The man the Cleveland Guardians are sending to the mound on Wednesday in Chicago with their season on the mound once seemed destined to be their ace.
That’s not the journey traveled by Daniel Espino, though — but adversity hasn’t stopped him entirely. He’s getting the ball for ALDS Game 3 with the Guardians down 2-0 in the best-of-five series.
It’ll just be as an opener, but Espino is who the Guardians have called on to set the tone on the mound in the road ballpark.
For a time, Espino starting a playoff baseball game seemed an obvious outcome.
And then for a while after that, it seemed Espino might not even pitch again.
On Wednesday, he’ll reach the culmination, at least so far, of his improbable comeback.
Who is Daniel Espino?
On a basic level, Espino is a 25-year old right-handed pitcher from Panama.
The Guardians chose him in the first round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of a high school in Georgia.
Espino stands 6-feet tall and 225 pounds, and he throws really hard.
He made 14 appearances in MLB this season, his debut year, and had a 4.11 ERA.
His story is much more than the basics, though.
Daniel Espino’s Comeback Story
Espino was always an immense talent, but injuries kept him away from the game for most of the first five seasons of his professional career.
After pitching 20 games in 2021 between Single-A and High-A, Espino’s games by season looked like this:
- 2022: 4 appearances
- 2023: 0 appearances
- 2024: 0 appearances
- 2025: 1 appearance (and 4 in Arizona Fall League)
His days as a top starting pitcher prospect were long gone by the time the Guardians had him down at Triple-A Columbus early in this season.
This is a guy who MLB Pipeline ranked as the No. 16 prospect in the entire sport before the 2023 season. Baseball America had him at No. 19.
That all seemed like it would be for naught as Espino’s right shoulder needed two serious surgeries while he was in the minor leagues.
Espino also had knee problems, which didn’t help any chances of him actually breaking through and making the major leagues.
But somehow, he persevered, and now Espino will get the baseball for the biggest outing of his life.
Why Guardians Are Starting Daniel Espino
The Guardians have decided to go with a strategy the White Sox were already employing: using an opener before a real starting pitcher.
Espino will likely only throw an inning, or maybe a little more.
The idea is for a relief pitcher with good stuff to get out the top of the order to set the longer-length pitcher up for success.
The Guardians did this in a great way at the end of the regular season with Joey Cantillo, who followed Espino on multiple occasions.
ALDS Game 3 will probably be a case of all hands on deck. But whoever comes in next, it’ll be Espino who starts it, an unlikely turnaround called to help save Cleveland’s season.
Meet Daniel Espino, Guardians’ Improbable Starting Pitcher With Season on Line