Guardians’ Success Through 33% Of The Slate? Look To The Bullpen

It is difficult to imagine a better start to the season and Steven Vogt’s managerial career than what has happened to date for the Cleveland Guardians. We have now reached the 1/3rd mark of the 2024 campaign, and the Guards are sitting at 36-18, one of the sport’s best records.

They rank second in the league in runs scored per game at 4.98, almost a full run per game higher than the 4.09 the finish the 2023 season with. They are third in the AL in ERA, despite losing their #1 starter, Shane Bieber, to Tommy John surgery after two starts.

Last year, the Guardians struck out fewer than any team in the AL, and this year, they still don’t fan a lot, ranking 12th in the Junior Circuit. Their on base percentage is exactly the same as 2023.

They are hitting more homers though. After being last in the league in ’23, they are now 7th, led by franchise icon Jose Ramirez, who is fourth in home runs with 15 and leads the AL in runs batted in with 52.

The switch-hitter has four top five MVP finishes and seems on a mission to win the award this season, although it seems the criteria has changed over the past decade.

It should be pointed out the hitting has done this well without the presence of Steven Kwan, who was leading the AL in hitting when he went on the injured list and had a .407 on base percentage at the time.

It appears he will be back in the lineup, perhaps as early as this weekend’s home stand.

The biggest surprise offensively has been David Fry, who has a 1087 OPS, a .344 batting average with six homers and 19 ribbies. He’s demolishing left-handed pitching at a .421 clip (1452 OPS).

Right now, Vogt is trying to find him more at bats.

The outfield, which outside of Kwan, was dreadful offensively last season, has also improved. Tyler Freeman has an OPS 80 points higher than last year’s CF Myles Straw, and in rightfield, the combination of Will Brennan, Estevan Florial, and the since released Ramon Laureano, have combined for nine round trippers.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Fry in RF when Kwan returns to the active roster.

But the real star for the Guardians so far has been the bullpen, which has far exceeded expectations.

As spring training closed, it was a real concern. Trevor Stephan and James Karinchak, considered the two likely men to pitch the 7th and 8th innings were out. They did get Scott Barlow from San Diego to ease the burden on Emmanuel Clase, but he may have been the only guy with proven success in the late innings.

Enter Hunter Gaddis, who as a starter was prone to the gopher ball. He has a 1.78 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 25.1 innings.

Enter Tim Herrin, a southpaw who had an ERA over 5 last year in his big-league debut. He’s accepted that his stuff is plenty good enough to get major league hitters out. He has a 0.82 ERA.

Enter Nick Sandlin, who gave up 12 dingers in 60 innings in 2023. This year, he is Vogt’s “pacifier”, allowing just two circuit clouts on the season, and just 11 hits in 24.2 innings, fanning 28.

Enter Cade Smith, who didn’t know he made the final roster until the morning of the opener in Oakland. Armed with an electric fastball, he’s punched out 34 batters in 23 innings.

Can they keep it up? That probably depends on the starters providing enough innings to keep the relievers fresh. But right now, when the Guardians have the lead late, victory is pretty much assured.

They are the real story behind the Guardians’ success so far. And after 54 games, it’s now a pretty good sample size.