The Cleveland Guardians offense is not particularly imposing or productive, but that is by no means Steven Kwan’s fault.
He showed last year that he can be an offensive asset even with limited power, and after a somewhat shaky start, he is starting to pick up the pace this year.
The Guardians leadoff hitter is a fantastic table-setter, among the best in the American League, and there are few batters with the ability to get things going at the start of games than him.
“Steven Kwan’s .405 batting average leading off a game ranks 2nd in MLB (min 20 PA). Highest BA – Leading Off Game, ATL Acuna Jr – .487 CLE Kwan – .405 SDP Tatis Jr – .400 CIN India – .342 PIT Hayes – .333,” Cleveland Stats tweeted.
Steven Kwan’s .405 batting average leading off a game ranks 2nd in MLB (min 20 PA).
Highest BA – Leading Off Game
ATL Acuna Jr – .487
CLE Kwan – .405
SDP Tatis Jr – .400
CIN India – .342
PIT Hayes – .333pic.twitter.com/PaYVNKLJlj— Cleveland Stats (@CLE_STATS) May 18, 2023
He is also very good at getting his walks (12.3 BB%) and is one of the toughest hitters to strike out in all baseball (9.7 K%), so he has been a true on-base machine to lead-off games.
Unfortunately, the Guardians offense doesn’t always come through and drive him in.
For the year, Kwan is slashing .269/.356/.353 with one home run and nine stolen bases.
He has been right around average offensively due to his 99 wRC+, and still has a long way to go to reach the 124 wRC+ he posted last year.
He is very much capable of improving even further, though, and even if the power is not good enough for him to reach 10 home runs (he hit six last year) he should remain a solid leadoff hitter due to his contact, on-base prowess, and speed.
NEXT:
The Guardians Have A Shocking Problem At Catcher
