Josh Naylor And David Fry Lead Powerful Team Leaderboards

The Cleveland Guardians started off their season on the right foot, winning three out of four games in Oakland.

Their offense, much criticized for its lackluster performance in 2023, was actually very solid in the first weekend of action.

Granted, the A’s aren’t the best way to measure the quality of the Guards, but they did what they had to do and are now off to tougher tests in the American League.

Guardians Prospective offered a couple of important team leaderboards after the first four contests of the season: average exit velocity and hard-hit rate.

Some of the leaders are actually quite surprising.

“Cleveland #Guardians through 4 games: Average exit velocity leaders: 1) Josh Naylor 92.3, 2) Brayan Rocchio 92.1, 3) Tyler Freeman 91.2. Hard hit percentage leaders: 1) David Fry 62.5%, 2) Tyler Freeman 50.0%, 2) Will Brennan 50.0%,” they tweeted.

Cleveland #Guardians through 4 games:

Average exit velocity leaders:

1) Josh Naylor 92.3
2) Brayan Rocchio 92.1
3) Tyler Freeman 91.2

Hard hit percentage leaders:

1) David Fry 62.5%
2) Tyler Freeman 50.0%
2) Will Brennan 50.0%

— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) April 1, 2024

Average exit velocity carries very little value with such a small sample, but it’s still nice to see Brayan Rocchio and Tyler Freeman near the top.

It’s definitely not surprising to see Josh Naylor leading the pack, but it’s still a positive development.

It’s still awfully early to draw significant conclusions from the hard-hit rate leaderboards, too, but watching David Fry hit more than half of his batted balls at 95 mph or higher is reassuring.

Freeman is also hitting the ball hard often, which is huge since he is expected to be the team’s center fielder.

Will Brennan carries breakout potential and his presence on the list is also good news for Cleveland’s offense.

As stated, tougher tests are ahead for the Guardians’ young hitters, starting with the Seattle Mariners and the Minnesota Twins this week.