The Cleveland Guardians are sitting atop the AL Central at 29-17 and have gotten a well-balanced performance from both the offense and the pitching staff so far this season.
There aren’t a lot of players posting eye-popping numbers, but a few players are playing spectacular baseball in a quest to lead this team back to the division title.
Two players in particular stand out for this team so far and are on pace for massive statistical outputs this year.
Jose Ramirez
Cleveland’s 12-year veteran is quietly raking after a somewhat slow start that saw him take a bit of a back seat to Josh Naylor and Steven Kwan, who both came out of the gates white hot before Naylor slowed down and Kwan wound up on the injured list.
Ramirez immediately picked up the slack and is now near the top of the league with 11 homers and 41 RBIs so far, and he is on pace for 40 bombs and 148 RBIs this season.
He recently took over fourth place on the franchise’s all-time home run list and at his current pace will ascend to the No. 2 spot by the end of the season.
Ramirez’s expectations are always high, but even at age 31 and in his 12th season, he continues to clear the bar.
Emmanuel Clase
It feels cheap to choose the team’s two best players as the ones most exceeding expectations, but what Clase is doing thus far is historic.
Clase has a 0.40 ERA through 23 games and sports an 11.5 K/BB ratio and is tied for the league lead with 13 saves.
He has anchored one of the league’s best bullpens and along with Ramirez, should be a lock to make the All-Star team once again.
NEXT: Jose Ramirez Tied A Franchise Legend With Latest Home Run
