The Cleveland Guardians were counting on internal improvement from a handful of young players as they attempted to boost their offense this season. However, Kyle Manzardo and Bo Naylor, in particular, have gotten off to a very slow start, and the plan is not working as the organization had hoped.
On the other hand, some unexpected contributors have emerged. Defensive specialist Austin Hedges is batting well above his career average, as is Brayan Rocchio while taking over as the starting shortstop.
Meanwhile, Guardians utilityman Daniel Schneemann is quietly climbing among the AL elite, and he is surprisingly among the leaders in a major category.
“Schneemann started in center field on Opening Day. He’s made diving stops at shortstop. He has filled in at second and third base. And he entered Sunday ranked 10th in the American League in OPS. The leaderboard includes Yordan Alvarez, Mike Trout, Aaron Judge … and the 1,003rd pick in the 2018 draft. A 33rd-round pick, Schneemann wasn’t on the radar until he overhauled his swing and approach following the 2022 season. That elevated his profile and helped him break through to the majors as a 27-year-old in 2024. Now, he’s roaming center field, patrolling the middle infield and slugging grand slams,” Zack Meisel wrote.
With the Guardians’ lineup in flux due to injuries in the outfield and on the infield, Schneemann has appeared in 18 of the first 23 games. He is batting .302 with an OPS of .890, which both lead the team, and he hit his first MLB grand slam in a recent loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
Last season, his first full year in the majors, Schneemann appeared in 131 games with a batting average of .206 and an OPS of .636. Excluding pitcher, he played every position except first base and catcher, and impressively made just two errors, both at second base.
Schneemann’s production has been necessary as the Guardians’ offense struggled to produce in the early going. Now, it is starting to come around, with Jose Ramirez breaking out of an extended slump and Naylor and Manzardo each starting to show signs of reaching the potential that Cleveland was counting on.
Despite outfielder George Valera returning from the injured list, Schneemann should still get plenty of opportunities to play, especially if he continues to produce at the plate. Starting shortstop Gabriel Arias remains out for at least a few more weeks, and call-up Juan Brito is not producing as a starting second baseman after a hot start.
It has to be comforting for manager Stephen Vogt to know that Schneemann is available for use wherever a need might arise.
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