To say the Cleveland Guardians have a problem scoring runs these days is an understatement. As we all know, two of their best hitters, the great Jose Ramirez and rookie Chase DeLauter are currently on the injured list along with their leading home run hitter in Angel Martinez.

Along with that, you have Rhys Hoskins, who in June has gone 7 for 52 (.135 BA, 514 OPS), Daniel Schneemann at 7 for 47 (.149, 437 OPS), and David Fry, who we believe should get more of a shot with the injuries, but it is hard to justify because he’s gone 2 for 24 since May ended.

The replacements for the injured players have done nothing either. Gabriel Arias, the king of toolsy players which the organization can’t see their way to part from, is 4 for 22 since his return from the injured list, whiffing 13 times without drawing a walk (of course), including a platinum sombrero last night.

We posted on social media that we would love to ask someone in the front office what they see in Arias, who now has over 1000 plate appearances in the big leagues with an OPS very much below average at 630. He’s simply not a good hitter.

The other players Steven Vogt has used haven’t done anything either. The Guards have given 26 plate appearances to Stuart Fairchild, who has a career OPS of 690 and hasn’t had a decent season (710 OPS) since 2023 with Cincinnati. The results? He’s fanned 13 times, walked seven and mixed in just three hits.

Kahlil Watson, who was putting up good numbers at AAA, but has always had a questionable strikeout to walk ratio, got his first big league hit last night, but has fanned in eight of those times at the dish.

Petey Halpin, whose minor league career shows a 721 OPS, kind of underwhelming, but the front office was impressed, has started nine games, with six hits and a walk to show for his 38 plate appearances. That’s as a starter. Coming off the bench, he’s gone 1 for 9, so overall he’s 7 for 45 (.156) and a 434 OPS.

Other than Travis Bazzana (837 OPS) and Kyle Manzardo (978), and Brayabn Rocchio, who has been solid all year, but has slumped in the last couple of weeks, there aren’t a lot of players Vogt can write in the lineup that can be counted on to produce as of late.

But the front office seems to not want to try something else.

What we are saying is players like Arias, Fairchild, and Halpin should be expected to contribute much at the plate because their history shows they aren’t good hitters. It’s that simple.

Meanwhile, there is Cooper Ingle at Columbus with a 987 OPS, and a .422 on base average, and a strikeout to walk ratio that should indicate more success at the big-league level, 39 walks to 48 Ks. For example, Bazzana had a 25 K/21 BB ratio when he was called up.

Heck, George Valera, who was DFA’d to activate Arias, has a 26:20 ratio, and we understand no one claimed him, but he put up more quality at bats than either Watson or Halpin have so far.

We recognize Fairchild has a good ratio too, but he’s demonstrated during his time in the bigs that he’s not a good hitter. It means it doesn’t always translate, but being able to tell the difference between a ball and a strike helps hitters greatly.

By the way, we’d even like to see Juan Brito get a second shot. After all, he had only 56 plate appearances.

It’s hard to imagine this team getting to four or five runs consistently with four to six mediocre hitters in the lineup on any given day. The need to try something else.

And soon.