Looking For A Bounce Back From Straw

A year ago, the outfield for the Cleveland Guardians was largely unsettled. Myles Straw, who came over from Houston in ’21 was entrenched in centerfield, but the other two spots were up for grabs.

We would bet most people don’t remember Amed Rosario was the opening day leftfielder in Kansas City, and Steven Kwan played in right after a great spring training forced the front office’s hand.

Oscar Mercado was getting time against southpaws and Josh Naylor was still in the mix out there as well.

By seasons’ end, it was pretty set, as the Guards had two Gold Glove outfielders in Kwan and Straw, and Oscar Gonzalez was called up and secured right field and was a post-season hero.

Will Brennan parlayed a tremendous minor league season (.314, 13 HR, 107 RBI, 850 OPS) into a September call up and post-season roster spot.

Straw wound up being one of the most criticized players on the Cleveland roster, mainly because he had three months where he was dreadful with a bat in his hands. He hit .178 (508 OPS) in May, .149 (412) in June, and .093 (222) in August.

That last month probably was what got Brennan the big-league opportunity.

In those months where the bat was really struggling, he seemed to be pushing everything to the opposite field, rarely even pulling ground balls through the left side.

With his speed, we would still like him to add the bunt to his offensive repertoire, if only to make corner infielders pinch in at the corners and thus create more holes.

In total, Straw hit .221 (564 OPS) for the season without a home run, but his incredible defense kept him in the lineup, and makes him the incumbent coming into training camp.

However, we are forgetting that Straw has not been that poor of a hitter since he came to the bigs. He’s also not Willie Mays either.

After Straw came over from Houston, he played in 60 games with Cleveland and batted .285 with a .362 on base percentage, which explains why Terry Francona put him in the leadoff spot to start the 2022 season.

For the entire season, 156 games played, Straw batted .271 with a .349 OBP, hitting four homers and stealing 30 bases.

And in April, he kept up what he did to finish the season in ’21, hitting .291 and getting on base at a 38.7% clip. And he finished strong as well, a .364 on base average in September last season.

We felt all season that Straw just suffered through a bad season in 2022 and he will bounce back this year.

He may not get back to the numbers he had in 2021, but if he can get the average up to the .250 range and mix in 50 or so walks, he will get plenty of playing time.

Of course, what the other three outfielders do will help determine the amount of at bats Straw will get too. Remember, neither Kwan, Gonzalez, nor Brennan have much of a track record at the big-league level.

It plays well for Brennan that he is a left-handed hitter, so he can get some at bats vs. tough right-handers in place of either Straw or Gonzalez.

Although we are optimistic about the Guardians’ outfield in 2023, it is far from certain on any of the quartet, including Kwan, whose rookie season seemed magical. Pitchers will start attacking what they consider weaknesses, and it is up to him to adjust if the moundsmen have some success.

But we also expect a much better year from Myles Straw. We are sure he is looking forward to putting his performance in 2022 in the rear-view mirror.

If Guards Have A Bullpen Opening, Who Takes It?

Every year, Terry Francona gives a talk in spring training to the entire roster, the 40 man and the non-roster invitees. It has been reported (we say that only because we aren’t present) that he always discusses how everyone in the room will be counted on to have a successful season.

As we know, stuff happens every year. At the beginning of camp last year, could we have seen Oscar Gonzalez, Enyel De Los Santos, or Will Brennan being contributors?

Some of us thought Gonzalez could get a shot and that Steven Kwan deserved a shot, but enough of that.

Slumps happen, some players don’t put up the numbers they did in the past, and certainly, injuries always play a role.

Right now, the Guardians’ bullpen is in that state of flux because of injuries.

It was reported earlier in the week that southpaw Sam Hentges has some shoulder inflammation and is “week to week”, which doesn’t sound like he will be ready for Opening Day. That’s a big blow because the big lefty is the only proven piece that throws from the left side.

And De Los Santos and Nick Sandlin, both of whom figured to be in Seattle on March 30th, have not pitched in an exhibition game.

Now, bullpen guys can get ready faster than starting pitchers because they usually work just one inning at a time, so conceivably if they are ready to go by the middle of March, there is a good chance they will not miss any time.

To be fair, closer Emmanuel Clase hasn’t pitched in a game either.

Many people had another left-hander, Tim Herrin, making the 26 man roster to open the year, but with Hentges’ shoulder barking, he seems to be a lock to make the team.

Francona and pitching coach Carl Willis like to use their big-league relievers early in games to get a look at better hitters. On Friday, Herrin pitched the fourth inning.

If Herrin becomes a lock, and the Guards bring 13 pitchers north (or northwest since they open in Seattle), who gets the last spot?

If the staff wants someone who could pitch multiple innings, they could go with someone like Xzavion Curry or Hunter Gattis, both of whom were starters in the minors last season, and by the way, also made some big league starts, each getting a pair with Cleveland.

Both have faced high quality hitters in Arizona (visit Baseballreference.com) and have fared well. Gattis has fanned six in 4-1/3 frames, allowing just one hit, but three walks. Curry has a pair of two inning outings, allowing five hits, but just one run.

Or they could go with Konnor Pilkington who did make 11 starts with the Guards last season, going 1-2 with a 3.88 ERA. His problem was throwing strikes, walking 32 batters in 58 frames.

Another 40-man roster option is recently acquired Jason Bilous, who fanned 131 batters in 105.2 innings in the White Sox’ system last year. He did have a 6.30 ERA between AA and AAA though, as his control has been an issue.

The Guardians seem to view him as a reliever, as he has made two one inning appearances thus far, striking out four and walking a pair.

There is still time for De Los Santos and Sandlin to be ready, but Hentges may not have enough time to get back by the end of the month.

So, Francona and Willis have to sort out some candidates to take his place.

Some Free Agent Bargains For Guards?

Tomorrow will be February 1st, and that means it’s just a matter of time before baseball fans hear the first sign of spring: “Pitchers and catchers report to spring training”.

The Cleveland Guardians filled two holes this off-season, signing 1B/DH Josh Bell and C Mike Zunino as free agents, and both figure to get a lot of playing time, at least early in the 2023 campaign.

However, there are still some free agents sitting out there and a few of them could help the Guardians, and they could probably be signed at a bargain price, which is always attractive to the Cleveland ownership.

Here are a few guys we would be interested in:

We know the organization is committed to their young outfielders: Steven Kwan, Myles Straw, Oscar Gonzalez, and Will Brennan. However, it’s tough to overlook a player who can get on base like Robbie Grossman, who actually was in the Cleveland camp a few years ago.

The veteran switch-hitter, now 33 years old, has a career on-base percentage of .346, and against southpaws in his career, has a 790 OPS and gets on base at a .377 clip. He had a tough season a year ago, split between the Tigers and Braves, batting just .209, but had a 772 OPS in ’21 with Detroit, belting 23 home runs.

If Brennan isn’t ready or isn’t getting regular at-bats, or Gonzalez is having strike zone issues, he’d be someone who could step in. And that would also allow Will Benson to get regular playing time at AAA.

Another former Tigers piques our interest in the pitching department. With Anthony Gose probably missing the entire season, the Guardians could use another lefty out of the bullpen to go with Sam Hentges. Andrew Chafin would seem to be an ideal fit.

He appeared in 64 games for the Tigers last season, compiling a 2.83 ERA and striking out 67 hitters in 57-1/3 innings. And he had a 1.83 ERA for Oakland and the Cubs in 2021.

In his career, he’s held left-handed batters to a .222 batting average and a 603 OPS and his marks vs. right-handed batters are similar (.231 average/655 OPS). He would give Terry Francona another veteran option in relief.

We get the Guards had a lot of success with players coming up from the minor leagues a year ago, but even though the Cleveland farm system is very strong, that doesn’t happen every season, so it would be nice to fill a hole here and there with veteran alternatives.

In the past few seasons, we felt the Guardians needed outfielders badly, but the performance of the young players last year filled most of the holes. And we still believe Straw will rebound with a much better offensive season than a year ago.

We also normally like to add another experienced starting pitcher, but the organization has a plethora of prospects who could make a spot start early in the season if need be. We saw most of them a year ago, hurlers such as Cody Morris, Konnor Pilkington, Hunter Gaddis, and Xzavion Curry.

Still, it wouldn’t hurt anything to take a shot at either Grossman or Chafin. They could give the Guardians a lot of bang for their buck.

Hard To Gauge What Guardians’ Young Players Will Do

The Cleveland Guardians surprised everyone in northeast Ohio and frankly in baseball as well by winning 92 games and the AL Central Division title last season.

That has their fans very excited for the 2023 season because, after all, with a young core of position players and pitching staff that had the 4th best ERA in the American League, why wouldn’t they?

They also seemed to take care of their weak spots in their lineup. The DH spot was a huge hole because Franmil Reyes collapsed, and the catching spot was completely devoid of any offense, as they signed 1B/DH Josh Bell and C Mike Zunino as free agents.

However, there is an old saying in the game that a player’s statistics will match those on the back of their baseball card, meaning players have track records, and usually they will produce close to what they’ve done in the past.

Unfortunately, very few Guardians’ have a history of performance because they are so young. Of course, we know Jose Ramirez, if healthy, will be in the mix for the AL MVP. He has finished in top five in the voting four times in the last six years.

And you know what you are going to get from Amed Rosario too. He going to hit around .280 with a 700 OPS, and he’s going to not walk much.

Even Josh Naylor has only one season with more than 250 at bats at the big-league level.

The newcomers have been around for a while, so you can figure Bell is going to hit 20+ home runs, knock in around 80 or so, and have an OPS around 800. Zunino will hit the long ball more often than the Guardians’ catchers last season, but he will strike out. A lot.

We would all like to be optimistic about the young players who had marvelous seasons in 2022, but the truth is, we don’t know what Steven Kwan, Oscar Gonzalez, and even Andres Gimenez is going to do in 2023 for sure.

That doesn’t mean they will not be productive in 2023, but it’s difficult to count on each player to meet or exceed what they did in 2022.

Because we are a big believer that future success is based on knowledge of the strike zone, obviously we think Kwan has the best chance for improvement. We think he learned as the season progressed to pick his spots in driving the ball, so we think his slugging percentage will improve and he could approach or surpass 10 homers. Still, that’s not his game, so it needs to occur naturally.

Gonzalez is the opposite of Kwan, not walking much, but as we have suggested before, maybe Gonzalez is the Cleveland version of White Sox’ Tim Anderson, a hitter who succeeds with a poor strikeout to walk ratio. Still, he’s a player to watch.

Gimenez was spectacular last season, starting the All-Star Game and winning a Gold Glove, but it was also his first season with more that 210 plate appearances. His strikeout to walk ratio isn’t good (112:34) and his on base percentage (.371) was high because he was hit by a league high 25 pitches.

As proof it can happen, look at Myles Straw. In his first full year in the big leagues, 2021, Straw hit .271 with a .349 on base percentage. Last year, his second season, he hit .221 with a .291 OPS.

We aren’t saying everyone will regress, and quite frankly, we think Straw will rebound and be much better next year.

We are saying it is hard to judge players without a firm track record. For the most part, the pitching staff has that. It’s the offense that is more of a concern.

How The Guards Handle Their Prospects Will Be Interesting

The Cleveland Guardians have one of the best farm systems in Major League Baseball, and that’s after they graduated players like Steven Kwan, who is a finalist for American League Rookie of the Year, and Oscar Gonzalez.

While this bodes very well for the future, how the front office handles the glut of young players who should be ready to be in the big leagues over the next couple of years should be very interesting.

Some teams with great farm systems trade a number of their prospects for an All-Star type player. Think about the Cardinals trading for Paul Goldschmidt or Nolan Arenado. However, the Guardians don’t seem to operate that way, being averse to long-term, high-priced contracts.

Let’s look at the shortstop position for the Guards. Amed Rosario is the incumbent, and certainly was a big contributor to the 2022 Central Division title team, batting .283 (715 OPS). He is arbitration eligible and can be a free agent in 2024.

The organization also has Gabriel Arias, Tyler Freeman, both of whom spent most of the season at AAA, but did play in the bigs, and the player we believe is the future for the organization in Brayan Rocchio, who hit 18 HR and knocked in 64 runs with a 755 OPS at Columbus and Akron.

Now Rocchio probably won’t be ready for the bigs until 2024, but what will Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff do with Rosario, Arias, and Freeman? One of them could change position or be a utility infielder, we did see Arias play 1B in the playoffs, but does the other go back to AAA? And if that happens, doesn’t that block Rocchio?

The same situation exists in the outfield where Will Brennan is knocking on the door. Terry Francona could use the outfield spots and DH in a rotation, but that would preclude the front office from getting a power bat that could play a corner outfield spot, and perhaps first base as well.

And we haven’t mentioned George Valera, who is likely on the same timetable as Rocchio. The soon to be 22-year-old hit .250 with 24 homers and 82 ribbies (816 OPS) between AA and AAA this past season and could be ready sometime during the ’23 campaign.

We haven’t mentioned the pitching staff because the top prospects, Daniel Espino, Gavin Williams, and Tanner Bibee aren’t considered candidates to make the big-league roster to open the season, but we could definitely see one or more of them making a start in the second half of the ’23 season.

And we didn’t mention the hurlers who came up last year to help: Hunter Gaddis, Xzavion Curry, and Konnor Pilkington, nor did we say Peyton Battenfield, who went 8-6 with a 3.92 ERA at Columbus.

It’s easy to give these young players a shot on a non-contending club, but the Guardians made the post-season and were baseball’s youngest team in 2022.

This isn’t to say, there still isn’t room for improvement. We have said before it before, standing pat would be the wrong thing to do. But it will be interesting to see how Antonetti and Chernoff handle this situation.

Most organization would trade three or four of the prospects for a big-time talent, but we don’t see that as an option for Cleveland. That isn’t to say the payroll won’t increase, but the philosophy of the front office isn’t to have many long-term, big money deals on the books.

Yes, Guards Need More Pop. They Need More Walks Too.

For all of the talk of “small ball” and lack of power, the Cleveland Guardians’ offense wasn’t terrible in 2022. They did rank 6th in the American League in runs scored at 4.31 and their team OPS of .699 ranked 7th and was just below the league average (701).

They were 6th in on base percentage, mostly because they ranked 4th in the AL in batting average at .254. They did rank 11th in slugging percentage and as we should all know by now they were second last in the Junior Circuit in home runs.

By now, even casual baseball fans know Cleveland is the hardest team in the major leagues to strike out. It’s funny that Andres Gimenez led the team in strikeouts with 112 and then Amed Rosario with 111. Third? That would be Franmil Reyes, who wasn’t on the team since the beginning of August.

We have talked about how we believe the Guardians need some pop before next season, and they could probably use a player who can fill in at 1B/OF/DH, preferably a right-handed hitter.

They could also use more walks. They were 11th in the AL in working bases on balls. And if you are going to preach contact, and we believe in that approach, then you would hope the hitters could be more selective at the dish.

Jose Ramirez led the team in walks with 69, a total that ranked ninth in the league. He was followed by Steven Kwan with 62 and then Myles Straw with 54. Remember that Ramirez got less and less patient as the year went on.

We would have to think Kwan will walk more with experience (and with umpires realizing he has a pretty good grasp of the zone), and Straw worked more in 2021 (67 times).

Hopefully, Gimenez can learn the strike zone better. He did have a .371 on base percentage, but that was more a product of being hit by a league high 25 pitches. He only drew 34 walks. As a comparison, Owen Miller worked 32 bases on balls.

Rosario doesn’t walk either, but he’s been around long enough to show he simply doesn’t have that skill set. His career high is just 31.

Josh Naylor’s walk percentage went up from 5.6% in ’21 to 7.6% in ’22, so perhaps he can improve that rate again.

Some of younger players have a track record of taking walks. Bo Naylor walked 82 times in the minor leagues last season. Will Brennan drew 50. Will Benson had a tough time because of sporadic playing time when he got to the bigs, but at AAA, he worked a team high 75 times.

And Tyler Freeman has a minor league on base percentage of .376.

Why more walks? If you don’t get a hit, but you walk, guess what? You don’t make an out. And you move the line along. Not to mention you make the opposing pitcher work more.

The contact approach would seem to go hand in hand with drawing more bases on balls.

So, having more power would certainly help, but getting more baserunners would help as well. We wouldn’t be surprised if this was something the Guardians’ front office took note of too.

Previewing Guardians And Yankees

The Cleveland Guardians will face a much stiffer challenge in the upcoming American League Division Series, and we don’t think that is breaking news.

First, the Guards will head to Yankee Stadium for two games in the Bronx, whereas all three games against Tampa Bay were scheduled for Progressive Field.

Secondly, the Yankees are a better team than the Rays, winning 13 more games in the regular season. They also won seven more than Cleveland, including five of six in head-to-head meetings.

While the Rays were 11th in the AL in runs scored at 4.11, New York led the AL averaging almost a run more per contest at 4.98, and they were second in the league in OPS as a team, behind only Toronto.

Pitching wise, while Tampa was third in team ERA just ahead of Cleveland, New York is second at 3.30.

You are supposed to play better teams as you move on in the post-season, so this is nothing to be surprised about, but the Yankees are a much better offensive ballclub. There is no Aaron Judge in the Rays’ batting order.

As for the season series against the Bronx Bombers, remember the Guards made their only trip to New York way back at the end of April. In fact, the starting pitcher for the first game of that series was Eli Morgan, making his only start of the year.

He was following in that game by Logan Allen, Tanner Tully, and Konnor Pilkington. It was that long ago.

The second game of the series was the contest where there was an altercation between Myles Straw and the fans in the bleachers after Steven Kwan was hurt. Emmanuel Clase blew the save, making his ERA for the season 7.71.

The last game was a blowout, a 10-2 Yankee win, with Aaron Civale taking the loss. Civale was really struggling at the time.

The three-game set in Cleveland involved a rainout (surprise) and a doubleheader on Saturday, in which Kirk McCarty started the first game, a 13-4 loss. Civale started game two and was losing 2-1 going into the seventh before he tired and the bullpen allowed four runs.

In the finale, Triston McKenzie pitched a masterpiece, going seven, one hit innings, and Clase survived an error in the ninth to save it. That dropped his ERA to 1.31 on the season.

A little bit of a difference, eh?

It is interesting to note the Guardians saw Garrit Cole and Nestor Cortes, the game #1 and #2 starters each twice in the six regular season contests, while the Yankees saw Cal Quantrill and McKenzie each once. Shane Bieber, who will toe the rubber Thursday night, did not pitch against New York during the season.

That alone could account for Cleveland’s 1-5 record this year.

And for what it’s worth, both Quantrill (6.1 IP, 3 runs) and McKenzie pitched well against the Yanks.

Can the Guardians win this series? Sure, they are a much different team than they were in early July when the two teams last met. Heck, Oscar Gonzalez didn’t have an at bat against New York.

However, the offense is going to have to produce. We doubt scoring three runs in two games will win anything.

That’s why the play the games, right?

Five Big Wins For Guardians This Year

It was an improbable road to the Central Division championship for the Cleveland Guardians. Most folks thought Terry Francona’s squad would be around the .500 mark, yet here they are, poised to begin the playoffs Friday at Progressive Field.

All the victories, and it appears they will win more than 90 games, are important, but to us, some were more relevant than others.

Here are our five most impactful triumphs for the Guardians this season.

Game 3, April 10th: Cleveland 17, Kansas City 3

After scoring one run in the first two games, the Guardians exploded for six runs in the first and four in the second, highlighted by Oscar Mercado’s grand slam home run. Owen Miller started at first for Bobby Bradley, who started the first two games, and Steven Kwan went five for five in a portent of things to come.

Miller had three hits and four RBIs and became a fixture in the lineup for a while. Bradley never got back in the lineup, and this was the first step toward a more contact-oriented approach for the Guards’ offense.

By the end of that week, Yu Chang came down with COVID, and he never got his job back either, as Andres Gimenez became a fixture.

Cleveland scored 27 runs over the next three games.

Game 29, May 9th: Cleveland 12 Chicago 9, 11 innings

This was the Josh Naylor game. After losing 7 in a row to the Yankees and Angels, Cleveland won 7 of 9, going into Chicago.

The Guardians trailed 8-2 going into the ninth, but got two back on a Gimenez home run and an error. With two outs, Miller singled to load the bases, and Josh Naylor hit a grand slam off All-Star closer Liam Hendricks to tie it, and hit a three-run shot off Ryan Burr to give the Guards a 12-9 lead in the 11th.

Cleveland lost the next two, but this one demonstrated the Guardians never thought they were out of a game.

Game 61, June 19th: Cleveland 5, Los Angeles Dodgers 3

Francona’s club started a key nine game trek to Colorado, LA, and Minnesota by sweeping the Rockies and splitting the first two with the mighty Dodgers. Jose Ramirez missed the last two games of the series, including this one.

Trailing 3-2 going into the top of the 8th, the Guards tied it on a pinch-hit double by Richie Palacios, and then scored two off LA closer Craig Kimbrel on a Gimenez single and a sacrifice fly by Ernie Clement, subbing for Ramirez.

Emmanuel Clase pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, and the Guardians wound up 7-2 on the trip.

Game 101, July 31st: Cleveland 5, Tampa Bay 3

The Guardians were going with a bullpen game because Aaron Civale was hurt, while the Rays started All-Star Game starter Shane McClanahan.

The Guards worked the southpaw hard, making him throw 96 pitches in 4-1/3 innings, scoring three in the 2nd and two in the 5th. Myles Straw had a two-run single in the second, and Austin Hedges had the single in the fifth to provide the cushion.

Unsung hero Kirk McCarty threw 3-1/3 frames allowing one run, before Eli Morgan, Trevor Stephan, and Clase finished off Tampa.

Game 136, September 9th: Cleveland 7, Minnesota 6

Cleveland took the division lead on August 10th and had a four-game edge on August 25th before a disastrous stretch against Seattle and Baltimore, where they lost 8 of 10.

Heading into Target Field with a two-game advantage, the Guards took an early lead on a Naylor single and a three-run homer by Oscar Gonzalez. That lead stretched to 7-0 after four and a half before the Twins rallied with two runs in the 5th, 6th, and 8th innings.

The 8th inning was highlighted by Twins’ skipper Rocco Baldelli checking James Karinchak’s hair for sticky materials.

Clase finished it in the 9th and the Guards swept Minnesota, practically ending Minnesota’s hopes.

All wins were important to be sure, but to us, these had deeper meanings for the 2022 Guardians. Hopefully, more important ones are still on the horizon.

Guardians Among The Best At Their Positions

We are a big fan of the website, baseball-reference.com, and we look at it at least once a day, qualifying us, we guess, as a baseball nerd.

In their version of WAR (wins above replacement), the Cleveland Guardians rank in the top three in the American League in four positions: Second base, shortstop, leftfield, and third base.

It is probably shocking that the hot corner is the spot they are third, behind Boston (Rafael Devers) and Houston (Alec Bregman), because Cleveland’s best player, Jose Ramirez mans that position.

It would probably also surprise you that the Guardians leader in WAR is not Ramirez, but Andres Gimenez.

Disclaimer alert here: One of our problems with WAR is that it is weighted to middle of the diamond players. Still, it is something to use in comparing players and their importance to a team.

When the Guardians acquired Gimenez in the trade that sent Francisco Lindor to the Mets, we felt he was the key to the deal. He was a top prospect and came to the big leagues at age 21, hitting .263 with a 732 OPS in 49 games of the COVID shortened season.

We did not anticipate this kind of season though. Now 23, he made the All Star in his first full big league season and should get Gold Glove consideration at second base.

All this after he hit .218 (633 OPS) a year ago.

His on base percentage (.375) has been propped up by becoming a magnet for pitched balls (16 HBP), but after having a strikeout to walk ratio of 31:4 in April and May, since then it is 51:19, still not great, but an improvement.

Amed Rosario seemingly doesn’t get on base enough (.320) to hit second, and doesn’t have a lot of pop either (.409 slugging percentage with just 36 extra base hits), but he has been a huge factor in the Guardians’ rise to first place to date in the AL Central.

Last season, he was frankly below average defensively at short, the most important position in the infield, but he has improved to the point he makes the routine plays. With the Guardians’ glut of middle infield prospects, we don’t know how long Rosario will play his current position, or even remain with the Guardians, but he has made a big impact on this team.

We discussed bringing up Steven Kwan at the end of last year (with Oscar Gonzalez), but he was in the lineup on Opening Day, with only Terry Francona seemingly being surprised, and hasn’t let go of the job.

He has done what we thought he could do, that is make contact and get on base. He has a .372 on base percentage and has walked more than he has struck out. And he has a respectable .393 slugging percentage. He’s been a perfect table setter for this lineup.

And of course, you have the remarkable Ramirez, who probably will finish in the top three of the MVP voting for the fourth time in the last six years.

He leads the AL in doubles, is second in RBIs, tied for sixth in triples, and second in extra base hits. And let’s not forget, he is the undisputed leader in the clubhouse. The way he plays the game rubs off on everyone on the roster.

These four players have had tremendous seasons. Looking at them in no way minimizes the contributions of others, but this quartet have been among the best in the AL at their respective positions.

Tough Spot For Guardians’ Newest Rookies

The Cleveland Guardians started the season using Steven Kwan in left field and Andres Gimenez at second base, and by the end of the first weekend were using Owen Miller everyday as well.

That trio is 24, 23, and 25 years old, respectively.

As the season went on, we saw more young players. Oscar Gonzalez (24) and Richie Palacios (25, and since sent back to AAA) both contributed to the team’s success.

Since the beginning of July, the Guards called up Nolan Jones (24), Will Benson (24), and Tyler Freeman (23) to the big-league roster.

The organization wants to look at these players, but one thing complicates this philosophy: The Guardians are a game ahead of the Minnesota Twins and in first place in the AL Central Division.

There are always ups and downs with young players. Kwan, for example, had a poor May, hitting .173, but he made adjustments and has batted over .300 in each month since.

Miller had a torrid first month of the season and had a decent July, but has struggled otherwise and at this point hasn’t figured out what pitchers are doing to him.

So, Terry Francona is charged with the task of getting the three newest Guardians the playing time they need as young players, while continuing to win ballgames. And that’s not easy.

Right now, it’s tough to write Jones’ name in the lineup, but if he’s on the roster, you have to.

The rightfielder started great going 9 for 27 before the all-star break. Since then, in 61 plate appearances, Jones has hit .203 with one homer, and has fanned 22 times against just two walks.

Right now, he might be too selective, taking a number of fastballs in the strike zone for called third strikes.

It really hasn’t been fair for Benson, who since his call up on August 1st, has only played in 12 games, getting more than one at bat in just seven of them. He’s gone just 3 for 25 and has fanned nine times in 28 times at the dish.

That’s why Gonzalez has become pretty much the everyday guy in right, with Benson and Jones filling in when he DHs and with Benson getting some time in centerfield to give Myles Straw a breather.

Freeman gets into the lineup with Jose Ramirez is the DH and has spelled Amed Rosario a couple times as well. He’s been okay, going 5 for 22 with three walks and getting hit by three pitches. He has struck out just once, true to his minor league numbers, but outside of a ringing double to left a few days ago, he hasn’t been driving the ball.

It just shows why teams don’t like to bring up prospects unless they can get regular playing time and it also shows it is easier to rebuild and develop players when the team isn’t having success.

From now until the end of the season, the Guardians have to find playing time for Jones, Benson, and Freeman, and find it in situations where they have a chance to succeed. That’s not easy.

On the other hand, when these guys do get in the lineup, they have a pressure to perform, and that’s good. While they are playing, they are learning how to win.

That’s what team sports is all about.