Cleveland Guardians pitching prospect Daniel Espino (shoulder) has undergone a second right-shoulder surgery to repair an injured shoulder capsule and rotator cuff and will miss his second straight season. The right-hander underwent shoulder surgery last May and was scheduled to miss 12-14 months at the time but he will now be out far longer than that as he could very well miss a portion of the 2025 season, as well. The 23-year-old was drafted in the first round by the Guardians in 2019 but has missed significant time in his minor-league career, logging just 18 1/3 innings of 2.45 ERA ball in just four starts at Double-A in 2022 before shoulder issues set in. Espino's long-term fantasy value has major question marks after two significant shoulder injuries before his 24th birthday.

Cleveland Guardians pitching prospect Daniel Espino (shoulder) underwent right-shoulder surgery (anterior capsule repair) and is expected to miss 12 to 14 months. He's widely considered one of the league's top pitching prospects, but he hasn't pitched since April 22 due to his injury. Per MLB Pipeline, Espino is Cleveland's top prospect, but he has thrown only 18 1/3 innings since the start of last year because of injuries. The 22-year-old will now miss the rest of 2023 and probably won't be able to continue his development in the minor leagues until the middle of the 2024 campaign. It's a pretty big blow to any fantasy managers that have been stashing Espino in dynasty/keeper formats.

Cleveland Guardians top pitching prospect Daniel Espino (shoulder) will be shut down for at least eight weeks due to a strain/tear in his shoulder. Meanwhile, last year's first-rounder Chase Delauter (foot) will miss four to five months with a fracture in his foot, which is the same injury he dealt with last year. Espino also missed considerable time in 2022 with a shoulder injury, so the Guardians have to be pretty concerned with their top prospect. The 22-year-old will likely be ticketed for Double-A Akron when he's deemed healthy enough to return to game action. Delauter, a 21-year-old outfielder, had surgery on Jan. 10 after breaking the same foot last spring. Like Espino, it's a knock on Delauter's long-term outlook, but he's still young and has time to remove the injury-prone label from his name.

Cleveland Guardians pitching prospect Daniel Espino, listed second among Guardians prospects on MLB Pipeline's latest rankings, went wild this past week. The former first-round selection pitched against the Bowie BaySox, striking out 14 batters through five innings. That's right: of the 15 batters he retired, all but one were sent down on strikes. He's averaging a whopping 2.27 K/IP rate and continues to mow down batters who have tried to challenge him. Espino's best pitch is his fastball, which maxes out around 101 mph. He also has a slider that moves vertically and horizontally, leaving him unpredictable to hitters and much more challenging to hit. Even at 21 years old, he has proven that he has the repertoire and stuff needed to succeed at a higher level of play. Espino might have a chance to sneak onto the Guardians' roster as a late-season call-up by the end of the year. Regardless, whenever he does debut, Espino will be a must-add thanks to his unhittability.