're going
to go into the postseason with a lot of players
who were drafted just this year. And tell us about
especially position player wise, some of those players who are contributing,
they're already very young in their pro careers.
Speaker 8 (31:35):
Yeah, it's almost a full new lineup, and I think
that's somewhat consistent too, just across baseball and how the
rossers work with new drafts. But yeah, we've got a
bunch of them out. All the position players are out,
they're all. Yeah, the whole group of them are performing
and contributing to wins right now. Is not even necessarily
a single player that's standing up, they're all. They're all
playing at really really high level in contributing to wins.
(31:58):
So it's been fun watching them. But yeah, I mean,
we're excited with what we're seeing on the field with
those guys, we're probably just as much or even more
excited about how they're gelling as a team and how
they're surrounding, how that group is surrounded themselves as like
a competitive group that is pushing each other, and the
environments of just being there and watching them kind of
(32:21):
good day to day and the excitement and the level
of energy that they're bringing is awesome.
Speaker 7 (32:26):
So yeah, it's great to get them all out there.
It's great that they're going to have an opportunity to
play real.
Speaker 8 (32:32):
Meaningful baseball here professionally at least in a few days.
And yeah, just watching that group get together and play
and compete is awesome.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
And it's interesting just to pick one example, not necessarily
what they're doing on the field, but say a Dean
Curly who had an outstanding college career at a high
level SEC school, what can he bring to at this
pro level, especially with some maybe young kids who didn't
have a chance to experience that.
Speaker 8 (33:00):
Yeah, it's him, and it's other guys. I think this
is the the nature of who they are. And you
know how they go about their work and.
Speaker 7 (33:09):
How they go about their bats, and you know, some.
Speaker 8 (33:13):
Of that's contagious, right, like learning how to win and
learning how to compete and handle the situations. There's there's
a contagiousness you know that guys like Curly you can
bring to the table. And there's a lot of guys
on that team who are also in that category. So yeah,
it's again, it's it's really beneficial I think for all
(33:34):
the players to be in those environments, and we view
that as a really valuable thing on the mound.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
Do you have a youngster who was drafted a year ago,
a high school drafted picture out of the state of Iowa,
Joey Oak and I know, notable for some performances recently.
What have you seen from him growth wise as he
gets deeper into this thing, still at just nineteen years old.
Speaker 8 (33:56):
Yeah, so fun to watch the last couple of weeks.
You know, a week ago he was named the player
of the week, going five innings, striking out eleven.
Speaker 7 (34:04):
I don't believe he gave up a hit.
Speaker 8 (34:06):
And then he almost repeated that performance a couple of
days ago, So he's he's really developing in general.
Speaker 7 (34:13):
I think, you know, the last time we talked about it,
there's you know, some of this with young guys.
Speaker 8 (34:17):
You throw really hard, where you know, you're building up
the routines and you're building up how you approach the
day in the week to allow yourself to be consistent
on the mound, and guys who throw really hard have
really big motors and it can be hard to just
control that and be consistent with it and that's what
we're shooting for. And I think there were signs leading
up for the last few weeks where we were seeing
that consistent delivery, you know, match the mentality and approach
(34:41):
that he's brought in the week and in the day,
and you know there's special stuff coming out of hand
right now and he's able to access a little bit
more command and yeah, the results are showing.
Speaker 7 (34:51):
So it's just exciting watching him do those things.
Speaker 1 (34:53):
Steven Ostro the vice president of player development for the Guardians,
and we're talking single a Lynchberg in the postseason Lake
County as of this recording, hoping to get there and
some of their young players who are having impressive growth seasons.
Let's start position player wise, osty with Jose Devers, who
I know had a big week this past week with
(35:16):
some huge hits late in games. And when you look
at some of his progress of what has really stood
out for him this year.
Speaker 8 (35:22):
Yeah, he's I mean one, he's had a really good
year and has turned it on more so you know
in the second half. I think that, Yeah, there were
some signs in the early parts of the season where
the bat was turning around, and yeah, he came out
really hot and you know, kind of did a bit
of a dip and then has turned it back on again.
And you know, Devers is someone who is maybe viewed
(35:43):
as the best defensive player we have in the in
the system, and you know, not just as a shortstop
but overall. And you know, the bat is the thing
that needs to take a step forward, and yeah, he's
really done a nice job with that over the last
couple of months. And you know, set the Lake County
record for most double in a year. Is hit a
few more home runs again and he's coming up clutch
(36:05):
down the stretch. So a guy who's thriving under pressure
and thriving in big moments right now, and it's been
really exciting to see that that kind of catch up
a little bit to how good the defense is.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
Jason Curio another name that we've talked about a bunch,
still only twenty years old and seems like a good
learning year for him after a tremendous season a year ago.
Speaker 7 (36:26):
Yeah, Yeah, and he's playing really well recently.
Speaker 8 (36:28):
You know, he's starting to show maybe more consistent outcomes
to you know what we've seen in the past. And
I think last time we talked about just how sometimes
guys who go through injuries, it takes a bit of
time to fully trust that you're back to healthy and
is someone like Jason is just a phenomenal athlete with
some horsepower and yeah, he's got the ability to rev
things up and do things at a high speed. It
(36:50):
can take a bit of time to again to put
your foot on the gas and to really get after
it with full intent, and he's done a nice job
that recently. I think just overall zooming out on Jason,
He's in a lot of progress on the physical side
this year, which is really hard to do in season
for young players.
Speaker 7 (37:08):
And you know, he's extremely.
Speaker 8 (37:10):
Motivated heading into this offseason to continue to build off
of that and to access even more ceiling. So for
a really toolsy guy, it's nice to see how he's
trending right now at the end of the year, and
I think this offseason would be a really big one
for him to continue to build on the you know,
some of the elite tools that he has and show
up next season in a really good spot.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
Well, asky good stuff on both Lynchburg and Lake County.
Hopefully we'll be able to talk about some championships for them.
But at least an opportunity to participate in the postseason
and we'll catch up with you soon. Thanks a lot
for coming by, all right, Thanks Rosie, and is Steven Oster,
the vice president of the player development for the Guardians.
And that's going to do it for this week's edition
(37:52):
Guardians Weekly. Thanks so much as always to Brian Matze
for putting together our show each and every week until
next week when we join you from Call that Progressive Deal.
Missus Jim rosen House reminding you that you've been listening
to Guardians Weekly of the Cleveland Clinic Guardians Radio Network.
(38:22):
Guardians Weekly has been brought to you by Progressive helping
Guardians fans save hundreds on car insurance.
Speaker 8 (39:01):
Yeah,
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