Steven Kwan has built a reputation as one of the most consistent hitters in the sport, which makes his current season stand out even more. Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report named him the most scrutinized player on Cleveland’s roster as part of a leaguewide breakdown.
“At this point in the 2024 campaign, Kwan was flirting with a .400 batting average. Last year, he was batting north of .300 into late June. However, he simply is not generating hits, or stealing bases, at anywhere near his usual rate. And with Jose Ramirez, broken hamate, out of commission for the foreseeable future, the Guardians desperately need their two time All Star to start pulling his weight again,” Miller said.
The numbers back up the concern. Kwan enters play with a .209 batting average, 1 home run and a .574 OPS across 234 at bats, a dramatic drop from the player who has hit at least .268 in each of his previous four full seasons.
Kwan was Cleveland’s fifth-round pick out of Oregon State in 2018 and quickly developed into a two time All Star and four time Gold Glove winner. A player with his contact history does not typically see this kind of decline, and the timing could not be worse for a Cleveland lineup that is already without its best hitter.
Jose Ramirez underwent surgery to repair a fractured hamate bone, leaving a significant void in the middle of the order.
There have been flashes of the player Cleveland is used to seeing, but he has been inconsistent.
Cleveland sits in a tight division race, and getting Kwan back to even a fraction of his typical production would go a long way toward stabilizing an offense already managing multiple injuries. The Guardians have leaned on contributions from across the roster in his absence, but a return to form from a player of his caliber remains one of the more impactful developments that could still happen this season.
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