Steven Kwan built his reputation in Cleveland by punishing pitches that other hitters could only foul off, and the inside fastball was once the surest sign of trouble for any pitcher who made that mistake against him. That part of his game has all but vanished this season, and Terry Pluto did not hide his surprise discussing it on Cleveland sports radio. The 28-year-old outfielder is hitting just .209 with a .574 OPS, numbers that have left even longtime observers of this team searching for an explanation.
Pluto explained why this particular decline caught him off guard.
“I just never thought he would slump because that was just not his history. When you would throw him a fastball inside, he would turn on it. That’s just gone,” Pluto said.
"I just never thought he would slump because that was just not his history…when you would throw him a fastball inside, he would turn on it. That's just gone."
🚨 @terrypluto w/ @RuiterWrongFAN and @LanceReisland on #Guardians OF Steven Kwan https://t.co/O45TXaoALi pic.twitter.com/EDW5e7u4Y6
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) June 28, 2026
The data backs up exactly what Pluto described. Kwan’s bat speed has fallen to one of the lowest marks recorded since Statcast began tracking the metric, a stunning drop for a hitter who built his career on quick hands and elite barrel control. Kwan has long been regarded as one of the most difficult outs in baseball, a two-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner who rarely chased pitches outside the strike zone. That signature trait disappearing so suddenly is what has made this stretch so jarring for anyone who has watched him over his first four seasons.
Kwan is currently making contact further out in front of his body than at any point in his career, and his hardest hit ball of the season would not have ranked among his top efforts in any previous year. Manager Stephen Vogt moved him out of the leadoff spot back in May in hopes of relieving some of the pressure, a decision that has yet to produce the turnaround the organization was hoping for.
With Cleveland still searching for answers across multiple spots in its lineup, getting the version of Kwan that made pitchers afraid to come inside remains one of the more important developments still to play out this season. Until then, even the people who have covered this team for decades are left wondering where that swing went.
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