The Cleveland Guardians swept the Toronto Blue Jays at Progressive Field this past weekend and are working on a five-game winning streak.
Life is good in Cleveland right now: despite some key injuries, the team is now 49-26 and has a 7.5-game cushion in the AL Central ahead of the Minnesota Twins.
Sunday’s 6-5 victory was a nail-biter and required Cleveland’s elite bullpen to show up and support a rather mediocre outing by starter Triston McKenzie.
Josh Naylor hit his 20th home run of the season and Steven Kwan his seventh.
Naylor is one of the premier power hitters in the game.
Kwan, on the other hand, is a leadoff hitter whose main job is getting on base.
He has done that and then some, considering his seven long balls are already a career high.
“Steven Kwan has reached his career high in homers (7) in just 49 games,” Guardians insider Mandy Bell tweeted.
Steven Kwan has reached his career high in homers (7) in just 49 games.
— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) June 23, 2024
Don’t get us wrong: Kwan has been magnificent at his main job, which is to be on base often for the run-producers on the team.
His .448 OBP would lead the league if he hadn’t missed 23 games with a hamstring injury.
The same can be said about his .390 batting average.
His seven homers, 12 doubles and two triples, however, have increased his already lofty ceiling and made him a complete offensive machine.
Kwan has been one of the most valuable players in baseball if we consider contact, power, speed, and defense: he is a former Gold Glover at left field who continues to play at a high level and has added more pop to his profile.
Kwan is on pace to approach 15 homers at this pace, and they would go really well with his excellent contact and plate discipline skills.
NEXT: Guardians Had Largest Crowd Of The Season On Saturday
