Guards Have A Lot Of Rookies, But They’ve Contributed Greatly

Part of the charm of baseball is it seems simple enough to the average fan, so it is easy to think they know more than the manager of their favorite team, in this case, Terry Francona.

We do it too, so we aren’t going to get on a soapbox and proclaim Francona doesn’t know what he’s doing, but on the other hand, we have said this before, Tito is not the Pope, he is not infallible.

For example, the Guardians use Owen Miller kind of as a platoon player when he has not demonstrated much success against southpaws, hitting .214 against them with a 606 OPS.

When Cleveland faced three lefties vs. the Angels earlier this week, Miller was in the lineup all three games, going 5 for 10. Of course, he did!

And while fans like us can sit there and say the Guardians need to go 5-4 in this stretch of nine games (they are currently 3-1) which will probably decide the AL Central, the reality is Francona’s philosophy has been just win the game you are playing today, because really, that’s all you can control.

He talks to his team, in fact, the entire 40-man roster in spring training telling them they are all part of this, and the team will probably need contributions from each player during the long 162 game season.

Although we advocated for Oscar Gonzalez late last season (and Steven Kwan as well, not enough patting ourselves on the back), he wasn’t even on the 40-man roster when the team gathered in Goodyear in March, but what a contribution has he made to this team.

Kirk McCarty looked to be an “organizational arm” coming into the year, but he’s put together several solid outings in long relief to help the team. He doesn’t seem to have outstanding stuff, but he’s been an unsung part of the 2022 Guardians.

Cody Morris has always been a highly regarded prospect, but he’s been called upon to make four starts (including today) in September in a pennant race. He hasn’t been great, but in his last two starts, he’s given the Guards a chance to win.

Richie Palacios has been up and down several times this season, but he’s contributed some huge pinch hits, a tough role for the young player. It will be interesting to see what his role will be in 2023.

Nolan Jones ultimately struggled to make contact at the big-league level, but when he first was called up, he gave the offense a much-needed jolt, which was needed at the time. No doubt he will complete for a permanent job next season, but the organization couldn’t afford patience while in the middle of a division race.

Tyler Freeman provided a big hit this past week, Will Benson made a fine catch at Target Field. Most of the young players who had received an opportunity this season have contributed.

That says a lot about Cleveland’s player development system, and that these guys are prepared when they arrive in the Guardians’ clubhouse.

So yes, Steven Kwan gets a lot of attention and rightly so, he should finish in the top three of the AL Rookie of the Year voting, but there have been a number of rookies who have contributed to the success of this team.

It’s not just having 15 MLB debuts, they have made an impact as well.

Disappointed That Guardians Don’t Add At Deadline

The Major League Baseball trading deadline has come and gone and the front office of the Cleveland Guardians decided to sit it out, making just one small deal for a minor league pitcher.

It’s a curious decision to be sure, especially since the Guards remain just one game behind Minnesota in the AL Central Division race, and the Twins upgraded their pitching staff, trading for a starter (Tyler Mahle) and two relievers on Tuesday.

We weren’t expecting a big blockbuster involving the organization’s best prospects, but we don’t believe anyone can question the Guardians have several players on the current roster that do not perform to big league standards.

To us, it means the front office is fine still using Bryan Shaw (and his 5.63 ERA) and Kirk McCarty on “bullpen days”. With Aaron Civale still on the shelf, why not go out and get a starting pitcher? Our guess is he will miss at least two more turns in the rotation. Are they really going to keep using the Shaw/McCarty model?

And catcher continues to be an offensive hole. We have said many times we understand the organization values defense behind the plate. When they had guys who played great defense and hit .220, that was fine. Austin Hedges is hitting .173 (521 OPS) and Luke Maile is at .206 (602 OPS).

Why not upgrade the hitting at that spot?

Also, although it has nothing to do with the baseball operation, it is still a business that needs customers. We are sure there are many members of the fan base (we would be one) that aren’t happy the front office decided not to make some kind of move when the team has a legitimate chance at the post-season.

We laughed when we heard Terry Francona’s comments about the players deserving to “keep their jobs” based on the way they have played this year.

That’s great, but it’s also not how it works.

Since the front office didn’t strike a deal, then it’s time to see even more young players. The first step happened yesterday when Tyler Freeman was called up, replacing Ernie Clement, who was being used (somehow) as a platoon bat vs. lefties when he was hitting .200 against them.

Many people have said there was no deal for a catcher because of the presence of Bo Naylor, now at AAA. If that’s true, then bring Naylor up right now. He has a 928 OPS at the AA and AAA levels in the minors this season. Why not see what he can do?

As for the pitching staff, either make Konnor Pilkington the fifth starter now, or perhaps try Peyton Battenfield (6-5, 3.31 ERA at Columbus) in that role.

And why not take a look at Nick Mikolajchak in the bullpen? He’s 4-2 with four saves and a 3.15 ERA at AAA, striking out 33 in 34 innings pitched. We’d rather see him than Shaw, McCarty, or Anthony Castro, a reliever Cleveland keeps bringing up when they shuffle their bullpen.

If this season is about seeing what the young players can do, and to date, those young guys have been pretty impressive, then go all in on them.

Once again, the Guardians are telling you next year matters more than the present, and unfortunately, that seems to be the case a lot lately.

At one game out, that’s a difficult agenda to push.