00:00Do we have a true number one?
00:02Not wide receivers, not QBs.
00:04I'm talking pitchers.
00:05Let's get to Justin Latta.
00:07He's the host of Locked On Guardians.
00:08He is all over social media.
00:10He is one of my most trusted baseball people.
00:12So I want to bring him on the show.
00:14Justin, good morning.
00:16Good morning, Ken.
00:17How are we doing?
00:17I'm doing very well.
00:19You know, I heard you on other shows.
00:20I'm glad to have you on with me and Coach Lance here.
00:22Coach Lance is filling in for Lima.
00:24All right.
00:26Tanner Bybee yesterday.
00:27You know, I understand guys get knocked around.
00:30This is kind of two in a row here.
00:32I want to know if you thought he was better or do we have a problem with a true number
00:36one?
00:37I thought he was much better.
00:38I mean, he left the start without any kind of injury.
00:41So that's a step in the right direction, right?
00:43That's a positive.
00:44Yeah.
00:44I mean, yeah, I thought he was fine for what he did.
00:47I mean, that's a really good lineup.
00:49He walked Shohei Otani, which I think Max Muncy and honestly, I'd rather walk Shohei Otani than
00:55pitch to him because we've seen what he can do.
00:57So, no, I think Tanner came out just fine.
00:58He got to his pitch limit.
01:00They were going to be careful with him after the shoulder issue, the last start.
01:04So I think he did just fine.
01:05I mean, depends on how you want to define number one.
01:07I think they've got a lot of guys who are, you know, twos, threes, whatever it is.
01:12But, yeah, I thought he came through just fine last night.
01:15How much does – I've brought this up and a lot of kind of rolls his eyes at me.
01:18How much do you think weather plays?
01:20Because it was kind of cold in Seattle and it's obviously much closer to an Arizona type
01:25of weather pattern in Los Angeles.
01:27And I'm going, God, these guys, they go from warm weather to freezing cold.
01:31It has to play with their bodies, especially a pitcher.
01:34Yeah, for pitching, for sure.
01:36I mean, to be fair, every pitcher out there is going through the same thing.
01:39So I guess it depends on how it affects you individually.
01:42But everyone's pitching through the same sort of conditions.
01:45So hopefully, you know, that was all it was contributing to it because he said it was
01:49something new that he didn't deal with in Arizona.
01:51So I think there's a level of degree there that that was definitely the case.
01:56And he didn't show any ill effects from it last night.
01:58So I'm sure a lot of guys go through that up and down.
02:01And that's why they, you know, for all the reasons we hate it, that's the reason why
02:04they don't come back to Cleveland and start the season.
02:07Justin, good morning to you.
02:09I had a question for you.
02:09What is – when does Travis Bassano realistically come up to the guards?
02:14And obviously, is that going to be quicker with the struggles that was happening at
02:18second and short?
02:19Or if that continues, is it going to happen quicker than later?
02:25I don't think they're going to base it off of what's going on at the major league level
02:30because then that puts more pressure on Bassano and you don't want to bring him up and try
02:34to, like, save any certain position or save the offense.
02:37I think it's going to be more on Travis Bassano's timeline and whenever Cleveland feels like
02:42he's ready to make that ascent.
02:44I mean, there was an argument out of spring training that he was ready because let's face
02:47it, he is the best offensive second baseman they have right now.
02:50And they could extend the order a little bit by having him in it.
02:55But if you want to put a date on it, like, I don't know, I thought, like, early May would
02:59have been a good shot for it.
03:00I kind of wonder if they'll wait until June.
03:03Maybe it depends a little more on what the – you know, how long they want to keep the
03:07can down the road on the decision of, you know, do they keep Arias, do they keep
03:11Rokio, who plays shortstop.
03:13And they'll just wait for Bassano to kind of have some runway under him and look like he's
03:17in a really good spot down in Columbus.
03:20Justin Latta joining us on the show, Locked On Guardians podcast.
03:23He's on the Make It Right, Kakao, Right Hotline.
03:26With George Valera getting to Columbus, what's his timeline now?
03:31Especially because, I mean, you mentioned some of the guys that might start the season
03:34on the 25-man roster, on the opening day roster that changes every – basically every
03:40single year.
03:41Where do you think George is?
03:43When does George make his way up?
03:46Yeah, I mean, he hasn't started playing in rehab games yet.
03:48He is going to join Columbus here.
03:50I think he's already with them.
03:51They just got back home last night.
03:53So, it's really going to depend.
03:54I mean, he hasn't played in a while.
03:55So, they're probably going to want to build him up, too.
03:58I mean, it's the same thing as Chase the Water.
03:59He has a checkered injury history, too.
04:02And they're going to want to build him up.
04:04So, I would still think that there's a good chance it's going to be April, but it may
04:07be the latter part of April, just depending on how he responds.
04:10But he didn't have a more significant injury, but he hasn't played since – I want to say
04:15it's been two or three weeks at this point.
04:16So, probably mid or late April.
04:18I mean, a calf's a calf, so you know that that's difficult.
04:21How does he – when he does make his way up, how does your outfield look?
04:27I think you have to send C.J. Capis back down.
04:30I think that, you know, he's doing his best out there.
04:33I know he's played outfield a little bit in college and back in high school, and he
04:37hasn't played a ton of left field.
04:38So, you have to give him a little bit of grace, I think, for the play in Seattle the
04:42other night.
04:43But he's really not a natural outfielder.
04:45And, you know, so far offensively, it's early.
04:47So, I hate to sit here and overreact to anybody's at-bats this early besides Chase
04:52the Water when he's standing upright.
04:55But I think George is a more natural outfielder, and he had some good moments last
04:59year.
05:00I mean, so did C.J. too.
05:01But just looking at the natural state of the roster and how they want to use Angel
05:06Martinez and how Daniel Schiemann's played, you know, four games or five games at, like,
05:10four different positions, I think it just makes sense to have Valera take Cade
05:14for his spot when he's ready.
05:16Justin, what's the – in your opinion, what's the leash on Cade Smith?
05:20And if he doesn't pan out, what kind are the Guardians' options at the end of the
05:24bullpen?
05:26I mean, I don't think there's anything to worry about with Cade Smith anyway.
05:29But, you know, it's a couple games, it's early, and he didn't have, you know, the
05:33grip on his splitter in Seattle, and then it happened again in L.A., which is a little
05:36bit concerning when he doesn't have all three pitches because guys can sit on the
05:40fastball.
05:41But, I mean, there's no other route to go there.
05:43I don't think there's going to be any sort of, like, thought as far as taking him out
05:47of the closer's role.
05:49Sean Armstrong, you know, was the guy they signed to help with Hunter Gattis to get the ball
05:53to Cade Smith in the ninth inning, and he has a little bit of closing experience, but
05:57I don't think there's going to be any sort of timeline here where, you know, Cade Smith – it
06:03would have to be an extended period of struggles for Cade Smith for them to consider moving
06:08him out of the closer's role, I think.
06:10Even though, you know, it's nicer when he is able to set the games up, but, you know,
06:15they don't have that luxury anymore.
06:19Do you see Peyton Pellett in a high-leverage situation or maybe even able to fill in in
06:23that spot?
06:25I think he can earn it over time.
06:26I think they're going to be careful about how they do that, and, you know, he pitched
06:30really well in Seattle.
06:31He did have the one night where he gave up a run, but I thought the stuff looked really
06:34good.
06:34I could see a scenario where we get to, like, June, and if he continues this path, I think
06:40the stuff is really good.
06:42I think there's a chance he could work his way up into the seventh or eighth inning
06:45and really be a guy they trust when the game is on the line or trying to get the ball
06:50to
06:50Cade with the lead.
06:51But, yeah, I could see a scenario where he gets high leverage.
06:53I don't know about closing, but I do see a scenario where he has the stuff as the year
06:57goes on.
06:58I mean, we saw Trevor Steffen a couple years ago earn the trust of Terry Francona, and
07:01he got away the setup man, too.
07:03And I think Pellett's got the very, very same kind of chance.
07:07Yeah.
07:08Justin, who is the, give me a name or two of somebody who might come up that, you know,
07:12Guardians fans might not know that could be either a pitcher or a position player that
07:17can maybe, you know, give him a bat or give him an arm later in the season.
07:23If you want to go bat later in the season, I mean, it really depends on how things are
07:27going with Kyle Manzardo or Reece Hoskins and how they figure out the playing time for
07:32David Frye.
07:33But, like, everyone's going to want to see Ralphie Velasquez at some point.
07:36I mean, he had a great spring training, had a really good run at the end of the year
07:39last year.
07:41It's going to be kind of hard to figure out where he fits in the lineup just because
07:44of the guys I mentioned before.
07:45But if he has a really good season, it's going to be a lot of calls for him quick to
07:50come
07:50up.
07:50As far as pitching is concerned, I mean, it's a little bit thin at the top right now.
07:55And I don't know how the 40-man roster evolves throughout the year because they just don't
07:58have a lot of guys they can move around.
08:01But a guy I really like that I think could make a couple starts this year if they need him
08:05is
08:05Cal Steven, the guy they got from Toronto for Shane Beaver.
08:08I think he is their best pitching prospect in the upper minors right now that has a chance
08:14to impact the team this year.
08:15Give me a name of a younger pitcher, you know, maybe down to single A, double A, that's a guy
08:20that could be really good in the next couple years.
08:24Yeah, I'm always worried about high school pitching.
08:28High school pitching is so delicate.
08:30But Braylon Dowdy last year, he got the ball on opening day for single A. He'll start the
08:35year in high A, Lake County.
08:36I assume he's going to get the ball to open the season on Thursday.
08:39But Braylon Dowdy's got all the goods.
08:41I mean, he's got two really good breaking balls.
08:44He's kind of new to pitching in terms of late in high school.
08:48Really good feel for spin.
08:49Control's really good.
08:50He's mature for his age.
08:53You know, he's a little undersized.
08:55He's about 6'1".
08:57So you kind of worry about that.
08:58But everything just points to a guy who's just a really solid upside starting pitcher.
09:03And I think there's a lot of room for growth there.
09:05He's already so talented.
09:06So I'm really excited to watch Braylon Dowdy pitch this year.
09:09And I think everyone should head over to Lake County and get a chance to watch him work.
09:12Yeah, Justin Latta joining us on the show, co-host of Locked On Guardians podcast, which
09:17I listened to and I was glad you didn't rip me for my comparison with Chase DeLauter.
09:21Who would you comp Chase DeLauter to?
09:25Yeah, no, Ken, I would never rip you for anything.
09:28We'd go back too far, Ken.
09:30You're always on the right side.
09:33Did you at least understand what I was trying to say when I made the comparison or no?
09:37Because I've been getting harassed for it ever since.
09:42He doesn't.
09:43He doesn't.
09:44It's okay.
09:45I don't know if I saw your argument, Ken.
09:47But you know what?
09:48We all have perspectives.
09:49It's okay.
09:50I hate to say Grady Sizemore.
09:52Like, he wears 24.
09:54And I know people are going to say, well, Grady Sizemore is injury prone.
09:57And, you know, as someone who grew up in Cleveland watching Grady Sizemore as a teenager,
10:01I will not listen to Grady Sizemore slander.
10:04Because the man played, I don't know, four or five years in a row of over 150 games and
10:08was on track to be a Hall of Famer before his body broke down.
10:13Chase DeLauter, it would be great if we can get a year of over 100 games played for him
10:17at this point.
10:17But there is an element of Sizemore's game there.
10:20Like, he doesn't have the defense in center field or I don't know how much you want him
10:24to run anyway with his current situation.
10:26But as far as the bat's concerned, I think that's as close as it gets.
10:30And you just hope that he can reverse course on all these injuries and play as many games
10:36as Sizemore did before his body betrayed him.
10:38I don't know.
10:39I don't want to put carts before horses here.
10:40But I know you've discussed it.
10:42So I'm going to go ahead and ask you.
10:43Could Chase DeLauter be the type of guy where when David Blitzer takes over, maybe that's
10:50his first big splash to get the fans on his side.
10:53Like, hey, we're signing another guy to a big deal.
10:57I can't say it's like Bobby Witt or anything like that.
10:59We talked about it yesterday.
11:00But do you see him possibly as a guy like this is the first big investment David Blitzer
11:06makes as the managing partner of the Guardians?
11:09I think it would be a great first move.
11:11Now, obviously, you want to make sure that he gets through the season healthy before you
11:15commit to that.
11:16Of course.
11:16That obviously changes the calculus of things.
11:19But yeah, he's a very special hitter.
11:21You can see it and I think it'd be great for them to lock up an outfielder long term.
11:26They haven't done that since, what, Michael Brantley, I suppose.
11:30And he probably will be the best outfielder they've had since Michael Brantley.
11:33I mean, they haven't had a 20 home run hitting outfielder since 2014.
11:36And that was Brantley.
11:37So yeah, it'd be a great first move to lock up the guy who is hitting in front of Jose
11:41Ramirez.
11:42And I think once Jose gets going, it's going to be a dynamic two, three combination there.
11:46So yeah, I think that'd be a great first move for them.
11:48But let's hope he gets through, like you said, don't put the cart before the horse.
11:51But if he gets through this year healthy and blitzer exercises his option to take over,
11:56I would see that being a great move for when baseball comes back next year in what, May,
12:00June?
12:01Do you want to predict that now?
12:04Uh, I don't know.
12:05I, somebody, well, I just got a text while you were answering the question because I'm
12:09getting made fun of because you didn't want to call me a moron for my comparison.
12:12But that's okay.
12:13You're a wonderful man, Justin.
12:14You're much nicer than some of my buddies out there.
12:17Uh, Justin Latta from the Locked On Guardians podcast.
12:20It's every day.
12:21Uh, they cover it every single day, even when they're on the West coast, which is awful.
12:26Enjoy your day, Justin.
12:27I know we will be talking again soon.
12:29All the best, buddy.
12:31Yeah.
12:31I can't wait to do it.
12:32And you're never a moron to me.
12:33Don't worry.
12:35Sometimes you're too nice.
12:36Justin Latta.
12:37Make it right.
12:38Call Kyle.
12:39Hotline.
12:39One of the very best.
12:40Find him on social media.
12:41Again, Locked On Guardians.
12:42He does a wonderful job.
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