The Cleveland Guardians have a plethora of young and talented players on their roster.
But not every player on the roster is producing.
One such player who isn’t having so much luck is utilityman Ernie Clement.
Though the sample size isn’t a large one, Clement is hitting just .196 on the season.
He has yet to hit a home run and has only driven in five runs thus far.
Yet the Guardians have been playing him consistently.
One MLB writer from The Score tweeted about how Steven Kwan has a much better wRC+ than Clement, but sat twice over the weekend against lefties when Clement’s wRC+ vs. lefties is at 36.
Ernie Clement (36 wRC+ vs LHP) started twice against lefties this week. Steven Kwan (108 wRC+) and his 70-grade-bat/eye sat twice. Small samples, but Kwan needs to play everyday, imo.
— Travis Sawchik (@Travis_Sawchik) June 26, 2022
Clement Struggling At The Plate
Clement has struggled to be consistent thus far in 2022, while Kwan remains a consistent threat at the plate with his 108 wRC+ against lefties.
So, it’s confusing as to why he sat out a few games while Clement, who is struggling to hit consistently, is getting more playing time as of late.
Again, the sample size is small, but the stats and numbers don’t tell any lies.
Clement also has an OPS of just .484, while Kwan’s OPS sits at .737.
Just because it’s a small sample size doesn’t mean that Clement needs to play over Kwan or should play over Kwan.
You want your best run producers in the lineup on a daily basis.
You have to give everybody chances, for sure.
But Clement has disappointed thus far and it’s confusing why he’s playing over Kwan, or at least played over him twice over the weekend.
Perhaps soon, the Guardians will see that and give Kwan some more playing time in place of Clement.
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