PHILADELPHIA, PA – JULY 12: Ralphy Velazquez #22 of the Cleveland Guardians bats in the MLB All-Star Futures Game at Citizens Bank Park on July 12, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images) | Getty Images To sleep, aye, perchance to dream of a World Series title, there’s the rub.Since the August 3rd trade deadline, Cleveland has made a solid progression as an offense. They went from the 27th-ranked offense in MLB with a 92 wRC+ and a slashline of .231/.310/.370 to the tenth-ranked offense in MLB at 103 wRC+ with a slashline of .263/.340/.374. You can see, of course, the issue with the growth; the Guardians’ slugging percentage has barely moved as they remain one of the worst teams in MLB at hitting home runs (29th-ranked in homers for the season and for the month of August so far).Far be it from me to look a gift horse in the mouth: I am very happy with the advancements the team made at the deadline acquiring Nathaniel Lowe and Jo Adell, as well as promoting Angel Genao. I am thrilled that Steven Kwan has become the third best hitter in baseball over the past two months and optimistic about Jose Ramirez’s chances of regaining consistent doubles power (at least) as his surgically-repaired hand continues to gain strength. Also, Chase DeLauter and Travis Bazzana SHOULD find their way to a few more homers as they continue to adjust to the league in their rookie seasons (provided DeLauter can remain healthy).But, there’s little doubt the Guardians could use some more pop in their lineup if they really want to make a run to end the season and, then, to aim for a pennant. Good news – the Columbus Clippers lead all of minor league baseball in home runs. Yes, Columbus plays in a bandbox. Yes, Triple-A pitching is horrible. But, there are some legitimate power threats on the Guardians’ Triple-A team. Should one or more of these sluggers be added to the major league team – perhaps in time for tomorrow’s homestand against the Royals?The most attractive candidates are:Ralphy Velazquez, 21 years old, LHH, 1B/LF – 133 wRC+, .275 ISO, .970 OPS vs. RHP/.840 OPS vs. LHP, .1.061 OPS at Columbus, .800 OPS away.Cooper Ingle, 24 years old, LHH, C/LF/DH – 154 wRC+, .244 ISO, 1.021 vs. RHP/.534 OPS vs. LHP, 1.009 OPS at Columbus/.854 OPS awayKody Huff, 25 years old, RHH, C/1B – 130 wRC+, .247 ISO, .893 OPS vs. RHP/.842 vs. LHP, .896 at Columbus/868 away.Milan Tolentino, 24 years old, LHH, UIF – 108 wRC+, .231 ISO, .811 OPS vs. RHP/.776 vs. LHP, .780 at Columbus/.826 OPS awayI think it’s probably helpful to look at how these players have been handling specific pitches over the past two months as they’ve been developing. So, here’s their wOBA/xwOBA vs. all fastballs since 7/1:Velazquez: .544/.447Ingle: .504/.407Huff: .312/.272Tolentino: .329/.349And wOBA/xwOBA vs. breaking balls over the same time period:Velazquez: .274/.341Ingle: .313/.296Huff: .560/.446Tolentino: .343/.324Finally, wOBA/xwOBA vs. o
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