Cleveland Guardians All-Star outfielder Steven Kwan has hit 25 home runs over the last two seasons: 14 in 2024 and 11 last year. Those totals aren’t too shabby for a leadoff hitter whose main job is to get on base.
The most impressive part of the story, however, is that Kwan has done that while ranking in the 1st percentile in bat speed in each of the last two campaigns.
That means that 99 percent of the league swings the bat faster than him, and, as you can probably imagine, bat speed is directly correlated with power.
Understanding that his impressive ability to get the barrel of the bat on the ball gives him a nice power floor even if he isn’t swinging that hard, Kwan, with the help of assistant hitting coach Dan Puente, focused on increasing his bat speed this offseason.
“Kwan’s wrist is in a good place this spring, and the feel in his swing is back. But he was not going to rest on those factors improving alone heading into 2026. He went through a program with Puente this winter to increase his bat speed — which ranked in the 1st percentile last season (63.7 mph),” Guardians insider Tim Stebbins wrote.
It’s important to point out that an awkward slide in May resulted in a right wrist injury for Kwan that probably hindered his power for weeks. He got a cortisone shot during the All-Star break, and it helped, but he couldn’t find his best swing all year, and his production suffered.
In 156 games in 2025, Kwan hit a rather mediocre .272/.330/.374 with a 99 wRC+. He still hit 41 extra-base hits, which is more than fine for a leadoff hitter with wrist problems.
This year, however, feels like a new beginning for Kwan. If he can hit 20 home runs, the Guardians’ offense can enter a whole new tier.
It’s not out of the question: in 2024, Kwan hit 14 balls out of the park in just 122 games with one of the lowest average bat speeds in the league.
“I didn’t have this North Star or this compass to lead myself back to,” Kwan said. “I think that was a little naive of me to just be like, ‘Oh, I know my swing and I know how to get there.’ … I didn’t have enough knowledge on my swing as I should have.”
Well, he does know his swing now, and the American League better be prepared because Kwan might be in store for his best season yet.
All things considered, it doesn’t sound like a bad idea for him to focus on improving his power output while getting closer to free agency, or while the idea of an extension is still lingering.
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