Three neat Bowman Heritage cards from Arizona showed up this past week.
SP Joey Cantillo (2020 Bowman Heritage) – Cantillo is one of the best pitching prospects in a Guardians organization filled with great pitching prospects. He was also born in my neck of the woods–Oahu, Hawaii–so that is also fun. He was optioned to the minors a couple of weeks ago, but by all accounts had a strong spring and, if he stays healthy, will almost certainly join the big league club at some point this season.
SP Triston McKenzie (2019 Bowman Heritage) – If you were to ask me who my favorite Tribe player is this season, I would have to consider McKenzie. His resurrection in 2020 from a high-ceiling, oft-injured prospect to a mainstay of the Cleveland rotation came almost literally out of nowhere. Last season he was one of the best starters in the American League (11-11, 129 ERA+ over 190 IP), and the only thing that might slow him down at this point are injuries. He is also, based on my couple of interactions with him, a really nice dude.
IF Amed Rosario (2019 Bowman Heritage) – Rosario is easily the most divisive player on the Guards roster. His sometimes shaky defensive and streaky hitting draws the ire of Cleveland fans. But he is still an offensively oriented shortstop, and his numbers (11 HR, 106 OPS+) would not be easy to replace. At least not on a team that is contending and can’t waste at-bats on development. Of course, when he does move on, there is a long line of in-house replacements that includes Gabriel Arias, Angel Martinez, Brayan Rocchio, and Brayan Rocchio.