The Cleveland Guardians took a very significant step when they finally moved Steve Kwan out of the leadoff spot in the lineup. The outfielder had been a fixture there during his first four seasons, and the decision by manager Stephen Vogt was not made lightly.
It looked like the wise and obvious move once top prospect Travis Bazzana was finally promoted to make his major league debut. But Bazzana has remained lower in the order while Daniel Schneemann has taken over for Kwan at the top.
Insider Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com recently revealed that Vogt hasn’t moved Bazzana to the leadoff spot because the rookie is doing so well where he is.
“Schneemann, since replacing Steven Kwan in the leadoff spot, is 1-for-15 through Friday. One of the reasons he doesn’t want to move Bazzana to the top of the lineup is that he’s hitting well in the middle and lower part of the lineup. However, if Kwan doesn’t reclaim the leadoff spot, I imagine Bazzana will get a look there,” Hoynes wrote.
Last season, Kwan took all of his 625 at-bats as Cleveland’s leadoff hitter. In 2023 and 2024, he had a total of four at-bats from somewhere else in the order, after he entered the game as a late-inning replacement.
So, moving him down was a somewhat earth-shattering change. However, it was something the Guardians could no longer avoid, as Kwan is having his worst offensive season by far, perhaps caused by his move to center field, with a batting average that has fallen below .200.
In his 17 at-bats since being taken out of the leadoff spot, Kwan has a total of three hits batting sixth or seventh. He does have nine walks, which has kept his on-base percentage at .325 for the season.
Now, even though Schneemann has not distinguished himself in his new role, either, this is no time for Vogt to further mess with a good thing. Coming off a four-game sweep of the rival Detroit Tigers, the Guardians defeated the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday to extend their season-high winning streak to seven games. Cleveland has won 10 of its past 11 games to build a 3.5-game lead over the second-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.
Meanwhile, Bazzana had 13 hits in a recent seven-game hitting streak, which is why Vogt is smart to leave well enough alone, at least for the time being.
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