Cleveland has outplayed its underlying numbers for much of this season, and a national writer took notice of just how impressive that feat has been when handing out midseason grades across the league. Bleacher Report’s Tim Kelly assigned the Guardians an ‘A,’ one of the higher marks in the American League, while acknowledging that Stephen Vogt continues to squeeze results out of a roster that by most metrics should not be competing this aggressively for a division title.
Kelly laid out the full case for the Guardians’ midseason grade.
“There’s a lot to like about Cleveland’s pitching, with a strong trio of Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee and Parker Messick to go with a bullpen headlined by Cade Smith and Colin Holderman. This team not only has the pitching to get to October, but to be a pain there. Some work needs to be done to bolster the offense. Former No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana has had a strong rookie season, and Jose Ramirez will likely return to regularly scheduled programming when he comes back from a left hamate fracture,” Kelly wrote.
The pitching foundation Kelly points to has been the defining strength of this team all season. Williams, Bibee and Messick have made every single start in this rotation since Opening Day, a feat no other team in baseball can match, and the trio has combined for some of the better ERA numbers among American League starting staffs this month. Cade Smith’s major league-leading 26 saves have provided a lockdown element to the back of the bullpen that few clubs can replicate, and Colin Holderman’s consistency in front of him has turned the late innings into one of Cleveland’s most reliable assets.
Kelly also noted that Vogt, a two-time defending AL Manager of the Year, could be in line for a third consecutive honor if he manages to guide this club to the division title despite a negative run differential. That context speaks volumes about how much Vogt’s in game decisions and roster management have mattered in a season where the lineup has been shorthanded for extended stretches and the offense has ranked near the bottom of the league in multiple categories.
With Ramirez nearing a return from surgery and the trade deadline approaching on August 3, Cleveland has a real opportunity to address the offensive gaps Kelly identified. An ‘A’ at the halfway mark from a national outlet is meaningful validation, but the Guardians have made clear through their own ambitions that the goal is not just to survive the first half. It is to be, as Kelly put it, a pain in October.
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