The Cleveland Guardians’ pitching staff has been as advertised in 2026 while the offense has been largely hit or miss once again. When you put those two things together, you get a team that has been unable to do quite enough to separate from the pack and heads into the second half with a solid 51-46 record and a tie for first place in the AL Central.
Elsewhere on the diamond, the defense has been about average, though you wouldn’t know it based on the performance of a few notable Guardians.
Thomas Nestico of TJStats shared a graphic detailing the MLB leaders for outs about average among third basemen. Impressively, the Guardians have not one, but two players on the list in Jose Ramirez and Daniel Schneemann, who rank first and fifth, respectively.
“Outs Above Average Leaders – Third Baseman: 1. Jose Ramirez: +6; 5. Daniel Schneemann: +4,” Nestico posted.
Outs Above Average Leaders – Third Baseman pic.twitter.com/UFUFeL5xYO
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) July 15, 2026
It’s impressive that Ramirez is still atop this list considering the fact that he hasn’t played in a month. Even Schneemann has only made 25 starts at third, but he has done it flawlessly without making an error in 225.2 innings.
Of all the accolades Ramirez has accumulated throughout his future Hall of Fame career, he has yet to win a Gold Glove award. Caleb Durbin and Maikel Garcia have been outstanding at third base, and it’s possible the injury could take Ramirez out of the running, but if he can get back soon and continue picking it like he was prior to missing time, he’ll be in the running to finally win that elusive award.
As he always is, Ramirez is the key player for Cleveland’s second half and this team can’t win the division without him. The Chicago White Sox are picking up steam while the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers have turned up the heat as well. If the Guardians are going to three-peat as AL Central champs, they need their superstar and potential Gold Glove winner back as soon as possible.
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