Much has been discussed about the Cleveland Guardians lineup and its lack of power and punch.
While many of those things are true (they did finish last in home runs among 30 MLB teams in 2023, with 124), it’s not like they don’t have any building blocks when it comes to position players.
In fact, the team itself highlighted a talented trio of hitters that made history in MLB this past campaign.
The future looks bright with these three in our lineup.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/3gLZBerT9f
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) November 20, 2023
Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan, and Andres Gimenez were the first trio in MLB since 1993 to have at least 25 doubles, five triples, and 20 stolen bases each.
It’s not home runs, but hey, it counts.
J-Ram finished with 36 doubles, five triples, and 28 stolen bases, Kwan had 36, seven, and 21, and Gimenez (who got better as the season went on) finished with 27, five, and 30.
Those numbers are very solid, and J-Ram added 24 home runs for good measure.
Josh Naylor, another building block for the future, had 31 doubles and 17 home runs, but fell short on the triples (0) and steals (10).
Besides those four and catcher Bo Naylor (.809 OPS, 11 home runs in 67 games), the rest of the lineup is in flux and could use some improvements.
In fact, the success or failure of the Guards’ offseason hinges on the quality of those improvements.
The Guardians are virtually forced to bring in at least two guys who can consistently hit home runs, perhaps even more.
Power and pitching is the name of the game.
The Guardians have the latter, but the former is a huge organizational issue that they need to correct.
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