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.

Guardians’ Biggest Surprise? Division Is Up For Grabs

Baseball’s unofficial half way point of the season has arrived, and the Cleveland Guardians are just two games out of first place in the American League Central Division.

Is that a surprise? That really depends on how you view it.

We felt the Guardians would finish slightly below the .500 mark this season, projecting them with 79 victories. Since they are 46-44 right now, a mere two games above the break even point, they really cannot be considered shocking.

However, we are surprised they sit just two games out of first place.

What is eye opening is that the favorites coming into the season, the Chicago White Sox, have battled injuries and bad defense and sit at 46-46, a game behind Cleveland and three games behind the division leading Minnesota Twins.

So really, the surprise is the mediocrity of the division, not the Guardians’ record.

Still, the Guards have battled through a number of rainouts and therefore, doubleheaders, and a shift in the organizational philosophy, starting to depend more and more on a healthy farm system to replace non-productive players.

Steven Kwan, who did not have a big league at bat coming into the season, has played in 78 of the team’s 90 games, and has hit .279 with a .361 on base percentage.

Oscar Gonzalez played in 32 games before being injured and another player without MLB experience coming into the season, Richie Palacios, has been in 39 games.

And no doubt, Nolan Jones should be the next rookie to hit the 20 game plateau.

You would think unless some of the younger guys hit a wall, playing an extra 20 games in a season, the Guardians should be better in the second half because of the experience they have gained thus far.

The health of the pitching staff has been good (knock on wood). Only Aaron Civale has been on the injured list to date and he is currently on the shelf. Cleveland has only used eight starters this year, mostly because another rookie, Konnor Pilkington has been slotted in as the doubleheader starter.

He earned that role by being solid when Civale was injured earlier in the season.

However, with Civale out again, and more twin bills coming, the depth of the organization will be tested. We would guess another rook, right-hander Peyton Battenfield might get the next look, unless a trade is made.

Whatever the organizations’ plan was for this season should be adjusted because the division hasn’t played out how most people thought and is very much up for grabs. Even though the Guardians are in some ways conducting tryouts for young players, they are in the mix for a post-season spot.

We aren’t suggested going all in on a rental player, but we are sure the front office will be looking for players who can help now and over the next few seasons.

And remember, Cleveland still has a glut of middle infielders on their 40 man roster, and will need to clear more spots to protect more players coming through what now maybe the best farm system in the sport.

The big surprise is that no one has taken the AL Central Division and ran with it. Cleveland is right there. And maybe it wasn’t in the plans in March or April, but the Guardians are a contender.

Let’s hope the brass thinks they are too.

We’d Like To Be Watching Baseball, But…

We should be watching or listening to a baseball game today. Mind you, not one that counts, but the thoughts of Opening Day would be dancing in the heads of any baseball fan.

Instead, the sport is still dealing with a lockout, not a strike, as many in the media have portrayed the absence of players in Florida and Arizona. The owners are causing this.

We do understand their reasoning, they lose leverage if the season started and the players decided to walk out let’s say, August 1st.

However, the lockout started in early December and the owners basically sat on their fat wallets and didn’t have any negotiations until the calendar turned to 2022.

So, fans of the grand ol’ game are left watching the snow fall or melt (hopefully) instead of seeing how the Cleveland Guardians will be answering the questions they have concerning the roster that starts the regular season, no matter when it starts.

By the way, we are sure there will be a flurry of trades and free agent signings (probably not by the Guardians) as soon as an agreement is reached. We are sure general managers have been talking to agents and other front office executives throughout the lockout.

What will Terry Francona do at the keystone positions? Amed Rosario hit well enough last season, but his defense was wanting. Does he move to second base, or is he traded? Does Andres Gimenez take over at short in ’22 with the battle taking place at second, between Owen Miller, Yu Chang, and Richie Palacios.

In the outfield, who plays the corner spots flanking Myles Straw? Veterans Bradley Zimmer and Oscar Mercado would seem to have an edge because of experience but to us, most of that experience has not been pleasant for the fans because it has been filled with outs, and lots of them.

Where does Josh Naylor fit in? First, the Guardians have to determine if and when he can play, and once he can, does he stay in the outfield or does he become part of the first base competition.

How does the rest of the bullpen shake out? We are sure some arms will sign minor league deals to come to camp and compete for spots to join Emmanuel Clase, James Karinchak, and likely Anthony Gose, Nick Sandlin, and Trevor Stephan among the relief corps.

And who becomes the backup catcher behind Austin Hedges. Sandy Leon will be in camp, but hopefully another backstop is brought in as a non-roster invitee to compete.

The biggest thing we are missing is watching the top prospects in the Cleveland farm system getting opportunities in exhibition.

We would be keeping a particular eye on Palacios, OF Steven Kwan, SS Brayan Rocchio, and SS/2B Tyler Freeman.

In our opinion, Kwan and Palacios should get a real shot of not only making the team out of camp but getting some regular playing time.

And yes, we know typically that’s not how Francona and his staff operate, but we can always hope, right?

Instead, we aren’t watching any baseball and may not for the foreseeable future. And that’s a shame. With all that is going on in the world, we could use some diversion.

Unfortunately, we are held hostage by a bunch of people who don’t appear to even like baseball.

And that’s the saddest situation we can think of.

Guardians Should Buck The Trend And Embrace The Stolen Base

In the past couple of years, Cleveland professional sports teams have gone against the grain in their respective sports.

Today’s NFL is largely a passing league, but the Browns’ offense is based around the running game, featuring one of the best running backs in the sport in Nick Chubb, and another former NFL rushing champion in Kareem Hunt.

The Cavaliers have gone away from the current trend of guard oriented attacks and three point shooting, and J.B. Bickerstaff starts three players 6’11” or more on a nightly basis.

For the most part, those teams have had success being different.

We would like to propose the third professional team in town, the Guardians do something other teams are not doing as well.

Bring back the stolen base.

Most of the teams around the major leagues are talking long ball. Scoring runs with a few base hits are rare now. The collective batting average in the American League last season was .245. When the Indians were the American League champions in 2016, the league average was .256.

The Guardians can hit home runs, they were 7th in the AL last season. But they were third worst in the circuit in on base percentage.

They did rank 2nd in the league in stolen bases though. Why not go against the grain and have an homage to the way the sport was played in the 70’s and 80’s?

Myles Straw stole 30 bases last season, but he gets on base at a .349 clip. Could Straw steal twice that many if encouraged to do so? We believe he could.

Jose Ramirez belted 36 dingers last season, but he is one of the best baserunners in the game. He stole 27 bases last year and surely could do the same this season.

Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez, one of whom will likely be the Guards’ starting shortstop in ’22, combined to steal 24 bases without being caught. Both have excellent speed and whoever gets the bulk of the playing time should be able to swipe 30 bases.

The prevailing thought today is the fear of getting caught stealing, thus ending a rally or taking the bat out of a player like Ramirez’ hands.

So, to embrace the speed game, you must eliminate fear. If Straw gets on base and steals second leaving first base open with Ramirez coming up, let the opponents put him on. Then do a double steal, putting the runners on second and third.

We aren’t big fans of Bradley Zimmer and/or Oscar Mercado, but if they earn spots in the lineup, it just adds another speedster to the batting order. Zimmer in particular can fly.

Richie Palacios, who could make the Opening Day roster with a good spring, stole 20 bases between AAA and AA last season. If he’s on the roster, let him run.

Using the running game would also help with the excitement factor at the ballpark and give the newly named Guardians a new identity. And you would put pressure on the defense and the opposing pitcher knowing the team would be uber-aggressive on the basepaths.

We wouldn’t ask a slugger like Franmil Reyes to be running wild, but when you think about it, how many “sluggers” do the Guardians have? The team’s personnel kind of lends itself to a speed game.

The Guardians are aggressive already trying to take extra bases on hits, and we love that. But why not extend it to stolen bases?

Bring back the steal! The Guardians are the team to do it.