GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Cleveland Guardians are promoting former Florida right-handed pitcher Franco Aleman to the Major League roster for his big-league debut.
Called on to add depth to the Cleveland bullpen, Aleman will represent the 90th Gator to play in the MLB when he debuts. When that time comes, he will mark Florida’s nation-leading 42nd former player to debut since 2008 as well as the 38th MLB Gator to compete under Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan. Aleman is the first Gator to receive the call to The Show since left-handed pitcher Hunter Barco’s debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sept. 23, 2025.
Things have clicked for Aleman in his fifth professional season. Pitching at Triple-A Columbus, Aleman struck out 18 batters to four walks across 12.0 shutout innings of relief spread over 13 outings. The Tampa, Fla. native was utterly dominant before earning his promotion, logging a 0.58 WHIP and 13.5 strikeouts per nine while surrendering just three hits.
Cleveland #Guardians 25yr old RHP relief prospect Franco Aleman picked up the save tonight for Columbus at Iowa.
Line – 1.0(IP) 0H 0R 0ER 0BB 1SO
(9 Pitches 9 Strikes)
Aleman topped out at 97.1 mph.
2026:
– 12.0(IP) 3H 0ER 4BB 18SO 0.00 ERA#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/GYM2hGNX3R
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) May 6, 2026
Drafted by Cleveland in the 10th round of the 2021 MLB Draft, Aleman played one season with the Gators after beginning his career at FIU (2019) and St. Johns River State College (2020). In his lone 2021 campaign at Florida, he made 23 appearances including nine starts with a 5.74 ERA over 69.0 frames. Aleman struck out 65 batters against 21 free passes while holding hitters to a .274 batting average.
Aleman and the Guardians open a nine-game homestand in Cleveland on Friday night against the Minnesota Twins at 7:15 p.m. ET, which will be the former Gator’s first chance to get a tase of big-league action.
Below is a complete list of Gators to debut in the MLB since 2008.
Florida’s Nation-Leading 42 MLB Debuts Since 2008
Player
Drafted (Round)
MLB Debut
Team
1
Darren O’Day
Undrafted
March 31, 2008
Los Angeles Angels
2
Matt LaPorta
2007 (1st – 7th overall)
May 3, 2009
Cleveland Indians
3
Bryan Augenstein
2007 (7th)
May 13, 2009
Arizona Diamondbacks
4
Ryan Sadowski
2003 (12th)
June 28, 2009
San Francisco Giants
5
Nick Maronde
2011 (3rd)
September 2, 2012
Los Angeles Angels
6
Paco Rodriguez
2012 (2nd)
September 9, 2012
Los Angeles Dodgers
7
Mike Zunino
2012 (1st – 3rd overall)
June 12, 2013
Seattle Mariners
8
Kevin Chapman
2010 (4th)
August 9, 2013
Houston Astros
9
Matt den Dekker
2010 (5th)
August 29, 2013
New York Mets
10
Anthony DeSclafani
2011 (6th)
May 14, 2014
Miami Marlins
11
Cole Figueroa
2008 (6th)
May 16, 2014
Tampa Bay Rays
12
Preston Tucker
2012 (7th)
May 7, 2015
Houston Astros
13
Brian Johnson
2012 (1st – 31st overall)
July 21, 2015
Boston Red Sox
14
Nolan Fontana
2012 (2nd)
May 22, 2017
Los Angeles Angels
15
Austin Maddox
2012 (3rd)
June 17, 2017
Boston Red Sox
16
Harrison Bader
2015 (3rd)
July 25, 2017
St. Louis Cardinals
17
Bobby Poyner
2015 (14th)
March 31, 2018
Boston Red Sox
18
Justin Shafer
2014 (8th)
August 19, 2018
Toronto Blue Jays
19
Eric Hanhold
2015 (6th)
September 4, 2018
New York Mets
20
Richie Martin
2015 (1st – 20th overall)
March 28, 2019
Baltimore Orioles
21
Pete Alonso
2016 (2nd)
March 28, 2019
New York Mets
22
Shaun Anderson
2016 (3rd)
May 15, 2019
San Francisco Giants
23
A.J. Puk
2016 (1st – 6th overall)
August 21, 2019
Oakland Athletics
24
Brady Singer
2018 (1st – 18th overall)
July 25, 2020
Kansas City Royals
25
Dane Dunning
2016 (1st – 29th overall)
August 19, 2020
Chicago White Sox
26
Jonathan India
2018 (1st – 5th overall)
Thursday, April 1, 2021
Cincinnati Reds
27
Jackson Kowar
2018 (1st – 33rd overall)
Monday, June 7, 2021
Kansas City Royals
28
Taylor Gushue
2014 (4th)
Wednesday, June 30, 2021
Chicago Cubs
29
Kirby Snead
2016 (10th)
Wednesday, July 28, 2021
Toronto Blue Jays
30
Mark Kolozsvary
2017 (7th)
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Cincinnati Reds
31
Alex Faedo
2017 (1st – 18th overall)
Wednesday, May 4, 2022
Detroit Tigers
32
Danny Young
2015 (8th)
Monday, May 9, 2022
Seattle Mariners
33
Dalton Guthrie
2017 (6th)
Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022
Philadelphia Phillies
34
Jacob Young
2021 (7th)
Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023
Washington Nationals
35
Wyatt Langford
2023 (1st – 4th overall)
Thursday, Mar. 28, 2024
Texas Rangers
36
Christian Scott
2021 (5th)
Saturday, May. 4, 2024
New York Mets
37
Hurston Waldrep
2023 (1st – 24th overall)
Sunday, June 9, 2024
Atlanta Braves
38
Jac Caglianone
2024 (1st – 6th overall)
Tuesday, June 3, 2025
Kansas City Royals
39
Brandon Sproat
2023 (2nd)
Sunday, September 7, 2025
New York Mets
40
Philip Abner
2023 (6th)
Friday, September 19, 2025
Arizona Diamondbacks
41
Hunter Barco
2022 (2nd)
Tuesday, September 23, 2025
Pittsburgh Pirates
42
Franco Aleman
2021 (10th)
TBD
Cleveland Guardians