Cleveland Guardians Top 30 Prospects: #12 Jose Tena

If you've been following along in this series — or read anything else I've ever written — it's no secret I'm an eternal optimist when it comes to the Cleveland Guardians. Regarding prospects, it's always great to talk about ceilings and what players could be at their best, so I try not to gloss over flaws or inefficiencies too much. Now, that doesn't mean I'm not pragmatic. I can still recognize those flaws and even issues within the organization.For instance, the Guardians did very little this offseason to address the glut of middle infield prospects on the 40-man roster and pushing their way to the upper minors. Cleveland traded Jose Fermin to the St Louis Cardinals for cash but added Juan Brito to the 40-man after dealing Nolan Jones to Colorado. This logjam very well could catch up to the team and could engulf several prospects towards the top third of my list, including my 12th-ranked Guardians prospect Jose Tena.Tena, 21, signed with the Guardians in 2017 out of the Dominican Republic. A left-handed hitting shortstop standing in at 5 foot 11 and 190 pounds, Tena signed with the club in the same international free agent class as Aaron Bracho, George Valera and Brayan Rocchio, a class well-regarded as one of Cleveland's best crops in recent years. Although Bracho and Valera were seen as the big acquisitions of that class Tena and the others have made a name for themselves by working their way up the farm system.Tena began his professional career in 2018 playing rookie ball for Cleveland, and despite losing the 2020 Minor League season he progressed quickly in 2021 and 2022. In 2021 he played 107 games at High-A Lake County with a .281/.331/.467 triple slash, 25 doubles, 16 home runs, 10 stolen bases, and 27 walks (6%) to 117 strikeouts (26.2%). Coming out of a lost season his efforts didn't go unnoticed, starting in 2022 with Double-A Akron and working his way to Triple-A for a five-game cup of coffee.[embed]https://twitter.com/Official_CGBI/status/1558594086004822018?s=20[/embed]Tena played a total of 132 games in 2022 slashing .267/.306/.419 with 27 doubles, 14 home runs, eight stolen bases and 29 walks (5.1%) to 142 strikeouts (24.8%). The walk and strikeout rates aren't ideal, especially when you consider Cleveland's blueprint includes players who excel at getting on base, but Tena has been young for his level the last two seasons and there may be time to work out the kinks. For now, let's talk about what makes Tena tick and if those issues can be ironed out or not.Tena has a surprising amount of pop for a smaller guy, resulting in 90 extra base hits in the past two seasons combined, and reportedly hits the ball hard in the minors. There are conflicting opinions on how to grade his bat. On one hand you have a shortstop capable hitting for average or above average power and a swing designed to lift the ball. On the other you have a player who despite the swing design somehow hits the ball on the ground nearly 50% of the time and is over-aggressive at the plate, chasing almost anything thrown away from him.[embed]https://twitter.com/CLBClippers/status/1574530041903566851?s=20[/embed]The bat-to-ball skills and quality of contact aren't too concerning when Tena gets his pitch, the issue is his patience in forcing the pitcher to throw him something he can do some damage to. It's likely the walk rate won't ever be elite, but it's possible the team can help him to stop swinging at junk. Defensively he's an athletic middle infielder with the arm to handle shortstop or second base, though less flashy than Gabriel Arias preceding him in my top 30.Tena will likely start 2023 playing up the middle for Columbus, but unless he makes some progress with his over-aggressiveness he will start to lag behind other middle infielders still in the system. If you're in to conspiracy theories there may be something to the club trading Fermin and keeping Tena, and even though a year older Fermin was closer in profile to what the Guardians have become known for. It's clear the club sees something they like and believe they can draw out the best of Tena, and given how the club needs some power his bat could be a real boost to the Major League lineup if they can figure it out. He'll turn 22 early in the season so there's no rush on getting there, but he has to show some growth to stay in contention as an option in 2023 and beyond.The List so Far:13. Xzavion Curry14. Gabriel Arias15. Jaison Chourio16. Will Brennan17. Joey Cantillo18. Juan Brito19. Nate Furman20. Petey Halpin21. Parker Messick22. Doug Nikhazy23. Tanner Burns24. Joe Lampe25. Isaiah Greene26. Jake Fox27. Jhonkensy Noel28. Jack Leftwich29. Trenton Denholm30. Peyton Battenfield