Wednesday, July 16

Welcome back to the Guardians Beat newsletter. My name is Tim Stebbins, and this is my first season covering Cleveland for MLB.com.

CLEVELAND -- Earlier this week, when asked whether this is as good as he’s seen Steven Kwan offensively, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt pointed out the start he got off to last year. Kwan flirted with a .400 batting average into June en route to his first career All-Star nod.

In the early going this season, Kwan is at least beginning to give 2024 a run for its money. He’s off to another torrid start for the Guardians.

“It's hard to say no to that question, but I'm going to,” Vogt said. “His start last year was unbelievable. But he's doing the same things this year. Steven Kwan is one of the best complete hitters in baseball.”

Through 26 games this season, Kwan is slashing .350/.402/.505 with four doubles, four homers, 15 RBIs and eight walks compared to 11 strikeouts. This season, heading into Sunday's series finale against the Red Sox, he has 36 hits, 11 multi-hit games and is currently riding a nine-game hitting streak.

For the sake of comparison, through 26 games last year, Kwan had 39 hits and was slashing .345/.378/.469 with five doubles, three homers, eight RBIs and six walks with 11 strikeouts. 

“It’s kind of annoying. He gets a hit every at-bat,” outfielder Nolan Jones joked when asked what it’s like hitting behind Kwan. “No, it’s great.”

It has at least felt like Kwan is good for a hit each time up in April, which may beg the question: What’s behind his ability to come out of the gates as strong as he has the past two years?

"I think it being the start of the year helps a lot,” Kwan said. “All your prep takes just a little longer, in a good way. You're very intentional. I think when you get to the dog days, it's really easy to kind of just roll through things and be like, ‘Oh, here's another game.’ I think it being the beginning of the year, a locker room, new teammates, all that kind of stuff adds up to be like, ‘Oh, this is awesome.’

“Not that it's not fun every day, but it's new, refreshing. You get to the ballpark and there's fans. It's so exciting. I think it all kind of lends itself to just being maybe 1 percent more focused on every pitch in every game.”

Earlier this month, Vogt playfully referred to Kwan as a “menace” offensively because he sees a lot of pitches and can beat the opposition in a lot of different ways, whether it’s turning on an inside fastball and hitting over the fence or playing small ball. But that concept also includes his ability to cover every quadrant of the strike zone.

In Saturday’s doubleheader, Kwan went a combined 4-for-7 with:

-A double on an 87.8 mph splitter down and inside
-A single off a 93.6 mph sinker up and inside, out of the strike zone and on his hands
-A single on an 89.8 mph changeup at the bottom of the zone
-A single off a 77.3 mph knuckle curveball at the bottom of the zone

Kwan noted how his ability to get to pitches around the zone depends on who he’s facing and where in the count it is. Early, he may hone in on a specific pitch. Later, he may be protecting the plate.

“I don't hit them all the same kind of way,” Kwan said. “But I do feel like I could touch a lot of balls and extend an at-bat.”

Vogt recalled the sweeper that Pirates starter Paul Skenes threw to Kwan down and away last Saturday, which he dropped into right field for an RBI single. That’s been another area in which Kwan has started strong. He’s been Cleveland's most productive hitter with runners in scoring position.

Kwan ranks first on the Guardians with 10 RBIs with RISP. 

“There’s not one pitch that you throw him that he can’t do something with,” Vogt said. “... He’s tough to pitch to. You can’t pitch around him, because he doesn’t chase. He’s a complete hitter, and he’s going good right now.”

We’re used to seeing the Guardians hype up Cleveland fans at Progressive Field. On Wednesday, they took the show a few hundred feet down Ontario St., to Rocket Arena for Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at Rocket Arena.
 
The Cavaliers invited Kwan to participate in their “pull the sword” pregame ceremony prior to their matchup against the Miami Heat. It was a group outing among the Guardians, who joined Kwan at center court as he pulled the sword.
 
Kwan pulled the sword and pumped both fists in the air to hype up the crowd, as his teammates cheered him on.  

“I thought it'd be really cool, too, and the picture showed it,” Kwan said of the group outing. “It was cool having a sword, having all your teammates there, just showing that we're all together as one unit. Everybody was on board, which is really cool. 

“José [Ramírez] kind of came out of the shadows and just joined the group. I didn't even know he was there until the last minute. That was really cool.”

• Emmanuel Clase delivered an encouraging outing in his return from right shoulder discomfort, and it came in a unique situation for the Guardians' closer. Read more >>

• Juan Brito (the Guardians’ No. 10 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline) underwent thumb surgery that is expected to sideline him for eight to 12 weeks. Read more >>

• A pair of winding paths converged with Will Wilson and Zak Kent each making their MLB debut on Wednesday. Read more >>

"He's got grit. That's one of the reasons he's had a nice big league career. He wants it more than everybody else. It's not always easy, but he wills himself through outings. It’s a skill that not too many guys I’ve played with have it like he has.” 

-- Austin Hedges on Ben Lively, after the right-hander’s start in Saturday’s 5-4 win over the Red Sox

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