How did Guardians rookies perform in the playoffs?

Rookies aren’t often relied upon in crucial moments, but Cleveland had several key rookie contributors this season

Let’s be honest, Cleveland got more out of its rookies than most division-winning teams are expected to have to get during a regular season this year. The league’s top bullpen didn’t rely on veterans. In fact, the veterans like Scott Barlow got DFA’d before the season was over. The same thing happened in the outfield with Ramon Laureano getting sent to greener pastures.

Cleveland had several standout rookies during the regular season, but what about the playoffs? Most experts state that playoff experience is a strong indicator of playoff success. Well, it’s kind of hard to have playoff experience when you’re a rookie.

So how did Cleveland’s rookies perform in the playoffs this year? Let’s take a look:

Position players

Brayan Rocchio (23, SS) - While he didn’t have the best regular season, Rocchio was one of the team’s top standouts during the playoffs. He excelled in the postseason, slashing .333/.421/.485. I’m not sure what got into Rocchio, but he became an on-base machine with some pop from the No. 9 spot in the batting lineup. It got to the point where the crowd was actually chanting his name in game 5 of the ALDS against Detroit ... and he came through with an RBI single. Rocchio finished with 11 hits in the playoffs, walked 12.8% of the time while dropping his strikeout rate. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.

Kyle Manzardo (24, 1B/DH) - The talented left-hand-hitting slugger didn’t get many opportunities against Detroit’s predominantly southpaw pitching staff, but he had some moments to shine in the ALCS, including a go-ahead two-run home run in Game 3 against the Yankees. Manzardo slashed an impressive .316/.316/.526 in the playoffs in nine games. He posted multiple excellent at bats and looks like a lock for the top/middle of the Guardians lineup for years to come.

Jhonkensy Noel (23, RF) - “Big Christmas” took some time to get rolling. In fact, he didn’t homer the entire month of September. But his timing sure was impressive, blasting a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 3 of the ALCS to tie the game 5-5 and send it to extra innings. It was a top 5 home run in Cleveland baseball history, in my opinion. Noel’s slashline in the playoffs wasn’t impressive at .095/.208/.238, but that historic homer sure was.

Daniel Schneemann (27, SS/OF) - Schneemann didn’t get many overall opportunities until the ALCS, when he got a few starts. He had some decent exit velocities and also had a base hit taken away from him by an umpire challenge, but overall, he struggled and failed to get on base in his seven plate appearances. His slashline was .000/.000/.000 for his three games.

Angel Martinez (22, OF) - This wasn’t very fair, but Martinez’s opportunities were slim to none in the playoffs. He didn’t even get a chance until Tyer Freeman got hurt in the ALDS against Detroit and then was left off the ALCS roster entirely when Cleveland added an extra reliever. Martinez had just one plate appearance in the playoffs and he failed to get a hit.

Pitchers

Cade Smith (25, RHP) - Smith was head coach Steven Vogt’s first man out of the bullpen whenever things got dicey in the playoffs. In 10 playoff games, he made a whopping nine appearances and pitched 10 innings. Smith was dominant, striking out 16 batters in those 10 innings and walking just two, sporting a 3.60 ERA. His ERA would have been even better, but one rough outing giving up a 3-run bomb to Giancarlo Stanton hurt him in game 4 of the ALCS. His velocity was down in that outing and his game 5 outing by around 2 mph, indicating an understandable level of exhaustion. Hopefully, he can rest and return to full strength for 2025.

Hunter Gaddis (26, RHP) - Gaddis remained the set-up man for Clase in Vogt’s circle of trust. Gaddis had a 4.91 ERA in 7.1 innings, touched by two big home runs, one from Aaron Judge in game two of the ALCS and one from Juan Soto in the tenth inning of the ALCS game five. Judge smoked a 95 mph fastball on the outerhalf and very upper edge of the strike zone and Soto smoked a 98 mph fastball in almost the exact same spot. There aren’t too many hitters who can do that off a pitcher who had an elite change and slider working; those are definitely two who can. Overall, Gaddis’s 14.74 K/9 was a great rate for the playoffs; he just as to work on lowering the 6.14 BB/9 and controlling the long ball.

Tim Herrin (28, LHP) - Herrin continued in Sam Hentges’s old role as the top lefty-arm in the pen and performed admirably with a 1.08 ERA in 8.1 innings this postseason. Despite seeing dips in velocity, Herrin still managed to reliably get hitters out, highlighted by throwing an innings and two-thirds spotless against the Yankees in the ALCS game five.

Andrew Walters (23, RHP) - A late-addition to the Guardians’ roster, Walters got only three innings worth of work in the playoffs but put up an ERA of 3 and a 12/6 K/BB/9. He had some rookie nerves to work through, but, overall, the team has to be excited about the ability the 23 year-old showed to get some big hitters out in crucial spots.

Erik Sabrowski (26, LHP) - Sabrowski was lights out for the Guardians this postseason except in game two of the ALCS which was the only game all season at any level he was asked to pitch in back-to-back games. So, he probably gets a mulligan for that. His 5.1 innings and 1.69 ERA bode well for his ability to be a back-end bullpen option in 2025.

Joey Cantillo (24, LHP) - In 2.1 innings, Cantillo had a 3.86 ERA in the playoffs. Unfortunately, those runs were all from one very unfortunate appearnace in game one of the ALCS in which Vogt brought him in with the bases loaded and Cantillo was WILD uncorking four wild pitches and walking three batters. This is likely the one decision that Vogt most wants a do-over for, as it wasn’t really a fair ask for the rookie southpaw to deliver in that spot. Still, there is a lot to like about what Cantillo showed as a starter this season and his two other appearances as a reliever this postseason were very good.

Overall, a nice showing for rookies in their first postseason action, with plenty of reasons for Guardians’ fans to hope for growth and improvement from these players in the future.