Guardians Seem To Have Changed Philosophy On Hitting

About 10 years ago, the Cleveland Guardians developed a philosophy about hitting. The theory was it was easier to teach a good contact hitter to hit for power than it was to instruct a power hitter to make more contact.

The prime examples were Jose Ramirez, who hit a grand total of 13 home runs in the minor leagues (216 in the majors) and Francisco Lindor, who’s high in the minor leagues was 11 dingers, and by his second full year in the bigs, belted 33.

Kyle Manzardo, who came in the Aaron Civale deal, also fits this profile. He struck out in 18% of his plate appearances last season and hit 17 homers.

As everyone is aware by now, the Guardians were last in the major leagues in home runs in 2023, so what moves they have made have involved getting power, but they are getting players with high strikeout rates and low walk rates.

Why do we focus on this? Because generally, those players can be pitched to, meaning pitchers aren’t dumb and if they realize they can retire a hitter without throwing him a strike, then they probably won’t.

Not to pick on Amed Rosario, but how many times did we watch him strikeout without the pitcher throwing a ball in the strike zone? We realize the game has changed (not all changes are for the good) and hitters sell out to hit more home runs, but sometimes you can score without getting a hit. Can’t do that with a strikeout.

It’s not impossible for a hitter to succeed with that profile, but it isn’t the norm.

For example, Oscar Gonzalez struck out almost six times as much as he walked in the minor leagues. His first year in the bigs, he hit .296 with 11 homers, but he did fan 75 times with just 15 walks.

His next year? He hit .214 with two round-trippers and struck nine times more than he walked (46:5). It will be interesting to see how the Yankees will handle him.

This off-season, the Guardians elevated Johnathan Rodriguez to the 40 man roster. He has hit 55 home runs the past two minor league seasons, including 29 last season at the AA and AAA levels. He did strike out in 29% of his plate appearance last season in the minors. That’s the bad news.

The good news is his walk rate was the highest of his minor league career. Perhaps that’s a good sign.

The same is true with Estevan Florial, acquired from the Yankees the day after Christmas. Florial hit 28 dingers at AAA last season with a career high 66 walks. He did strikeout in 30% of his plate appearances in the minors a year ago.

The Guardians do a lot of touting of Gabriel Arias, because he has a very strong exit velocity when he hits the ball. However, that’s the problem. He whiffed in 32.8% of his at bats for the Cleveland a year ago.

In addition to being last in the majors in home runs last season, the Guardians also struck out the least. However, it is possible hit for power and not whiff excessively.

Of the top ten in the lowest number of strikeouts last year, five teams made the playoffs, including the Braves, who led the majors in home runs with 307, and Houston, who were fifth in the bigs in runs scored.

We have our doubts that the new power with high strikeout rates will work for the Guardians. We think they should focus on getting more men on base, a higher on-base percentage.

Of the teams with the 10 worst OBP in the sport in 2023, none made the playoffs. Maybe there is a correlation there.

Guardians Need Pop, But From Good Hitters

When people talk about the Cleveland Guardians’ offense and how to improve it, the conversation usually centers around home runs. The Guards simply don’t hit many, ranking last in the majors, 27 behind the team with the next fewest, the Washington Nationals.

But we feel Cleveland doesn’t need guys who hit home runs, rather they need good hitters who can also hit home runs.

Right now, we would say the Guardians have two of these hitters in Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor. Ramirez hit .282 this season with a .356 on base percentage and also had 65 extra base hits, including 24 home runs.

Naylor batted .308 to rank fifth in the American League in batting average (he would have been third had he had enough at bats) with a .354 OBP and 48 extra base hits.

We mention extra base hits because that is power. Getting double and triples usually result in runs being scored.

And we say that knowing we watched the Guardians hit a lot of leadoff doubles and stranded that hitter at second base. The days of get ’em over and get ’em in are over folks. Although we don’t know why.

The Guardians also need to walk more (and swing less). Cleveland ranks 6th in the major leagues in swinging at pitches, and it may surprise you to know of the seven teams that rank highest in swing rate, five of them have bad or average offenses (White Sox, Rockies, Angels, Royals, and Guardians). Only the Braves and Rays buck that trend.

Teams that swing a lot are vulnerable to good pitching, usually because you are not just swinging at pitches in the strike zone. If you are a regular reader of this site, you know we are very suspicious of hitters with high strikeout and low walk rates.

It’s why we are a bit concerned about Gabriel Arias, who had a 32.8% strikeout rate last season with just an 8.1% walk rate. Yes, he hits the ball hard, but he just doesn’t hit it that often.

Hitters who strikeout a lot and walk a lot are fine. First, walking means they are not making outs. Juan Soto is the prototype for this right now, he fanned 129 times this past season, and actually walked more, drawing a major league leading 132 walks.

We found this interesting. The top five in drawing walks in 2023 hit an average of 39.2 home runs, while the top five in strikeouts hit 29.4 long balls, almost 10 less than the more selective batters.

One player, Kyle Schwarber, ranked in the top five of both categories.

So, while the Guardians need to hit more home runs the ultimate goal would be to find hitters who swing at good pitches and can drive them. We thought that became the organizational philosophy when Ramirez and Francisco Lindor arrived. Find guys who make good contact and teach them to drive the ball.

They’ve done the first part, but the driving the ball hasn’t taken hold yet.

Maybe the next wave of that is George Valera, Kyle Manzardo, and Chase DeLauter.

The Guardians need more pop, but getting hitters who make a bunch of outs while doing it isn’t the answer.

Have Guardians Mishandled Middle Infield Prospects

Following the 2021 season, the Cleveland Guardians had five prospects who were consensus top 100 players, and three were middle infielders: Tyler Freeman, Brayan Rocchio, and Gabriel Arias.

At that time, Cleveland had Amed Rosario as the starting shortstop and also had 22-year-old Andres Gimenez, the biggest piece the organization received in the Francisco Lindor trade. Gimenez hit .218 with 5 homers and 18 RBIs (633 OPS) in 188 at bats that season, so he hadn’t established himself as of yet.

Two years later, and the three highly rated prospects are still kind of in limbo.

Arias was given the starting shortstop job after Rosario was moved at this year’s trading deadline, after spending the first part of the year playing first base and right field.

Since assuming the position on August 1st, Arias has batted .218 (29 for 133) with 5 HR and 15 runs batted in, a 632 OPS.

Freeman has received sporadic playing time all year, hitting .240 with a 631 OPS, and Rocchio has spent most of the season in Columbus, hitting .284 with a 796 OPS, but in 70 plate appearances in the big leagues, he hit .242 with a 574 OPS, striking out 22 times.

The point here is not to criticize the players, but rather question the organization for kind of mangling the entire situation.

The purpose of having prospects is to keep the talent flow going through the organization or to use them to get players who are needed at the big-league level. And if you have someone blocking that player and you believe in them, you can move them to another position.

A good example is Jose Ramirez. Ramirez played primarily second base in the minor leagues, but when he was coming up the then Indians had Jason Kipnis, a solid player at his position. So, they moved Ramirez to third base, where he has become a perennial all-star.

So, with the situation for Cleveland after the ’21 season, a decision should have been made to either trade Rosario, making room for Arias, Freeman, or Rocchio, trade one or two of the trio, or moving them to another position.

You could say they tried the latter for Arias, and is his case, he also had some injuries during last year, but again, we are saying this decision should have been made prior to last season.

It is very likely that all three’s value has been diminished since the lack of decision after the 2021 season. They are no longer prospects, so now they are simply young players who have never proven anything at the major league level.

Rocchio might have the highest trade value right now, because he’s had a pretty solid year at AAA.

And compounding this situation is that the Guardians have Jose Tena, who is currently on the big-league roster and Juan Brito, who came over in the trade for Nolan Jones this off-season.

By the way, we have advocated for position changes for Freeman and Brito about a month ago.

It seems like the front office seems reticent to make a mistake, trading the wrong player. But you also have to strike while the iron is hot. We aren’t saying it is easy, but trading a prospect at the right time is an art.

However, what the Guardians have done is not taken advantage of the number of high prospect middle infielders they’ve had and converting them into players they could use.

Instead, they’ve become marginal big leaguers who they can’t find at bats for.

Much like telling a pitcher to “trust his stuff”, the Guardians’ front office needs to trust their judgment. Two years later, they still have a lot of middle infield prospects who are ranked highly.

Let’s see if they have learned from their mistake.

Hope Guardians’ Front Office Knows What They Don’t Know

The Cleveland Guardians have just 15 games remaining in what has been a very disappointing season.

Before the season we said it was very difficult to project how the team would do because most of the players had no proven track record because they were so young and had no experience.

For example, it was probably fool’s gold to say Jose Ramirez would duplicate what he did last season, which was likely a career year. But since Ramirez has been the league for a long time, you can feel pretty confident in saying he will hit 25 home runs, knock in 90-100, and bat around .280.

You couldn’t say that about anyone else projected to be in this season’s starting lineup.

Last season, Andres Gimenez was spectacular, hitting 17 homers and batting .297 with an 837 OPS. This season, his batting average has dropped to .242, his power has dropped 12 dingers.

What kind of player is Gimenez? Defensively, he has remained great, deserving of a second Gold Glove. Offensively? We will likely find out next season. We think you can figure somewhere in the middle, around a 760 OPS which with his glove, makes him a middle infield starter.

Where? He may move back to shortstop, and frankly, he would be our first choice at the position.

Steven Kwan has been reliable compared to most of the balance of the starting lineup, but his numbers have also regressed, dropping from a 772 OPS in ’22 to 715 in ’23. Most of that drop has been his on base percentage, which is .341 compared to .372 a year ago.

If Kwan can get to .350, he’s a solid leadoff hitter and we still think he can become a guy who can get to 10 homers on a yearly basis.

The only players who have exceeded expectations among the everyday players share the same last name: Naylor.

Josh is heading into his prime and raised his OPS from 771 to 849. If not for an oblique injury which cost him August, we would have knocked in 100 runs and still could do it with a hot finish. Again, he’s just 26 years old.

Bo Naylor has greatly improved the team’s offense at the catcher position. Last season, Austin Hedges and Luke Maile combined for 10 homers and 47 RBIs, and a .185 batting average.

Naylor has a 757 OPS, third best on the team for players with over 100 at bats. Why he doesn’t hit higher in the order, particularly in the last month when he has compiled a 1045 OPS (.315 average, 4 HR, 10 RBI) is one of the great mysteries surrounding the team.

Of course, he will go into next season in the same boat as Gimenez and Kwan. That is, with no track record.

So, unless some experienced players are brought in, the Guardians won’t be in a much different position entering 2024. If players like Gabriel Arias or Tyler Freeman are starting, no one will have any idea how they will be able to contribute offensively.

It will still be dependent on Ramirez and Josh Naylor to provide offense and that doesn’t seem like a recipe for success.

Guards Make Contact, But Need To Know Strike Zone

The Cleveland Guardians have been known over the past two seasons as a team that emphasizes contact, putting the ball in play.

It’s a sound theory. Teams that do not strikeout much tend to be good offensive clubs. After the Guardians, the team in the American League with the least whiffs are Houston (4th in the AL in runs/game), Boston (5th), Toronto (8th), and New York (10th).

The Twins lead the league in striking out, and they are 9th, while Seattle is next and they rank 7th.

We have made note since the season started that making contact is not the same as having plate discipline. The league leader in walks in the AL is Texas, and they lead the league in runs scored.

The next three teams in drawing walks are the Twins, Astros, and Angels (6th in runs).

The Guardians do make a lot of contact, but they are a very young team and very few of them now how to work counts and take advantage of the fact that they can make contact.

Jose Ramirez, who does chase a bit because he understands he is the main man in the batting order, still walks more than he strikes out, with 53 walks and 51 whiffs. And Steven Kwan also is very close to having as many walks as strikeouts (49 BB, 57 Ks).

Here are players currently on the big-league roster with over 100 at bats who have struck out three times as much as they have walked: Andres Gimenez (84:27), Will Brennan (45:11), Gabriel Arias (72:24), Oscar Gonzalez (26:5).

And that speaks to awareness of the strike zone. Hitters always look at the screen when they get back to the dugout, so they see their at bats instantly.

Two players, Gimenez and Bo Naylor, simply can’t lay off the high fastball. Pitchers know that and until something changes, they will continue to exploit it.

And that’s why strike zone judgment is important. If pitchers know a batter will chase pitches, they will continue to throw that pitch until a hitter demonstrates either they can handle it or lay off it.

We were always taught they if a hitter gets ahead in the count, especially 2-0 or 3-1, they should zone in for a particular pitch in a particular area so they can drive it. We watch many of the Guardians’ hitters and there just doesn’t seem to be a plan.

And our guess is that hitting coach Chris Valaika is telling them when to be selective. He certainly isn’t telling them to make weak contact.

We also see a lot of Guardians swinging at first pitches which is fine if the guy on the mound is trying to get ahead of a hitter. If the pitch is out over the plate, fine. But not to pick on Brennan, but we’ve seen him swing at first pitches that are off the inside corner.

That seems like just swinging at it just to swing, not looking for a particular pitch.

As we said before, the Guardians are a very young team and mastering the strike zone can be gained from experience. But making contact doesn’t make you a good hitting team unless you can be selective as well.

Why do we like walks? They aren’t outs. And that’s a good thing.

Talking About The Glut At 2B/SS For The Guardians

The Cleveland Guardians have been collecting middle infield prospects for the past few seasons. They either signed or drafted Tyler Freeman, Brayan Rocchio, Jose Tena, Angel Martinez, and Milan Tolentino.

They traded for Andres Gimenez, Gabriel Arias, and Juan Brito. And this is all in the six or seven years.

Plus, they acquired Amed Rosario in the Francisco Lindor trade.

The theory is sound. Middle infielders are usually great athletes and in high school the best player is usually the shortstop unless he throws left-handed. Because they are great athletes, they are equipped to move around the diamond and play other positions.

For example, we have seen Cleveland move Arias to first base and to right field, when help was needed at both spots.

The problem for the organization is the last time we checked, you can only play two people in a game at the middle infield spots, one at second base and one at shortstop.

So, decisions have to be made, but so far, they haven’t.

After the trade of Rosario to Los Angeles, the Guardians called up Rocchio from AAA, giving them Arias, Rocchio, Freeman, as well as Gimenez, the starting second baseman, on the big league roster.

As we noted, they have used Arias at 1B and RF, and Rocchio has played third as well as shortstop, and Freeman has been used at 2B, SS, and 3B, the latter position usually manned by the team’s resident superstar, Jose Ramirez.

We believe the organization feels (again, opinion) Rocchio is the heir apparent at some point, perhaps next season. He’s probably the best mix or glove and bat.

So, that leads us to ask what should be done with the others? There is no question the Guardians need hitting. They rank 12th in the American League in runs scored.

Freeman, who just turned 24, can hit. He’s a .311 hitter in the minor leagues with a 813 OPS, and at AAA, he batted .289 with a 782 OPS. In the big leagues on a limited basis, he’s batted .267 in 181 plate appearances.

That may not be great, but outside of Ramirez, Josh Naylor, and Steven Kwan, no one else on the current roster is doing it.

Why do we like him? To quote Peter Brand in “Moneyball”, he gets on base.

Brito, who will soon be 22 and he has shown to be a very good hitter in the minor leagues, batting .286 with an 877 OPS last season in the Rockies’ organization and batting .293 with an 847 OPS between Lake County and Akron this year.

Our question is why not find spots for these two to play? The Guardians have a gaping hole in the outfield, and they already tried Arias there, so why not Freeman and Brito?

Add in the organization’s philosophy of finding hitters who have good contact rates and teaching them to drive the ball. Both Freeman and Brito put the ball in play.

Robin Yount was an excellent SS who moved to CF later in his career. Rick Manning started as a SS and became a Gold Glove centerfielder. Why not start using Freeman out there to get his bat in the lineup.

As for Brito, we have read scouting reports that say he’s limited to 2B defensively, so why not start moving him to the outfield.

The minor league people will say the players lose value once you move them off the dirt, but are the Guardians trying to have the “most valuable” farm system, or is their goal to win games?

Besides, they have plenty of middle infielders capable of playing the positions at the AAA and AA levels.

Hopefully, when Freeman comes off the IL this week, his name is in the lineup on a daily basis. The organization needs to see if his bat can play at the major league level.

And if Brito is as good a hitter as scouts think, the Guardians need to figure out a way to find him a place to play in Cleveland.

Guards Just Keep Getting Bad News.

If the trades made earlier in the week didn’t deal a crushing blow to the post-season hopes of the Cleveland Guardians. Friday’s news didn’t help.

Josh Naylor went on the injured list with a strained oblique and the team offered that he will be out 3-6 weeks, a rather vague length of time. Naylor currently ranks 5th in the league in batting average and third in RBIs, and provided solid protection for Jose Ramirez.

And while we understand the logic of the Josh Bell deal to Miami because the Guards would be on the hook for $16 million next season as Bell was not going to decline his option, the fact remains that the 12th best scoring offense in the AL has now lost two of their five best producers.

Too bad the just acquired Kyle Manzardo isn’t ready to play.

It’s funny that everyone complained about the Guardians not being able to find playing time for some of their young players throughout the first four months of the season, and now, they have nothing but opportunities for them.

One player who won’t be able to take advantage for now is a guy we have clamored to see more of in Tyler Freeman. Freeman also went on the IL with a shoulder issue, and hopefully he will be back before Naylor.

For now, we will likely see a lot of David Fry and Gabriel Arias at first, we guess, with possibly a little of newcomer, veteran Kole Calhoun, acquired from the Dodgers after hitting .297 with a 906 OPS in AAA this season.

Keep in mind though, in 125 games with Texas last season (in the big leagues) he hit .196 with a 587 OPS.

Brayan Rocchio, probably the Guardians’ top prospect will come up and get regular time at SS, we would imagine. A switch-hitter, he batted .291 with a .383 on base percentage at Columbus this season, and we have heard folks complain about his lack of pop this year (he hit 18 homers last year), his slugging percentage is just slightly off from a year ago, because he had 26 doubles and five triples at AAA.

With the DH slot opened up, Jose Ramirez will be able to get off his feet at times, and we would imagine Oscar Gonzalez will get plenty of time there as well. Gonzalez was called up after Cleveland moved Amed Rosario last week, and has gone 6 for 16 since returning to the big club.

Speaking of Rosario, is anyone else amazed that all of a sudden, he can play other positions? If you haven’t noticed, he’s playing second base with the Dodgers. Why didn’t the Guardians move him there? We think everyone would agree the Guards’ defense would have been better had Andres Gimenez and Rosario simply swapped spots.

And lastly, it looks like the club is finally going to see what Xzavion Curry can do with the fifth spot in the rotation. He will start today and stay in the rotation going forward. We believe that decision is about a month too late.

Meanwhile, Cleveland still hovers just 3.5 games out of first in the AL Central.

With the injuries to Naylor and the trades of Civale and Bell, it would seem the chance of defending the division title grows smaller each day, but here we are.

We know the players will keep grinding. But will that be enough. The fact that the team is gritty is probably the biggest reason they were upset with the front office on August 1st.

Is Rosario Trade The First Shoe To Drop?

The Cleveland Guardians took their first step in rebuilding their roster before the trade deadline when they dealt SS Amed Rosario to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Reportedly, the Guards are getting RHP Noah Syndergaard and cash in return.

Reports are Cleveland is not releasing the veteran right-hander.

Moving Rosario helps clear up some of the glut of middle infielders Cleveland has either at the big-league level or in the high minors.

When the Guards moved Francisco Lindor to the Mets, we said Andres Gimenez was the key to the trade because Rosario doesn’t walk much and doesn’t have much pop. He has to hit in the .280 range to have value, and he did that in his first two seasons here but dropped to .265 this year.

Add that to his poor defensive work at shortstop, and it was time for Cleveland to take a look at other options.

What didn’t or doesn’t help Rosario’s cause is he didn’t seem to either embrace or take to any position changes. He played 24 games combined in the outfield his first two years with the Guardians but didn’t appear to be comfortable. He could be a bigger asset to a team playing vs. lefties and being a “super utility” type player.

Terry Francona always referred to Rosario and Jose Ramirez setting the tone for the team in terms of playing hard and being aggressive on the basepaths, and that was invaluable to the young Guardians in 2022 and carried over this season.

Now, who moves into the SS role in Cleveland? Gabriel Arias is the best defender, but he hasn’t been able to hit (590 OPS, 52 strikeouts in 162 plate appearances). Brayan Rocchio is probably the future at the spot, and is hitting .295 (804 OPS) at Columbus.

However, we would like to see Tyler Freeman get the first shot there. Freeman would be an upgrade defensively, and in his limited appearances seems to be a better offensive player with a 723 OPS. Rosario’s OPS was 675.

It seems in the organization’s best interest to see what Freeman, a career .312 hitter in the minors (813) can do with everyday playing time.

Syndergaard has been terrible with the Dodgers, compiling a 7.16 ERA this season in 12 starts, allowing a whopping 71 hits and 12 long balls in 55.1 innings. He is currently on the 15 day injured list.

He hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since June 7th when he allowed six runs in three innings at Cincinnati. So, don’t look for him to jump immediately into the Cleveland rotation.

It’s probably a little bit of we will make the deal if you take the balance of Syndergaard’s contract.

What the Guardians do get to do is have the opportunity to diagnose whatever problems he’s been having, perhaps it’s a mechanical issue. Last year, he was 10-10 with a 3.94 ERA in 135 innings between the Angels and Phillies. So, it’s not like he is far removed from being an effective starting pitcher.

Our guess is this isn’t the only move team president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff will make before Monday.

You also have to wonder if the front office made the move to eliminate the temptation to put him in the lineup on a daily basis.

How Do Young Players Get Time On A Contender? Produce.

The Cleveland Guardians have a conundrum when it comes to playing young players. While conventional wisdom would say you need to give guys coming up from the minor leagues time to fail first, when you are still in a competitive situation, that luxury isn’t there.

We have heard the refrain before and still hear it when it comes to players like Nolan Jones and Will Benson, although the reasons for trading both of those guys were related to the 40-man roster.

The latest young Guardians’ player that engenders this debate is Gabriel Arias. Arias came over to the organization in the massive haul that was the Mike Clevinger deal from the Padres and was rated as a Top 100 Prospect by both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus

Arias is a defensive wizard. He is a shortstop by trade, but has shown the versatility to play other positions very well. He played first base in the playoffs a year ago and has been playing quite a bit of right field this season.

However, he’s never been an elite hitter. His career OPS at the AAA level is 768, mostly because he has had issues controlling the strike zone with 188 strikeouts and 64 walks in 806 plate appearances. His OPS for his minor league career is 735.

Those issues have carried with him in the big leagues, where this year he is hitting .187 with a 606 OPS, and 50 punchouts in 154 times at the dish.

By contrast, Tyler Freeman has a career OPS in the minors of 813, carrying a .312 batting average and a 785 OPS in AAA. His credentials say he’s a better hitter than Arias.

Arias started getting some regular playing time starting May 16th and hit home runs in starts on May 18th and 19th, in the latter game it was a dinger which gave the Guardians the lead in extra innings vs. the Mets.

From May 18th through June 3rd, a span of 15 games, Arias went 12 for 40, a .300 batting average with eight walks and eight strikeouts. That’s promising.

From June 4th through today, Arias has received 34 at bats and recorded just three hits (.088) with six walks and 12 whiffs.

As we said earlier, if the Guardians were the Oakland A’s or Kansas City Royals, they could just ride out Arias’ (or any young player’s) cold streaks and hope they come out better for it. They just don’t have that option right now.

A team in contention for a playoff spot needs players who can contribute when called upon. Is that fair? No, it isn’t and frankly, we believe the Guardians’ brass would agree with that.

And make no mistake, with Jose Ramirez still in his prime, the front office should be feeling pressure to win and win now.

Two other young players, Tyler Freeman and David Fry, haven’t had nearly the opportunity afforded Arias, who the organization was trying to create ways to get at bats, but they’ve produced when called upon.

Freeman has only had more than one at bat in consecutive days twice this season, but he’s hit .290 in 62 at bats. Fry has only had more than one at bat two days in a row once but has contributed a big three run HR vs. San Diego and two game winning hits (June 24th vs. Milwaukee and Tuesday night vs. the Braves).

And Fry strikes out a lot too, fanning 13 times in 44 plate appearances.

So we ask, if you were Terry Francona, who would you play when an opportunity arises? That’s what trying to get young players at bats while contending looks like.

Straw’s Offensive Woes Making Us Forget The Glove At Times

We want Myles Straw to work out. After coming over from Houston at the trade deadline in 2021, Straw hit .285 in 60 games, getting on base at a .362 clip. He stole 13 bases and even hit two home runs.

Since the 2021 season ended, so has Straw’s offensive production. He has 761 at bats in that time span, collecting 170 hits, a .223 batting average. His walk rate has also dropped, going from 10.8% when he first arrived in Cleveland to 9.1% last year and 9.2% this season.

And he famously is the only major league regular player to not have hit a home run since the ’21 season concluded.

His line drive rate, a little over 30% with the Astros, and 36.5% in the 60 games with the Indians in ’21 has dropped to just under 25% this season. Although he’s never been a pull hitter, he did it around 19% of the time in 2020 and 2021.

That percentage has dropped to 8.6% this season.

Straw is a tremendous defensive centerfielder, a Gold Glove winner last season. However, we like to point out that the great Ozzie Smith hit .211 in his second year in the big leagues with a 522 OPS. And if he didn’t steadily improve on those numbers, not only would he not be in Cooperstown, he also wouldn’t have played 19 years in the majors.

The point there being you have to be at least a respectable hitter to play at the big league hitter.

We are sure Straw would like to be better with a bat in his hand, but the results aren’t there. In the second game in San Diego this past week, Straw was due up with the bases loaded in the 7th inning of a game where the Guardians were trailing 4-0.

We instantly said (before the result) that Terry Francona had to send up a pinch-hitter, either Gabriel Arias (decent numbers vs. RHP although a small sample size, also a threat to hit a HR) or Tyler Freeman (solid contact hitter), but the skipper let Straw bat.

He struck out.

We aren’t going to get into what was said after the game, but it was odd at best.

We understand Straw is never going to be Tony Gwynn or Jose Ramirez at the plate. However, it would be great if he could develop a skill of fouling off pitches, working counts, so he could draw more walks and being able to bunt. We have heard on broadcasts that he is a terrible bunter. Why not working on that?

And it would be even better if he started stealing again. He hasn’t stolen a base since May 18th. With his speed, we were shocked by that.

If this were the 1995 Indians, the team could live with Straw’s defense, but this Cleveland squad is currently 12th in the league in runs scored per game. Perhaps a boost in the offensive production at the catcher spot with Bo Naylor’s arrival (not saying he’s Johnny Bench, just saying the Guards should get at least a bit better offense) will help hide Straw in the batting order.

We thought back to the 1986 New York Mets, when manager Dave Johnson would famously start Kevin Mitchell at shortstop from time to time (Mitchell was better suited as a LF or DH). Johnson’s rationale was let the Mets get the lead and then he’d get Mitchell out of there for a better defender.

Perhaps the Guardians should think about using Straw that way. Get a lead, and even if it’s in the 5th inning, put him in the game to take advantage of his defense.

In the meantime, if Straw doesn’t add some things to his game that make him a better hitter, he’s going to be someone managers will be looking to replace in the lineup.