MLB Analysts Believe Cleveland Guardians First Round Selection RHP Liam Peterson Could Be Future Ace

The Cleveland Guardians selected right-handed pitcher Liam Peterson from the Florida Gators with the 19th overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft. Cleveland used to develop a ton of great pitchers in the organization, and it feels like that art has been lost with this team for now. Over the years, they had Trevor Bauer, Mike Clevinger, Shane Bieber, and others.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – JULY 11: Commissioner of Major League Baseball Robert D. Manfred Jr. announces Liam Peterson as the nineteenth overall pick by the Cleveland Guardians during the 2026 MLB Draft presented by Nippon Express at Pennsylvania Convention Center on Saturday, July 11, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

The Guardians are on the verge of missing the playoffs this season with a 60-65 record. Pitching has been a major problem with Cleveland as of late. They have a ton of talented hitters in the farm system, but there is no doubt that they need some help in the pitching department in the farm system as well.

MLB Analysts Believe Cleveland Guardians First Round Selection RHP Liam Peterson Could Be Future Ace

PHILADELPHIA, PA – JULY 11: Commissioner of Major League Baseball Robert D. Manfred announces Liam Peterson as the 19th overall pick by the Cleveland Guardians during the 2026 MLB Draft presented by Nippon Express at Pennsylvania Convention Center on Saturday, July 11, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Before the start of the 2026 MLB season, the Guardians had the sixth ranked farm system in all of baseball. Now, Cleveland has the 11th ranked farm system in all of baseball. Sam Dykstra, Jim Callis, and Jonathan Mayo of mlb.com wrote about each team’s prospect pool at the moment. They said about the future of this organization down on the farm,

“The Guardians may have slipped out of the top 10 for the first time since pre-2024, but its system is doing its job. Of its top six prospects coming into the year, Travis Bazzana, Chase DeLauter and Parker Messick have graduated to key roles in Cleveland; Genao just took over a starting job; catcher/outfielder Cooper Ingle has gotten a cup of coffee and Velazquez could get there soon. Most of Cleveland’s best Minor League talents are hitters, though Liam Peterson (the No. 19 overall pick in July) and revitalized Justin Campbell (a 2022 supplemental first-rounder whose pro debut was delayed until this year because of two elbow surgeries and a wrist operation) are positive pitching developments.”

Peterson is 6’5″ and weighs 221 lbs. He is 21 years old. At the moment, Peterson has been currently assigned to the ACL Guardians. It will be interesting to see what will happen when he gets to the higher levels of the organization before reaching Cleveland at the big league level. They will need Peterson to develop into that future ace here.