Daniel Espino DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Cleveland Guardians pitching prospect Daniel Espino (shoulder) has increased his throwing distance to 120 feet. However, the team noted that Espino would not be able to return to game action until late in the 2025 season if he continues to progress at this rate. The 24-year-old underwent two shoulder operations over the past two years and still has a long recovery process ahead. Espino has not appeared in a minor league contest since the 2022 campaign. During that campaign, he logged 18 1/3 innings at Double-A and held a strong 2.45 ERA with a stellar 0.71 WHIP. He tallied 35 punchouts and only served up four free passes. In 2021, Espino logged 91 2/3 innings with Single and High-A and posted a 3.73 ERA with a 1.12 WHIP and 152 punchouts. When he is cleared, he will likely return to Double-A Akron.

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Daniel Espino (shoulder) is now 11 months removed from surgery, but still has a long way to go before getting back on the mound. The organization said that Espino is on a 16-to-18 month timeline. That means, Espino still has at least five months left of recovery time before he could possibly pitch again. The last time Espino took the mound was for four starts at the Double-A level in 2022. At the moment, it seems unlikely that Espino is going to make a significant contribution at all during the 2025 season. The 24-year-old is a former first-round pick of Cleveland from the 2019 draft. Despite the injuries, Espino still has a bright future once he's able to fully recover from the shoulder issue.

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.