Cleveland Guardians Have An Ideal Roster For New Major League Baseball Rules

As currently structured, the roster of the Cleveland Guardians has efficient, effective contact hitters with plenty of speed.

Last year, the young Guardians showed the ability to get on base, get in scoring position, and score.

Given the new rules introduced this year for Major League Baseball, “get em on, get em over, and get em in” makes great sense. It’s a plan that will likely work for Cleveland.

Several rules changes introduced this spring training have already illustrated quicker games, much better flow and pace of games, and more action on the bases.

Pitch Clock and the Guardians:

Under Major League Baseball rules, pitchers have 15 seconds between each pitch to release the ball to the plate. With a runner or runners on base, the time changes to 20 seconds.

Pitchers may disengage from the pitching rubber twice. If they throw over to first base in an attempt to pick off the runner a third time, they have to be successful and pick off the runner. If the runner gets back to the base safely, the pitcher is charged with a balk.

Watching spring training games so far, this scout has observed pitchers being reluctant to throw over a third time. That third disengagement can easily put a runner in scoring position. The results? Runners are frequently trying to steal after two disengagements.

Pressure increases on the pitcher. Pressure increases on the catcher.

Not only does the pitcher have to get the ball to the plate quickly, the catcher has to “pop” out of his crouch in a timely manner, and he has to make a very good throw.

Advantage? Runner.

The Guardians Myles Straw stole 21 bases last year, leading the team. Andres Gimenez and Jose Ramirez each stole 20.

Steven Kwan stole 19 bases last year, with Amed Rosario stealing 18.

With the exception of Straw, each of the above were among team leaders in on-base percentage as well.

Kwan was at .373, Gimenez at .371, .Ramirez at .355, and Rosario at .315.

Even if one were to factor negative regression into each player’s game, the new rules will likely provide that core of the Guardians offense plenty of opportunities to take advantage of the disengagement rule, and run, run, run.

Bigger Bases:

With bases enlarged from 15 inches square to 18 inches square, base runners will get back to the base more quickly on pickoff attempts.

Base runners will also reach their stolen base destination three inches sooner.

On the negative side, first basemen and second basemen are also three inches closer to the base to make the tag.

Lack Of Infield Shifts:

Going forward, teams must have two players positioned on the right side of second base, and two players stationed at the left of second base.

The infield shifts that became so prominent the past few years have been eliminated.

Infielders must have both feet on the infield dirt, not on the grass.

Infielders may not switch sides. In other words, the defense cannot position the better defender to the side of the infield where the defense feels the batter is more likely to hit the ball. The second baseman is the second baseman. The shortstop is the shortstop.

A team may not add a fourth outfielder, but an outfielder can move to the shallow part of the outfield, hoping the hitter doesn’t hit the ball over his head.

Outfielders may not be moved to the infield.

In games observed so far, against left-handed hitters, this writer has seen teams play their second baseman to an extreme, very close to second base. They are giving up the hole between first and where the second baseman is placed. Left-handed hitters can drive the ball to the vacated hole.

Shortstops are bunching closer to second base against left-handed hitters, exposing a large hole between third base, and where the shortstop is stationed.

Left-handed hitters get a break with the new shift rules, but they still have to find those exposed infield holes to use the new rules to their advantage.

To this writer, it appears some left-handed hitters are far more adept at finding the “new” holes, as opposed to driving the ball down the area of third base that was exposed when extreme shifts were permitted.

For the Guardians, Jose Ramirez, Andres Jimenez, Josh Naylor and Josh Bell will each benefit by the new lack of shift rules when batting left-handed. Each controls the bat well.

Each of those hitters named above can drive the ball hard off the barrel, and take advantage of the vacated hole between the first and second basemen.

In this new lack of shift era, having a left-handed first baseman is an advantage for the defense. Those players will be closer to the exposed hole. It does matter.

Guardians Make Contact:

Last season, Steven Kwan struck out only 60 times in 638 plate appearances. He makes tremendous contact. He has superb eye-hand coordination and bat to ball skills.

If Kwan can find the holes in the infield, he has the speed to beat out infield hits. When on first base, he is a candidate to steal both second, and possibly third.

All Star Jose Ramirez struck out only 82 times in 685 plate appearances. That included during the second half of the season, when Ramirez played with an injured thumb. He has had surgery on the thumb and looks to be in great shape.

Ramirez has enough speed, and such great base running instincts, he is a clear threat to steal at least 30 bases this year.

Amed Rosario struck out 111 times in 670 plate appearances, which is not bad. Rosario has the ability to use the entire field with hard hit balls. He has been known to hit the ball to the right side with plenty of authority. He can steal by using good instincts and enough speed to give pitchers acid reflux.

All Star second baseman Andres Gimenez struck out 112 times in 557 plate appearances, also very acceptable for a guy that hit 17 homers and drove in 69 runs. Gimenez is a really solid base runner, with enough speed and enough base running knowledge to increase his stolen base count from 20 to 30.

Summary:

The Cleveland Guardians have five players capable of stealing at least 30 bases under the new pitch clock and pitcher disengagement rules.

If he hits enough to keep his role as the starting center fielder, Myles Straw, Andres Gimenez, Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan, and Amed Rosario are all efficient, capable base stealers.

The new pitch clock rules may make pitchers rush their delivery, causing good hitter counts and the “right” pitches to run on.

Having only two chances to pick off a base runner without being called for a balk, the Guardians may be off to the races after the second pick off attempt. They will likely succeed more than they fail.

And finally, because of new infield shift rules, when batting left-handed, hitters like Ramirez, Gimenez, Kwan, Josh Bell and Josh Naylor hit the ball hard enough to find holes in the right side of the infield. Easy outs last year, those ground balls and line drives may now be base hits.

Even as MLB “tweaks” the new rules, as they are doing, the Cleveland Guardians have the ideal team to play winning baseball with the new MLB rules.