The Guardians got their hitter in Travis Bazzana with the first overall pick, then they got their pitcher and catcher.

With the 36th overall pick on Sunday night, the Guardians selected right-handed pitcher Braylon Doughty from Chaparral High School (Calif.) in Competitive Balance Round A. Just a few picks later at No. 48, Cleveland took backstop Jacob Cozart from NC State.

¡°We feel really good about their makeup, not only in terms of just people, but their drive to want to improve,¡± Guardians vice president of scouting Paul Gillispie said. ¡°They have really strong growth mindsets, and we think that within our system they¡¯ll have the ability to thrive.¡±

The Guardians have been loaded with starting pitchers in their Minor League system for the last few seasons, but as most of them have since graduated to the Majors, the starting pitching pipeline isn¡¯t as fruitful. And now that Bo Naylor is in the Majors, their only catcher in their Top 30 Prospects (as ranked by MLB Pipeline) is No. 30 prospect Cooper Ingle, who isn¡¯t projected to reach the big leagues until 2026.

Both of these selections bring some much-needed depth to these positions. Let¡¯s start with Doughty.

The 6-foot-1 high schooler is just 18 years old and will need time to continue to grow into his body, but the foundation is set for an organization that¡¯s seemed to master pitching development. As of a few years ago, Doughty wasn¡¯t even a pitcher. Formerly a catcher, Doughty decided to switch to pitching and has quickly caught on. He finished the 2024 season with a 1.11 ERA in 50 1/3 innings with 85 strikeouts and just 10 walks.

¡°Nice blend of athleticism, power, feel, ability to spin the ball and we really like his prospects to remain a starter in the future,¡± Gillispie said.

His fastball sits in the low-90s and has touched 97 mph. If he¡¯s showing the ability to creep into the upper-90s at this age, the Guardians should have no trouble getting his average velocity to sit higher. We saw what they did with current 10th-ranked prospect Joey Cantillo, who entered their system with a 90 mph four-seamer after being traded from San Diego. Now, it averages in the mid-90s and can touch 98 mph. There¡¯s no reason to believe the same development won¡¯t happen with Doughty.

Not only does Doughty have the potential to light up the radar gun, but he¡¯s also known for the insane spin he can produce on his breaking pitches, considering his curveball¡¯s spin rates have topped 3,000 rpm.

¡°He just has a really good feel already for his delivery and ¡­ for his arm action that he picked it up sort of naturally,¡± Gillispie said. ¡°That, coupled with the ability to make the ball do different things and the shapes he can create, those are some of the things that for any pitcher can be tough to solidify. But when you think about Braylon, he¡¯s only been pitching seriously for a few years now. So how advanced he is already in those areas is something that we think is really attractive about him.¡±

Doughty is currently committed to Oklahoma State, but the Guardians wouldn¡¯t have taken him in the Competitive Balance Round A if they thought there was a chance he wouldn¡¯t sign with them.

There shouldn¡¯t be any questions when it comes to the signability of Cozart, a 21-year-old collegiate catcher out of NC State. The 6-foot-3, 222-pound backstop is known for his defense and his ability to receive. He¡¯s been able to grow up in a high-intensity baseball environment, considering his dad is a baseball coach at High Point University (who also coached former Cleveland closer Cody Allen).

But the majority of Cozart¡¯s improvement in recent years has come offensively. After struggling as a freshman, he finished his junior year hitting .305 with 19 homers, 54 RBIs and a 1.038 OPS in 61 games. MLB Pipeline experts believe he offers 20-homer potential as he continues to develop.

¡°He showed really solid year-over-year progression in terms of his ability to manage the strike zone,¡± Gillispie said. ¡°His walks went up and showed pretty good power, as well.¡±

As excited as the organization is about its first three picks, it knows it has a lot of work left to do, which will begin with Round 3 at 2 p.m. ET on Monday.

¡°We still think there¡¯s talent out there,¡± Gillispie said, ¡°and we still think we¡¯ll have the ability to bring in some really good players into the organization that we¡¯re just as excited about as the guys we were able to bring in tonight.¡±