The Cleveland Guardians have been MLB’s best team to date.
Their 16-6 record certifies their status as contenders, as shocking as that might be considering how bad they were in 2023.
But things are different now: young players have taken a step forward, the pitching is top-notch, and two specific players have graduated from contributors to stars.
The Guards’ Twitter account highlighted these two players.
You probably know their names by now, without having to hear them from us: Steven Kwan and Josh Naylor.
Two of the best hitters in baseball this season, and there's no debate about it.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/BTl9EE5UVR
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) April 22, 2024
They have been, as the team wrote, two of baseball’s best hitters this year.
Kwan has been a fantastic leadoff hitter, with a .358/.378/.474 line, 21 runs scored, 34 hits, two homers, and a .851 OPS.
He has added five doubles and two steals for good measure.
Naylor, on the other hand, has been an elite run-producer who has taken a step forward in the power department.
He is tied for fifth in MLB in home runs with six, and has driven in 20 runs already.
If you subtract Kwan and Naylor from the Guardians lineup, they would look like an average team and certainly wouldn’t have 16 wins already.
With them, however, their run-scoring upside is considerable.
The keys to the Guardians’ season are the pitching staff holding up, Jose Ramirez finding his stroke at the plate, and Kwan and Naylor remaining hot for an extended period of time.
More growth from the young hitters and pitchers certainly wouldn’t hurt, but Kwan and Naylor, each with his own style and skillset, are showing that they can carry Cleveland’s lineup.
NEXT: Guardians Continue To Make Franchise History In April
