The Cleveland Guardians managed to complete a solid first half. It wasn’t bad, and it wasn’t excellent: it was a good run that has them with a 51-46 record, sharing first place in the division.
Things could certainly be smoother if a couple of specific players start showing up and performing better than they did in the first half. These two Guardians need to shine after the break if the team wants to reach new heights:
Steven Kwan
Among position players, Kwan is the obvious choice. The good news is that he has started to play better in recent games, but there’s still a long way to go before we can officially declare him ‘back’.
The talented outfielder, a two-time All-Star, has slashed a disappointing .225/.332/.282 with an 81 wRC+, one home run, and six stolen bases so far in 2026. There has been significant progress in the last few weeks, though.
Since June 23, Kwan is slashing a cool .309/.387/.418 with a 131 wRC+, two doubles, two triples, and three stolen bases. He is starting to look like the Kwan of old, the one who boasts a 108 career wRC+.
His first half was awful, though. He has been worth just 0.9 fWAR, and his absolute worst mark came in 2023 at 3.0. He is well off that pace, but still has time to turn things around.
Shawn Armstrong
The Guardians’ rotation has been excellent to this point, but the bullpen tends to be inconsistent from time to time. The top guys have mostly been great, such as Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, and Colin Holderman.
Armstrong, on the other hand, hasn’t performed as the Guardians hoped when they gave him a $5.5 million contract in the offseason. Believe it or not, that’s significant money for Cleveland, and they expected more than a 4.55 ERA, a 4.79 FIP, and a negative -0.1 fWAR.
Armstrong posted a 2.31 ERA last year in Texas and boasts a 3.87 career mark. He is capable of much more, and both he and the team know it.
At this point, it’s hard to fully trust Armstrong in high-leverage spots. If he enters that circle of trust eventually, the Guardians’ bullpen could be close to unstoppable.
NEXT: Guardians Make Big Move Up In Latest Power Rankings
