The Cleveland Guardians are somewhat of a mystery heading into the 2024 MLB season.
Will they be closer to the team that won 92 games in 2022?
Or will they resemble the version that won just 76 games last year?
It will depend on a number of factors and circumstances, but it’s fair to say that their true level is probably somewhere in between but leaning toward their 2022 performance if things break right.
What are these “things” that need to happen for the Guardians to have a chance to make the playoffs?
The folks at MLB Network analyzed some of them and highlighted a couple.
“A couple things to look forward to this season for the @CleGuardians: – Growth from young starters Bibee, Allen and Williams – Josh Naylor carrying over his hot bat from the 2nd half,” they tweeted, with a video segment of the analysis.
A couple things to look forward to this season for the @CleGuardians:
– Growth from young starters Bibee, Allen and Williams
– Josh Naylor carrying over his hot bat from the 2nd half 🔥 pic.twitter.com/IelPnSf9fQ— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 4, 2024
The trio comprised of Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen, and Gavin Williams made plenty of headlines last year, for the right reasons.
Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie suffered serious injuries, but those three more than picked up the slack: they were borderline stars.
Bibee had a 2.98 ERA, Williams posted a 3.29 mark, and Allen was at 3.81.
Their sophomore seasons will likely dictate how good the Guardians’ staff will be, but so will the health of Bieber and McKenzie and that’s important to keep in mind.
The other factor that they discussed was Josh Naylor’s excellent second half.
It was quite good, and helped him drive in 97 runs and finish with a career-high .842 OPS.
If he can maintain those numbers, Cleveland will compete.
It’s important to emphasize, however, how big it would be if a couple of their young hitters broke out.
Brayan Rocchio, Tyler Freeman, Gabriel Arias, Johnathan Rodriguez, Estevan Florial: if one or two of that group can take a step forward, then the Guardians have a great chance of returning to October.
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