The Guardians promoted Kayfus from High-A Lake County to Double-A Akron on Monday.
A third-round pick last summer, Kayfus has been unfazed by the competition at Single-A and High-A thus far during his professional career. After posting a .971 OPS in 17 games with Single-A Lynchburg in 2023, Kayfus was even more impressive with Lake County this season, slashing .338/.437/.578 while keeping his strikeout rate at a palatable 18 percent over 183 plate appearances.
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Guardians' C.J. Kayfus: Maximizing power output
Rotowire
Kayfus, 22, is slashing .333/.432/.613 with six home runs and an 18 percent strikeout rate in 25 games for High-A Lake County.
Kayfus slugged .548 during his time at Miami, and while he hit .302 in the Cape Cod League in 2022, he hit only one home run in 29 games. His power has translated more than anticipated against Single-A and High-A pitching thus far, as Kayfus was seen as a hit-over-power first baseman entering the draft. Kayfus' 29.2 percent hard-hit rate is middling for an older first base prospect, but he has mastered the lift and pull strategy, hitting 45.9 percent of balls to the pull side and just 33.8 percent of balls on the ground.
