Analyst Reveals Startling Stats Between 2 Key Guardians Batters

By now, everyone who follows the Cleveland Guardians closely knows that outfielder Steven Kwan is on a tear. He is starting to resemble the contact king who led off the offense for years and became a two-time All-Star after struggling for most of the first half.

Additionally, fans are also aware that shortstop Brayan Rocchio has recently struggled to replicate his early-season form. In a way, he is the opposite of Kwan: he opened the 2026 campaign showing a new level of offensive potential, but has scuffled for weeks now.

Analyst Mike Lucas couldn’t help but be amazed at how different the path for each player has been in recent weeks. It’s night and day.

“I knew Steven Kwan was red-hot & I knew Brayan Rocchio was struggling lately, but seeing their numbers over the last month side-by-side is startling,” Lucas posted.

I knew Steven Kwan was red-hot & I knew Brayan Rocchio was struggling lately, but see their numbers over the last month side-by-side is startling… pic.twitter.com/aWq1OuGPu6

— Mikey McNuggets (@MikeLucasTV) August 13, 2026

In the last month, Kwan is hitting .419 with a .995 OPS that resembles a slugger in his prime. The most impressive part of it all is that Kwan has been doing that with virtually no impact power, as he homered just once in the last 30 days. It’s all contact and on-base ability.

Rocchio, on the other hand, is hitting a paltry .168 with a .449 OPS in the last month. No, that’s not OBP or slugging percentage; that’s OPS.

Rocchio can still impact games with his phenomenal glove, which is what happened on Wednesday when he fielded an incredibly tough ball and got the runner at first in time to seal Cleveland’s win. Unfortunately, he appears to be reverting to the mediocre hitter he was during his entire career before 2026.

As of Thursday morning, and before the series finale in Detroit, Rocchio boasts a 94 wRC+. That’s still good enough to be a career-high, but it’s a disappointing number if we consider that, just a few weeks ago, it was over 110.

Rocchio’s early-season contributions, elite defense, and solid baserunning have allowed him to contribute a team-leading 2.8 fWAR in 2026. If he can go back to producing at the plate, the bottom of Cleveland’s lineup could start flourishing. It’s a big if, though.