Cleveland Guardians Trying To Keep Their Heads, And Record, Above Water

The Cleveland Guardians hit the All-Star break with a winning record – but soaking wet. They don’t need a dugout; they need an ark.

The Guardians sloshed their way into the All-Star break Sunday in typical fashion: with still another game at Progressive Field postponed by rain. The team’s scheduled game with the Detroit Tigers instead became Cleveland’s ninth home game of the season postponed by weather.

Manager Terry Francona’s rain men have already played a pitching-crippling eight doubleheaders this season, trying to keep up with all the postponements. They’ve got two more doubleheaders still to be played, one in August, one in September, but nobody would be surprised if a couple more postponements in the second half necessitate even more doubleheaders.

Cleveland goes into the break with a record of 46-44, in second place in the AL Central, two games behind division-leading Minnesota.

For the first time in 21 years the Guardians will have two players in the starting lineup at the All-Star game: third baseman Jose Ramirez and second baseman Andres Gimenez (replacing injured Jose Altuve). It’s the first time Cleveland has had two all-star starters since 2000, when two other second and third basemen started: Roberto Alomar and Travis Fryman.

The Guardians reach the break in pretty good shape, considering how their starting rotation was torn asunder by all the doubleheaders. Fortunately for Francona, Ramirez and Gimenez, plus outfielder Steven Kwan and first baseman Josh Naylor, have been the catalysts for a better-than-expected offense.

Ramirez, who will be making his fourth all-star appearance in the last six years, has belted 19 home runs, and his 76 RBI makes him just the fourth player in Cleveland history with 75 or more RBI prior to the all-star break. The other three: Albert Belle (1994), Manny Ramirez (1999), and Juan Gonzalez (2001).

Ramirez, who is hitting .342 with runners in scoring position, leads the Guardians with 53 extra base hits, which is over twice as many as any other player on the team. Gimenez is hitting .384 with runners in scoring position and .429 with two outs and runners in scoring position.

Kwan started the season hitting seventh in the lineup, but his elite strike zone judgment and contact rate – he’s the second hardest hitter in the American League to strike out (10.3 at bats per strikeout) – eventually landed him in the leadoff spot, where he’s flourished.

Kwan is a left-handed hitter who actually hits left-handers (.298) better than right-handers (.274). He’s a speedy and intelligent base runner, and among Guardians hitters only Ramirez has a better on-base percentage than Kwan’s .361. Ramirez and Kwan are the only Guardians who have more walks than strikeouts.

First baseman/DH Naylor’s 13 home runs and .507 slugging percentage rank second on the team to Ramirez, but the club could still use another bat. Only Oakland and Detroit have hit fewer home runs than the Guardians’ 71, and Cleveland’s 4.3 runs per game is middle of the pack.

By far the biggest disappointment has been DH Franmil Reyes. After belting 30 home runs with 85 RBI last year, Reyes has disappeared this season: just eight home runs and 26 RBI. He is striking out once every 2.3 at bats, which is roughly every other at bat.

Cleveland’s opening day cleanup hitter, Reyes’ 97 strikeouts are 36 more than any other Guardians hitter. He is last or second last among Guardians regulars in batting average (.212), on-base percentage (.259), slugging (.357), OPS (.616), and, those 97 strikeouts are even more glaring when contrasted with his 13 walks.

The pitching staff has been the area of the team most affected by all the doubleheaders, but the three standouts have been closer Emmanuel Clase, Shane Bieber, and emerging star Triston McKenzie. Clase is Cleveland’s third all-star selection, has a 1.41 ERA and is tied for second in the league with 19 saves.

After a slow start, Bieber, in his last 11 games, has a 2.84 ERA, with 77 strikeouts, 16 walks, and just four home runs allowed.

But the star of the staff has been beanpole right-hander McKenzie. The 6-5, 165-pound 24-year-old’s 7-6 record and 3.20 ERA don’t begin to tell the story about how dominant he’s been. Opposing batters are hitting .199 against him. Left-handers are hitting just .146. With two outs and runners in scoring position hitters are batting .174; in innings 7 through 9: .147; and in pitches 76 through 100 by McKenzie, opponents are hitting .177.

McKenzie’s 6.39 hits allowed per nine innings ranks third in the league. In his last three starts he is 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA. In that span he has pitched 21 consecutive scoreless innings, on nine hits, with 23 strikeouts and six walks. In those three starts opponents are hitting just .132.

With a first half run differential of just plus-5, the Guardians have a lot of work to do in the second half in order reach the postseason. It would not be a surprise to see the club package some of their upper-level prospects in a potential trade for another bat.

If all else fails, they’ve still got future Hall of Fame manager Francona pushing the buttons. The Guardians have been successful on 61% of their managerial challenges, the third-highest percentage in the majors.