The Cleveland Guardians head into Wednesday’s game at 3-3, which is just fine considering the fact that they have begun the season with a seven-game West Coast road trip against two of the best teams in baseball, the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers. While the offense has been largely unproductive thus far outside of Chase DeLauter’s blistering start, it’s understandable given the pitchers they have drawn up to this point.
The first six starters the Guardians have had to deal with are Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Emerson Hancock, Roki Sasaki, and Shohei Ohtani, with reigning World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto up next on Wednesday. It’s a brutal stretch and goes a long way in explaining why three of the team’s hitters have struggled mightily to begin the season. The heart of the order has been abysmal thus far.
Jose Ramirez, Kyle Manzardo, and Bo Naylor are batting just .100, but they gave the Guardians credit for still finding a way to be 3-3 despite those struggles.
“When your 3,4,5 hitters Ramirez, Manzardo and Naylor start the year 6-60 with 2 XBH and 4 RBI’s hitting .100 in the first 6 games and you go (3-3) so far vs the Mariners and Dodgers, how?” Guardians Prospective posted on X.
When your 3,4,5 hitters Ramirez, Manzardo and Naylor start the year 6-60 with 2 XBH and 4 RBI's hitting .100 in the first 6 games and you go (3-3) so far vs the Mariners and Dodgers, how?#GuardsBall
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) April 1, 2026
Nobody is worried about Ramirez, who is one of the most consistent and productive bats in the league, but if the other two don’t get cooking soon, there will definitely be some concern. Manzardo had a breakout campaign in 2025 with 27 homers, but he is still only 25 and could be prone to a sophomore slump.
In an ideal world, Naylor wouldn’t be batting fifth anyway. He is a career .202 hitter, and his batting average has declined in each of his three years in the bigs, but until or unless somebody else emerges as more of a threat, he’ll likely continue hitting in one of the most prominent spots in the lineup.
If Rhys Hoskins, CJ Kayfus, or perhaps a returning George Valera comes in and starts delivering, it’s tough to find an alternative to Naylor in the five hole.
No matter how you look at it, the offense has been struggling, but hopefully the heart of the order can get cooking once they get some slightly more favorable pitching matchups on the schedule.
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