FanGraphs is famous in the baseball industry for their ZiPS projections.
They are one of the most renowned in the game.
In their latest exercise, they examined the Cleveland Guardians and we can draw some impressive conclusions.
2024 ZiPS Projections: Cleveland Guardians https://t.co/5ki0KdnaZD
— FanGraphs Baseball (@fangraphs) December 21, 2023
The one that really catches the eye is that Andres Gimenez leads the team with 5.1 projected WAR.
In reality, that number is attached to the position as a whole, not necessarily the player.
After opening the article, it becomes clear that the Guardian with the most projected WAR for the 2024 season is Jose Ramirez.
That shouldn’t be at all surprising, as he is expected to finish with 5.0.
Gimenez, however, is projected to wrap up next season at 4.6 WAR, by virtue of a .272/.339/.424 line and a 114 OPS+ (100 is considered league-average performance).
That would be an ideal scenario for the Guardians lineup: Gimenez having a rebound season and complementing his incredible defensive contributions with a good season at the plate.
“ZiPS remains a big fan of Andrés Giménez, and based on his peripherals, sees his 2022 as being a lot closer to who he is than his weaker 2023 season. Also helping his projection is the fact that he’s still young enough to have some unknown upside remaining,” Dan Szymborski wrote.
Steven Kwan is projected to finish with 2.7 WAR, and catcher Bo Naylor has a projected 2.4 WAR value next season.
ZiPS expects Brayan Rocchio (1.9 fWAR) to have an expanded role this upcoming season.
Among pitchers, Triston McKenzie and Shane Bieber are expected to be around or above the 3.0 WAR threshold, with Tanner Bibee close to it.
NEXT: Guardians Announce More Players For Upcoming Fan Fest
