Guardians Baseball Insider

The Indians selected RHP Daniel Espino (Georgia Premier HS, GA) with the first pick (24th overall) in the 2019 MLB Draft.

Jeff Ellis: Daniel Espino continues the Indians approach from a year ago taking a high ceiling arm with big velocity. He reminds me some of a better version of Lenny Torress from a year ago. He looks like a future reliever to me and is pretty much maxed out physically. He might actually be best served in the future as an opener down the road. He has three strong offerings in his fastball, slider, and curve. The fastball is a potential 80-grade pitch and it was interesting to hear him talk about Mariano Rivera as Espino could be a future elite closer.  He should move quicker than most prep arms through the minors as his stuff is unlikely to improve. This is an interesting high ceiling player for an Indians team that lacks high ceiling talent. There is a lot of risk, but the Indians have had zero issues when it comes to risk.

Press Release:  Espino, 18, recently posted a senior season ERA of 0.32 (44.0IP, 10H, 2ER, 10BB, 106SO) in 9 starts for the Georgia Premier Academy in Statesboro, GA.  The 6-2, 200-lb, hard-throwing right-hander moved with his family from Panama to Georgia during his sophomore year of high school.   The LSU commit was clocked at 99 miles per hour during the Under Armour All-America Game last summer and pitched for the 18U Team Panama squad in the November 2018 COPABE Games in Chitré, Panama. 

Jeff Ellis