The Cleveland Guardians have managed to maintain their hold on first place in the AL Central despite getting very little offensive production from one of their best players. Outfielder Steven Kwan is having the worst season of his five-year MLB career, and he has lost his role as the team’s longtime leadoff hitter.
Kwan’s season started fine, with seven hits in his first five games. However, he has tailed off considerably since then, with a .202 batting average in June, followed by a .188 mark in May.
Now, MLB.com insider Tim Stebbins is naming Kwan as the one player the Guardians hope will heat up in June as he further adjusts to his new spot in the lineup.
“Kwan is slashing .207/.329/.259 through 54 games, and the Guardians recently moved him out of the leadoff spot for the first time since June 2022. While Travis Bazzana has fared well since moving to the leadoff spot on May 23, the Guardians count on Kwan to consistently get on base and to be an offensive catalyst. Kwan heating up would lengthen Cleveland’s lineup, no matter where he bats going forward,” Stebbins wrote.
Kwan was showing modest signs of a turnaround, with five hits in his past four games, before he missed the final three games of last month, being placed on the bereavement/family medical emergency list. He is eligible to return as soon as Tuesday, which is the series opener against the New York Yankees.
The outfielder was first replaced at the top of the order by Daniel Schneemann. But after Schneemann went through a cold spell, Bazzana was moved there, a spot he was expected to take at some point in his career, but perhaps not this soon.
Since the change, most of Kwan’s at-bats have come from the seventh spot in the order, and he has shown the kind of value he used to have as the leadoff hitter. He has seven hits in 26 at-bats (.269) while also taking seven walks. When batting sixth, he has four walks in nine plate appearances. His current on-base percentage of .329 is almost equal to his .330 of last season, but Kwan’s batting average and OPS are well below those marks.
Meanwhile, Bazzana has a .344/.382/.656 slash line, and a 1.039 OPS, in 32 at-bats hitting leadoff. If he continues to produce anywhere close to that, it is very unlikely that Kwan will get the job back.
That doesn’t mean the two-time All-Stat still can’t be a valuable hitter, but he will have to perform better than he has been for that to be the case.
NEXT: Guardians Send Message To Peyton Pallette After Departure
