Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan’s future with the team was in serious doubt two or three months ago. When he finished the first half with a wRC+ in the low eighties, fans wer eager to see him packing his bags and going far away, either via trade or to the minor leagues. It was almost a universal sentiment, too, and in all fairness, it was hard to blame them: he was, simply put, harmless at the plate for most of the first three months of 2026.
Even Kwan knows he plays in the best league in the world, and that he needs to perform to stay relevant. It’s as simple as that. The player was a pro the whole time, too: he never blamed anyone but himself; he didn’t criticize his manager for demoting him to the bottom half of the lineup, and he worked.
His performance started to improve in late June, and from then on, he didn’t look back. The 2026 campaign was actually one of his best as a major leaguer, with a 3.8 fWAR and a 114 wRC+.
Despite his incredible second half, some still criticize Kwan because of his lack of power. After hitting 11 balls out of the park last year, that tally dropped to just three in 2026. In a chat with Joe Noga of Cleveland.com, the outfielder discussed this topic and offered some interesting thoughts.
“I probably have the ability to pull a homer if it’s there. But I know what’s been working in the second half. I know my role. Especially, I’ve got seven, eight guys behind me that could hit a homer at any point. So I’m probably not the guy to do that,” Kwan said. “Work pitches, get on base, drain the pitcher out. And yeah, you just keep going from there.”
For many years, it was believed that Ichiro Suzuki had some amazing pull power, and he often put it on display in batting practice. His in-game power output wasn’t great, though, but he chose to be a singles hitter with some occasional gap power because that’s what worked for him for decades.
You could say that situation applies to Kwan. No, we are not saying he is in a similar tier as Ichiro, but the scenario is similar: Kwan can surely try to pull some inside fastballs into the right field stands, and his home run output could improve. However, it could mess up his swing if he sells out for power, and change who he is at the plate, potentially making him a worse hitter.
Kwan is not a power guy. He is someone who makes pitchers work and punishes mistakes with line drives and ground balls. He shouldn’t change who he is, not when his approach has worked for so long.
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