The Cleveland Guardians recently completed another successful but pedestrian homestand. They won four of the seven games against the Baltimore Orioles and Houston Astros, but as has been the case so far this season, they produced very little on offense in the games they lost.
In their first four defeats this season, the Guardians scored one or no runs. That had improved somewhat, but in losing two of three games to the Astros, they managed two runs and were shut out.
Yet, insider Joe Noga has pointed out that Stephen Vogt isn’t worried about the Guardians’ offense, which is showing promise despite the overall results by at least putting more runners on base, even if they don’t come around to score.
” Vogt said the narrative about Cleveland’s struggles at the plate with runners on base is getting more play than it should,” Noga wrote.
After ranking near the bottom of the majors in runs scored last season, the Guardians’ offensive output was a major topic of conversation throughout the offseason. They did not add a significant hitter, hoping for improvement from within, either from returning players or their top prospects.
Now, several veterans remain in an extended slump, with Bo Naylor and Kyle Manzardo batting less than .200 approaching May. In addition, Steven Kwan is batting just .227, and Jose Ramirez is at .234 despite a recent hot streak.
Rookie Chase DeLauter is experiencing tough times after a historic start, and George Valera has cooled considerably after coming off the injured list. If not for unexpected output from Austin Hedges, Daniel Schneemann, Brayan Rocchio, and Angel Martinez, the Guardians would be in much worse shape.
Overall, they rank 21st in runs scored, 22nd in batting average, 19th in on-base percentage, and 22nd in OPS. Despite that, with a 14-12 record, they are above .500 and tied for 12th in winning percentage. Cleveland shares first place in the AL Central with the Detroit Tigers, who are 13th in runs scored.
Last year, the Guardians were able to defy the odds and make the playoffs despite their low-ranked offense. Even with an outstanding pitching staff, they are unlikely to be able to do so again.
They need the offense to improve going forward, and maybe Vogt is seeing something the statistics don’t reveal.
NEXT: Guardians Get Big Injury Update On Top Prospect
