The Road to The Show™: Guardians’ Bibee
Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken toward achieving his Major League dream. Here's a look at fifth-ranked Guardians prospect Tanner Bibee. For more stories about players on The Road to The Show, click here. Finding a way to stand out in the Guardians’
Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken toward achieving his Major League dream. Here's a look at fifth-ranked Guardians prospect Tanner Bibee. For more stories about players on The Road to The Show, click here.
Finding a way to stand out in the Guardians’ system could conceivably be a difficult task for a pitching prospect like Tanner Bibee.
Cleveland has shown a unique ability to identify and develop pitching talent. Bigger names and early-rounders like Daniel Espino and Gavin Williams have garnered most of the praise. But Bibee has more in common with Shane Bieber, Aaron Civale and Zach Plesac, who evolved from middle-round talent to mainstays at the front of Cleveland’s rotation.
The 24-year-old put together a tremendous professional debut in 2022, advancing from High-A Lake County to Double-A Akron. He went 8-2 with a 2.17 ERA and 167 strikeouts over 132 ⅔ innings. Bibee finished 11th among all Minor Leaguers in punchouts and was named the Eastern League’s Pitcher of the Year.
Bibee, MLB Pipeline’s No. 65 overall prospect, displayed noteworthy command and control during his college career at Cal State Fullerton. The right-hander has maintained that skill in the professional ranks and was one of only six Minor Leaguers to complete at least 130 innings without walking more than 27 batters last season. His 6.19 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranked sixth among qualified prospects in full-season ball.
“Ever since I was younger, my dad always was about command. … ‘I want you to fill up the zone. I want you to learn how to pitch before you get that strength,’ Bibee told reporters in Goodyear, Arizona, last week.
Bibee remained a control artist while his average fastball velocity spiked, and he touched 99 mph at some points during the season. There were noted improvements to his sweeping slider, fading changeup and slower curveball, all of which he’s been able to throw for strikes consistently.
Just like Bieber and Plesac, the Guardians seem to be maximizing the value of a player who wasn’t particularly high on anyone’s Draft board. Bibee was selected 156th overall in 2021 after going unselected in the pandemic-shortened Draft the previous year. He agreed to a reported $259,400 bonus but did not pitch in games after the Draft, instead spending the rest of the summer at the club’s complex in Arizona.
The native of Mission Viejo, California, was mostly used out of the bullpen during his freshman season with the Titans in 2018, but transitioned to the rotation full-time as a sophomore. Bibee sported a 4.13 ERA and fanned 80 over 95⅔ innings in 2019, earning an invitation to the Cape Cod League that summer.
Over nine appearances – all in relief – for Wareham, Bibee struck out 19 batters in 17⅓ innings and finished with a 3.63 ERA. He went into his junior season as Fullerton’s Friday night starter but appeared in only four games before the season was shut down.
After going unselected in the 2020 Draft, Bibee returned to the front of the Titans’ rotation for his senior season. He finished with a 3.61 ERA and 67 strikeouts over 89⅔ innings. He issued just 21 walks and hit 10 batters but still considered spending another year in college ball – using his extra year of eligibility to pitch as a grad transfer at Texas A&M – if the Draft didn’t break his way. But ultimately he was pleased with his landing spot in Cleveland, and he didn’t disappoint when he finally took the mound in a Minor League game.
No. 5 @CleGuardians prospect Tanner Bibee dishes on his experience at big league camp and more: pic.twitter.com/LWKKp369it
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 5, 2023
At the start of 2022, Bibee pitched 13 innings before allowing a run in the Midwest League, accumulating 20 punchouts and two walks over that span. In 12 starts for the Captains, he posted a 2.59 ERA with 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings. He made one difficult start that bogged down his overall numbers, but he quickly proved he was ready for the next level.
Bibee was absolutely brilliant down the stretch for Akron, finishing with a 1.83 ERA and 81 strikeouts over 83⅓ innings, holding opposing batters to a .194 average in 13 starts. He won six consecutive decisions and completed six innings in each of his final eight starts, including the RubberDucks’ playoff matchup against Bowie. Over the full season, Bibee allowed more than two earned runs in just four of his 25 starts, nine of which were scoreless.
Like most of the Guardians' pitching prospects, Bibee has not yet pitched in the Cactus League this spring. He’s likely ticketed for Triple-A Columbus, where he’ll be a major factor in one of the most exciting rotations in the Minors. It's also expected to feature Williams, Logan Allen, Xzavion Curry, Hunter Gaddis, Joey Cantillo, and eventually the club’s top prospect, Espino, who will miss the early part of the season with a right shoulder strain.
Bibee doesn’t exactly need to replicate his 2022 season to continue to stand out in a system with that kind of pitching depth. But he’s clearly figured out a way to be successful at the upper levels and put himself within striking distance of the big league rotation.
Gerard Gilberto is a reporter for MiLB.com.
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between
Prospect Peña quietly drawing raves in Brewers' farm system
PHOENIX – Jesús Made was at the top of the Brewers’ lineup for Sunday’s 9-7 loss to the Reds in the finale of MLB’s four-day Spring Breakout, a fitting perch when you consider that the 17-year-old infielder is under a bright spotlight as MLB Pipeline’s No. 55 prospect. Made could
Brecht -- in 1st outing since '24 Draft -- wows at Spring Breakout
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Sunday's Spring Breakout showcase was the perfect unveiling for Rockies No. 5 prospect Brody Brecht. A right-handed pitcher from the University of Iowa whom the Rockies selected 38th overall last summer, Brecht had a nice collegiate resume, an interesting backstory as a former wide receiver for the
Braves prospects show promise in Spring Breakout
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- As Terry Pendleton prepared to serve as the manager of the Braves prospect team that played the Tigers prospect team in a Spring Breakout game on Sunday afternoon, he said fans should be patient with John Gil and Luis Guanipa, a pair of teenagers who have
Yanks' Lagrange flashes triple-digit heat in Spring Breakout
SARASOTA, Fla. -- There was an audible “Ooh” from the crowd at Ed Smith Stadium, and Carlos Lagrange quickly glanced beyond the right-field wall, checking the velocity of the pitch he’d just thrown in Saturday’s 5-4 Spring Breakout loss to the Orioles. It had registered in the triple digits, and
Bradfield dedicates Spring Breakout performance to late friend
SARASOTA, Fla. -- It was about more than playing in the national spotlight. More than the dinner bet placed with an old college teammate earlier in the month. More than a game. As Enrique Bradfield Jr. slid home to score a run during the first inning of Saturday night’s Spring