The Cleveland Guardians are 11-5 as of Tuesday afternoon.
That’s still the best record in the AL Central, half a game ahead of the 11-6 Kansas City Royals and 1.5 games better than the Detroit Tigers.
As important as win-loss record is for obvious reasons – it is what determines which teams go to the playoffs and which ones are eliminated – there are other stats to monitor and analyze when assessing team performance.
One of them is run differential.
It’s basic math: if a team scores significantly more often than it allows runs, chances are they are really good.
And the 2024 Guardians are very, very good as their +35 run differential shows.
“Guardians have a +35 run differential in their 11-5 start. I know it’s super early, but that’s hard to ignore. Their best run diff in a 16-game span last year was +22,” Cleveland stats enthusiast Ryan McCrystal tweeted.
Guardians have a +35 run differential in their 11-5 start. I know it's super early, but that's hard to ignore.
Their best run diff in a 16-game span last year was +22
— Ryan McCrystal (@TribeFanMcC) April 15, 2024
As he says, it’s hard to ignore such a successful span of play, especially when it’s considerably better than any similar period in the previous season.
Simply put, the Guardians’ pitching staff has been performing masterfully and their underrated offense has been providing support.
The 2024 Guards have also unearthed some hidden gems such as Hunter Gaddis, Cade Smith, Xzavion Curry, Gabriel Arias, David Fry, and the surging Estevan Florial.
They have been among the best teams in the American League, and their first-place standing to this point is very much deserved for the work they do as an organization.
Their 11-5 record and cool run differential are the product of the work of many, many men and women on and off the field.
NEXT: Stat Proves Just How Well Stephen Vogt Is Doing As Manager
