Bruce Drennan Raves About 4 Young Guardians Hitters

The Cleveland Guardians have lost three of their last four games, but despite the difficult stretch, they remain the gold standard in the AL Central with a 32-25 record. They still have a 3.5-game lead.

They have reached this point largely because of their blossoming core of young hitters. The pitching staff has been, as always, amazing to this point, but the offense has really made the difference this year.

Even in a ‘down’ year by Jose Ramirez’s standards, the Guardians’ bats have been more than competent and have mostly produced, even if the team as a whole is still prone to stretches of subpar offensive performance.

Four young hitters have stood out above the rest, and analyst Bruce Drennan made sure to sing their praise.

“The only way you find out about these kids is getting them Major League at-bats, and now we’re seeing it. DeLauter, now Bazzana’s up, obviously Manzardo in his second year, Rocchio, who’s now a veteran, looks like he’s coming into his own. We shall see, but I like what we’re seeing so far,” Drennan said.

For YEARS, Bruce has hammered home that the Guardians need to play the kids. #GuardsBall

The kids:
– Bazzana .293/.404/.435
– DeLauter .255/.340/.436
– Martinez .240/.280/.457
– Rocchio .299/.382/.420

presented by @FanDuel https://t.co/UCxs9le8gJ pic.twitter.com/kMg1Jnbj1Z

— Bruce Drennan Show (@Bruce_Drennan) May 27, 2026

Drennan is right: to really know whether a specific young hitter has what it takes to make it in the bigs, he needs a real shot. He needs at-bats, and plenty of them. Fortunately for the Guardians, they have been patient enough with these four players, and some others, too, and are currently reaping the benefits.

After a rough start, Kyle Manzardo’s wRC+ is up to 91 as of Wednesday afternoon, before the finale vs. the Nationals. Remember, it was negative not so long ago. He is up to five homers, too, so there have been signs of him returning to last year’s levels. He had a 113 wRC+ in 2025, with 27 homers.

Brayan Rocchio has been, among those who have been up all year, the team’s leader in wRC+ with a 132 mark. He also leads the Guardians in fWAR, with 2.0. He has been arguably the biggest revelation of the season in the AL Central, at least.

Travis Bazzana’s 142 wRC+ is the highest on the team, and he is sporting a .404 OBP before Wednesday’s game. He took over the leadoff spot, and he’s probably not looking back now.

Chase DeLauter is not particularly hot at the moment, but he finished Tuesday’s game with a 120 wRC+. Not bad for a rookie with limited exposure to the upper minors.

These four hitters, in all likelihood, will make or break the Guardians’ season.