Cleveland Sports Forum

Zack Meisel
@ZackMeisel
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Gavin Williams experienced a recurrence of elbow soreness after his most recent outing. He’ll get an injection and be shut down for seven days before resuming his throwing program.

Guardians Prospective
@CleGuardPro


Deeper dive into #Guardians RHP Gavin Williams sore elbow from source.

William's hadn't felt any pain in his rehab up until his start this past Saturday out in Arizona. The UCL looked good on his MRI no tears. The team is not sure what is causing the inflammation in his elbow, thought is it could be from a slight change in his delivery. Plan and hope for now is injection for inflammation and hopefully resume throwing where he left off and not to start completely over in his build up.

that doesn't sound good. it's like McKenzie last year, kept getting close and then shut down again

I think the imaging being clean is pretty hopeful though

Fun with small samples: The numbers that explain the Guardians’ MLB-best record Cleveland Guardians' Bo Naylor, right, congratulates Will Brennan after Brennan scored on an RBI single by Tyler Freeman in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Dermer)
By Zack Meisel
Apr 24, 2024


CLEVELAND — Shane Bieber’s strikeout rate this season was higher than his strikeout rate in 2020, when he was the unanimous American League Cy Young Award winner.

Granted, Bieber made only two starts before undergoing season-ending elbow surgery. That’s a microscopic sample.

Numbers can paint wild pictures this time of year. The Cleveland Guardians are on pace for a major league-record 120 wins, for instance. At that rate, they might wind up with a 90-game lead on the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.

Let’s examine some samples that are a bit larger and that might not continue at their current rate, but at least help to explain how the Guardians have raced out to a surprising 17-6 start.

“Right now, it’s just a number,” outfielder Will Brennan said. “It’s early. It’s April. But we know our preparation’s going to continue to lead to putting us in positions to win ballgames. And with our pitching and the way our offense is, it’s going to be tough to beat us.”
They have a team ERA of 2.94

That ranks third in the sport, just behind the second-ranked Detroit Tigers, who sit 3 1/2 games behind them in the division. The bullpen has played a significant role in that. More on that in a minute. But the rotation has held together despite injuries to Bieber and Gavin Williams and inconsistency from Triston McKenzie. On Tuesday, Ben Lively provided the club its first start of at least six innings in three weeks in a 4-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox. The staff ranks second in strikeout rate and first in percentage of runners stranded.

Their offense has performed at a rate 15 percent better than league average

The Guardians entered their series opener against the Red Sox on Tuesday with a team wRC+ (weighted runs created) of 115, a fancy way of saying they ranked sixth in the majors in producing offense. Last year, they ranked 22nd, with a 92 wRC+.

That 115 mark, should they sustain it for another five months, would match the 1995 team for the best wRC+ in franchise history.

(Sure, take a minute to let that comparison marinate.)

That isn’t to say that Brennan is on par with Manny Ramirez or that Estevan Florial should be confused with Eddie Murray. The metric is adjusted for league factors, so it’s all relative to the run-scoring environment of the time. That ’95 team, stocked with Hall of Famers, should-be Hall of Famers and could’ve-been Hall of Famers, produced a slash line of .291/.361/.479. The 2024 group has a collective clip of .257/.325/.411.

It helps that they entered Tuesday with a .327/.399/.455 slash line with runners in scoring position, which sheds some light on how they ranked third in the majors in runs per game (5.6) despite an OPS that ranked eighth. Last year, they hit .245/.323/.368 in such situations.
Steven Kwan is on pace for 240 hits

The record is 262, set in 2004 by Ichiro Suzuki, who was one of Kwan’s baseball inspirations. The only non-Ichiro players with at least 240 hits in a season in the last 90 years are Wade Boggs (1985) and Darin Erstad (2000). Kwan’s walk rate is down and his strikeout rate is up slightly, but it’s the result of a more aggressive approach at the plate, which has translated into a .351 average.
Most hits in a season, MLB history
Ichiro Suzuki

262

2004
George Sisler

257

1920
Lefty O'Doul

254

1929
Bill Terry

254

1930
Al Simmons

253

1925
Rogers Hornsby

250

1922
They entered Tuesday with a team slash line of .303/.370/.483 against left-handed pitching

Last year, they posted a majors-worst .232/.296/.367 clip against southpaws. José Ramírez somehow smacked a 98 mph fastball to the opposite field for a home run off a lefty in the eighth inning Tuesday. It was his first homer to right field off a lefty since 2017.

“There’s probably only two guys who can do that,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said, “and they’re short — him and (Jose) Altuve. … That ball was up and away, and he barrels it and hits it out of the ballpark. He’s a stud. He’s a good player. Obviously, I’m not rooting for him, but you’re in awe. I was like, ‘For real, bro?’ He’s amazing, and that at-bat tells the whole story. He’s one of the best players in baseball.”

And then there’s Gabriel Arias.

Arias against lefties in 2023: 9-for-108 (.083 average, .316 OPS).

Arias against lefties in 2024: 6-for-11 (.545 average, 1.363 OPS).

He needs to go 3-for-97 against lefties to match last year’s output.
Josh Naylor is on pace to eclipse the 40-homer mark

No Cleveland hitter has accomplished that since Travis Hafner in 2006. The Guardians rank in the middle of the pack in homers as a team, which, after last year’s basement finish, is like upgrading from the bathroom at the back of the plane to first class. They rank fourth in extra base hit percentage, and Naylor is a big reason why, as he’s on pace for 43 homers and 35 doubles.
Cleveland’s relievers have a strikeout rate of 30 percent

That ranks second in the majors, behind the Minnesota Twins. As everyone predicted, Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin, Nick Sandlin and Cade Smith have combined for 59 strikeouts, 21 hits allowed and a 1.41 ERA in 44 2/3 innings. Closer Emmanuel Clase has been great, too, with only one earned run allowed in 12 innings. He struck out all three Red Sox hitters he faced Tuesday. A unit missing Sam Hentges, James Karinchak and Trevor Stephan — three relievers who stockpile strikeouts — hasn’t suffered at all.
Cleveland reliever strikeout rates
Hunter Gaddis

37.2%
Cade Smith

35.4%
Nick Sandlin

34.9%
Emmanuel Clase

28.9%
Scott Barlow

28.3%
Tyler Beede

27.3%
Tim Herrin

26.2%
Andrés Giménez and Ramón Laureano are on pace to combine for 77 hit-by-pitches

The single-season record is 51, set by human pin cushion Hughie Jennings in 1896. A more modern and still painful record is 50 by Ron Hunt in 1971. The Cleveland record is Giménez’s 25 in 2022. Second place? Giménez again, in 2023, with 20 (tied with Ryan Garko’s season of bruises in 2007).

Both Giménez and Laureano are on pace to smash the second baseman’s team record, which might not be a goal of theirs but at least benefits their on-base percentages.
The Guardians are on pace to swipe 141 bases

The more impressive feat might be that no one has more than three steals and every position player on the roster has at least one but Josh Naylor. The team record is 210 in 1917, but the top entry from the last century is 160 in 1996, fueled by Kenny Lofton’s 75. In fact, the team has totaled 150 or more on 19 occasions, all in the dead ball era except for 1996, 1993 (Lofton had 70 of their 159) and 2023 (151 in the first year with new base-stealing-benefiting rules).

Last year, they had four players steal 20 or more bases (Giménez, Kwan, Ramírez, Myles Straw). Naylor and Brennan reached double digits, too.

Two relievers put I-71 in their rearview mirror: Guardians takeaways

Updated: Apr. 24, 2024, 11:54 p.m.|Published: Apr. 24, 2024, 7:27 p.m.

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Right-hander Hunter Gaddis and left-hander Tim Herrin are two of the reasons why the Guardians’ bullpen has pitched so well through the first 23 games of the season.

The bullpen entered Wednesday night’s game against Boston with a record of 7-2 with a 2.05 ERA and eight saves in 11 chances. They led the AL in strikeouts and ranked second in batting average against at .186.

Gaddis and Herrin spent much of last season driving between Class AAA Columbus and Cleveland on I-71. Gaddis made three trips to the big league club, while Herrin made five.

Based on the way they’ve pitched, there is no indication they’re ready to hit the road again.

In 12 appearances this season, Gaddis has not allowed a run. He’s struck out 16, walked three and allowed five hits in 11 2/3 innings. The opposition is hitting .132 against him.

Herrin is 1-0 with a 0.75 ERA in 11 games. He’s allowed one run in 11 1/3 innings. He’s struck out 11, walked five and allowed three hits. The opposition is hitting .132 against him.

Last year Gaddis made 22 starts in 33 appearances for Columbus and Cleveland. This year he’s worked strictly out of the bullpen.

“As a starter you have to ease into the game,” said Gaddis, 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds. “You can’t exert 110% out there. You have to try and go as many innings as you can.

“In the bullpen if it’s one inning or one and two-thirds, you can be really aggressive and exert everything you have for that inning or whatever it might be.”

Gaddis throws a fastball, slider and changeup. He also throws a curve, but doesn’t throw it much now that he’s in the bullpen full time.

“The biggest thing with Hunter is he’s adopted the reliever mentality,” said manager Stephen Vogt. “Rather than I need to work myself through six innings, it’s, here it is. He’s come to get these three or four hitters out. He’s going to go right at them and he can use any pitch at any time.

“It’s a mentality he’s really owned.”

Herrin made 56 appearances last year, all in the bullpen, between Cleveland and Columbus. In 23 games with the Guardians, he went 1-1 with a 5.53 ERA. He looks like a more confident pitcher this year.

“Tim is commanding all three of his pitches and he’s attacking,” said Vogt. “He throws 97 mph with two different breaking balls from the left side. And he does it with a little bit of funk.

“When he’s throwing strikes, he’s really good.”

The 6-5, 225-pound Herrin leans on his curve all and slider, while mixing in a fastball and sinker. The opposition is hitting .077 (1 for 13) against Herrin’s curve.

Testing, testing, testing

Eli Morgan, on the injured list with a sore right shoulder, threw a bullpen session Tuesday.

“I touched the mound yesterday for a normal quick bullpen,” said Morgan. “I felt good.”

Morgan is 1-0 with a 2.16 ERA in nine appearances. He was placed on the 15-day injured list on April 17. The night before he threw two scoreless innings against the Red Sox with two strikeouts.

Asked how long his shoulder has been bothering him, Morgan said, “It’s just one of those things. Arms are finicky.”

Vogt said Morgan has been making steady progress.

Fire down below

Sam Hentges threw a scoreless rehab inning and Kyle Manzardo hit his fifth homer at Class AAA Columbus lost to Syracuse, 6-3, Tuesday night. Hengtes, recovering from a swollen middle finger on his right hand, started for the Clippers and retired all three men he faced. It was his second scoreless inning on his rehab assignment. Manzardo, hitting .304, went 1 for 5 with a home run and two RBI. Jonathan Rodriguez also homered for the Clippers. ...

Aaron Bracho homered and drove in three runs as Class AA Akron beat Altoona, 4-0. Kahlil Watson and Joe Lampe had two hits each. Chase DeLauter, hitting .204, went 1 for 5. Jaime Arias started and went four innings. Three relievers finished the two-hit shutout. ...

Cooper Ingle had three hits, including two doubles, as Class A Lake County lost to Western Michigan, 6-2. Jake Miller (1-2, 5.91) allowed three earned run on five hits in 3 1/3 innings. ...

Ralphy Velazquez drove in two runs and Christian Knapczyk had three hits at Class A Lynchburg lost to Myrtle Beach, 8-6. Rorik Maltrud struck out eight and allowed one run in 4 2/3 innings for the Hillcats.

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Injured Guardians reliever will travel with team to Atlanta and Texas

Updated: Apr. 25, 2024, 2:46 p.m.|Published: Apr. 25, 2024, 12:16 p.m.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — James Karinchak was spotted in the Guardians clubhouse ahead of Thursday’s series finale against Boston at Progressive Field. The right-hander has been on the 60-day injured list since March 28 as he continues to recover from shoulder soreness that he experienced in spring training.

Manager Stephen Vogt said Karinchak will travel during the upcoming six-game road trip to Atlanta and Houston under the watchful eye of Guardians trainers and coaches.

“It’s a good time for our pitching guys to get their eyes on him,” Vogt said. “He’s getting closer to getting to the mound, so we just thought it would be a good time for him to come get with the guys, mix in with them. Also, just a chance for our trainers and pitching coaches to get their hands on him and see where he is at.”

Karinchak has progressed to throwing at 250 feet and is continuing to build toward a return to the mound, Vogt told reporters Tuesday. He is not eligible to come off the injured list until May 30, but will likely need several rehab appearances in minor league games before then.

Karinchak split last season between Cleveland and Triple-A Columbus, spending three extended stints on the major league roster. He finished with a 3.23 ERA in 39 innings across 44 appearances. Karinchack was 2-4 with a 3.90 ERA through 32 outings before he was optioned on June 10.

In his August and September stints with the Guardians, Karinchak made 10 scoreless appearances in 12 outings and posted a 1.59 ERA with 14 strikeouts. Karinchak’s walk numbers climbed in 2023 as he pitched to a 6.46 walks per nine innings and a career-low strikeout to walk ratio of 1.86. Still, the righty held opposing hitters to a .178 batting average and had the third-lowest opponent average among MLB relievers from 2019 to 2013 behind Devin Williams and Josh Hader.

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Cleveland Guardians notebook: A Carrasco quiz, a Ramírez slam and a World Series rematch CLEVELAND, OH - JUNE 18: Carlos Carrasco #59 of the Cleveland Indians celebrates after recording the final out of the sixth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates in their game on June 18, 2011 at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. The Indians defeated the Pirates 5-1. (Photo by David Maxwell/Getty Images)
By Zack Meisel


CLEVELAND — Carlos Carrasco threw his first pitch as a big leaguer 5,352 days ago, a month after he was traded to Cleveland in 2009. He made his 200th start with the club Wednesday, the 15th pitcher in team history to reach that mark.

How well does he remember the details of his career with the organization? The Athletic quizzed him.

Who was your first strikeout victim?

Well, I pitched against Detroit. I had three strikeouts. But I don’t know who was the first one.

Brandon Inge.

Ah. Third baseman.

What about the first batter you faced?

Curtis Granderson.

Correct.

Who did you beat for your first win?

Chicago White Sox?

Nope.

Wait. I didn’t win any games in September 2009. In 2010, not the White Sox. Maybe the Twins? Wait, wait, wait. Actually, Kansas City. In Kansas City.

Bingo. Sept. 17, 2010, an 11-4 win. Shin-Soo Choo hit three home runs that day.

Who relieved you in your debut?

Joe Smith?

Nope.

Oh, wait. Jensen Lewis?

Lewis actually relieved the guy who relieved Carrasco: Tomo Ohka.

Oh my God. (Laughs)

Who did you face in your first at-bat?

Johnny Cueto? No, that’s my first hit.

Correct.

OK, who was your second (and only other) hit against?

Jorge Lopez. Roberto Pérez started the inning with a triple. In Milwaukee. Complete game.

Your first at-bat came against Jonathan Sanchez with the Giants.

How did you find all of this? I remember Kelly Shoppach was my first catcher.

That’s right.

You have had 17 different Cleveland catchers.

Seventeen? Damn. Wyatt Toregas. Carlos Santana. Chris Gimenez. Yan Gomes. Bo Naylor. David Fry. Not Austin Hedges yet.

Actually, Hedges caught him once in 2020.

Lou Marson.

Eighteen times.

Eighteen? What about Gomes?

One hundred thirteen.

(Laughs.) Did I miss any catchers in there? Roberto Pérez.

A lot of guys who only caught you once or twice or a few times: Luke Carlin, Beau Taylor, Eric Haase, Kevin Plawecki, George Kottaras, Brett Hayes, Sandy León.

Wow.

Who broke up your no-hitter with two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the ninth on July 1, 2015?

Of course I remember that. Joey Butler. He was with Tampa Bay, and the following year he was with us. I almost threw three no-hitters that year — against Tampa, one in Kansas City and one against the Angels.

Do you remember how many strikeouts you had in that game in Kansas City?

Sixteen. My career high.

Actually 15, but he had a Game Score of 98, a mark that hasn’t been topped by a Cleveland pitcher since. He tossed a one-hit shutout against the Royals on Sept. 25, 2015.

The Angels one — remember David Murphy, the lefty who played with us?

In the fifth inning Aug. 4, 2015, Murphy supplied the Angels’ only hit against Carrasco, who recorded a complete-game shutout in a 2-0 win.

The Kansas City one was Jonny Gomes.

Not quite. Alex Ríos, with one out in the seventh.

Who was traded with you to Cleveland for Cliff Lee?

Lou Marson, Jason Donald and Jason Knapp. He was out of baseball (before long). He was a good pitcher, but I think he had injuries. Ben Francisco was traded from Cleveland, too.

Ben Lively, a couple of locker stalls down, leaned over.

Lively: Who was your first hit off of?

Carrasco: Cueto.

Lively: Me, too.

They shared a fist bump.

I pitched that day. Jay Bruce had two strikeouts against me. I blooped one to right field. He just went like (threw as hard as he could), and it was really close (at first). Safe.
Quote of the week

“It went all right. He’s such a competitor and he wants to be in there. I just felt it was really important for him to get two days off his feet and be able to turn his brain off for a couple days. Understanding that it’s a 162-game season, I know he wants to play in 180 of them. He was understanding, and I think in the long run, it’ll be really good for him. He was respectful and all that, but we definitely had a few texts back and forth.” — Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, on telling José Ramírez he was giving him the day off Sunday ahead of a scheduled Monday off day
Final thoughts

• Here are the best 25-game starts in the 124-year history of Cleveland’s big-league franchise:
Best 25-game starts in franchise history
1966

19-6

81-81
1955

18-7

93-61
1999

18-7

97-65
2024

18-7

??

Twelve Cleveland teams started 17-8, including the two World Series champions (1920, 1948) and the 1995 team, which won the American League pennant.

• Ramírez said the greatest advantage a hitter gains from a lengthy at-bat is learning which pitch a pitcher trusts the most. Chase Anderson abandoned his changeup after two attempts in their battle Thursday afternoon. He then tried a cutter. And then another. And another and another and another and, well, by the 10th pitch of the at-bat, Ramírez wasn’t seeking anything else. After four foul balls, he yanked one into the right-field seats for a grand slam. Vogt said a hitter gets “educated” with each pitch.

Pitch 1: Ball outside, 85.2 mph changeup
Pitch 2: Ball outside, 85.2 mph changeup
Pitch 3: Ball high, 89.2 mph cutter
Pitch 4: Called strike, 89.7 mph cutter
Pitch 5: Swinging strike, 89.0 mph cutter
Pitch 6: Foul, 90.4 mph cutter
Pitch 7: Foul, 89.4 mph cutter
Pitch 8: Foul, 91.2 mph cutter
Pitch 9: Foul, 89.9 mph cutter
Pitch 10: Grand slam, 91.1 mph cutter

In the dugout, Hedges predicted the slam a couple of pitches into the at-bat. He had to wait awhile before his prognostication came to fruition.

“Unbelievable at-bat by him,” Vogt said.

• Boston’s Connor Wong is 15-for-33 with five home runs in his career against Cleveland.

At-bats that have come against Cleveland: 6.8%
Hits that have come against Cleveland: 12.5%
Homers that have come against Cleveland: 33.3%

There’s not always a rhyme or reason for a player feasting on a particular opponent, especially when the players on the other team change from year to year.

Vogt treasured every trip to Kansas City, where he posted a .382/.433/.673 slash line in 14 games. That’s his highest batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage in any ballpark.

• Tyler Freeman paused for a couple of seconds with his back buried in the grass, his hips twisted and his glove stretched to his left. He hauled in Tyler O’Neill’s fly to center to start the seventh inning during a scoreless game Tuesday after a wild route to the ball. JT Maguire, who has been working with Freeman for months on his transition to the outfield, asked Freeman what he saw before opining on his path to a catch that had plenty of hearts lodged in throats in the home dugout. Freeman told Maguire the ball took a hard turn after O’Neill caught the 80 mph sweeper off the end of the bat. Wind and rain didn’t help, either. When Maguire studied the video after the game, he watched the ball dart away from Freeman as it whizzed toward him, confirming Freeman’s take.

“We don’t train pretty,” Maguire said. “We train to have false steps and missed reads. We put him in those positions because those situations do happen. You’re not gonna get the cleanest route. You’re not gonna catch the ball at the perfect catch point. The umpire said out, and that’s all that matters.”

• Andrés Giménez used “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King” from “The Lion King” as an occasional walk-up song this week, a favor to his 2-year-old son. He said he might mix up his song choice based on his son’s ever-changing interests, which at the moment include the song “Cleveland Rocks,” by The Presidents of the United States of America. The Guardians have long played that song at Progressive Field after the final pitch of a victory.

• It’s been 29 years since Cleveland and Atlanta clashed in the World Series, and though this is merely an April encounter, it could have a heavyweight bout feel, as the Guardians (18-7) and Braves (17-6) will arrive Friday at Truist Park boasting the best record in each league. They also own the two best run differentials in baseball, with Cleveland at plus-49 and Atlanta at plus-44.

Guardians' fatal flaw that will derail hot start to 2024 season

While the Guardians have looked strong to start the season, their current pitching situation may not allow for continuous success.

By Jackson Roberts

Apr 26, 2024 at 7:10 PM CDT

If you correctly predicted that the Cleveland Guardians would have the best record in the American League on April 26, it might be time to buy that lottery ticket you've been eyeing at the checkout counter. Just six months removed from a 76-win season, the Guardians are 18-7, have lost only one series all season and are back to being the scrappiest, peskiest team in all of Major League Baseball.

After another off-season of minimal spending, breaking camp with no experienced center fielders and losing their ace just two starts into his season, it's truly remarkable how well the Guardians have dealt with adversity. But this hot start hasn't come without exposing some flaws in the way this roster is constructed. And unfortunately for these Guards, one of those flaws appears fatal.

Make no mistake, this is a significantly better baseball team than the 2023 Guardians, who were a disappointment in nearly every way. But ever since that team traded Aaron Civale to the Tampa Bay Rays, the starting pitching depth at the big league level has been insufficient. And at some point this season, that lack of depth will be exposed.

Guardians don't have enough starting pitching

There are occasionally instances in baseball where the uniform a player wears elicits trust from the baseball community regardless of who the players are. And over the years, starting pitchers from the Guardians have gained that trust, because the next talented young player always seems to be coming.

Even last season, in spite of key injuries and the Civale trade, Cleveland ranked ninth in starting pitcher ERA at the end of the year.

In 2024, though, the Guardians have already dipped to 12th in that same metric despite the team's hot stretch. And that still weighs the two phenomenal starts Shane Bieber had before suffering his season-ending injury fairly heavily. In starting pitcher FIP, meanwhile, which measures more realistic expectations for performance, the Guardians rank 26th. Regression seems all but inevitable in the weeks to come.

The five names making up the rotation right now don't amount to a championship-caliber operation. Tanner Bibee, Triston McKenzie, Logan Allen, Ben Lively and Carlos Carrasco is a tandem very few teams would trade for if given the choice and the Guardians are counting on their meticulous advanced scouting department to prepare those five to perform above expectations.

Tanner Bibee being asked to do too much

Production in any rotation starts at the top and because Bibee was so good in 2023, picking up a second-place AL Rookie of the Year finish, the 25-year-old is being asked to pick up the slack for the injured Bieber. Unfortunately, however, it doesn't look as though Bibee came into this season ready for an encore. His stuff is diminished, he's getting hit much harder and the Guardians don't know what to expect from him in a full 30+ start workload.

The main issue with Bibee this season is that his four-seam fastball, which has lost about a mile per hour on average from a season ago, is getting tattooed. With a fairly typical arsenal for a right-handed starter, Bibee relies on the fastball over 40% of the time, though that number has already shrank about 5% from his 2023 usage. The batting average against it has jumped from .243 to .429 and the expected stats support the dip in effectiveness.

On the whole, Bibee has a 4.44 ERA, 5.53 xERA and 1.60 WHIP. He still has solid strikeout numbers and the excellent results from a season ago would indicate he's still capable of shaving those stats down, but he's far from the ace the Guardians were oping he would be. And that puts a ton of pressure on the remained of the group to carry more weight than they've proven to be capable of shouldering based on experience.

Uncertainty across the board

Behind Bibee, Triston McKenzie looks to be the best bet to be the number two, because in 2022, that's exactly what he was. But coming off an elbow sprain and shoulder strain that limited him to 16 starts last season, McKenzie has lost his control almost entirely. He leads the AL with 17 walks despite throwing just 22 innings thus far.

Logan Allen, meanwhile, is still trying to establish himself as a quality major league starter. His rookie debut was strong, with a 3.81 ERA in 24 starts, but that ERA has jumped to 5.06 in five starts in year two. It's good to have youth at the back end of a rotation, but Allen is being asked to be a stabilizer who goes deep into games, not a young arm with a long leash to figure it out.

Ben Lively has looked the best of the five starters so far, but he's also only made two starts, both against the ailing Boston Red Sox without Rafael Devers in the lineup. Meanwhile Lively has never made more than 15 starts in a single season, and that was all the way back in 2017 with the Philadelphia Phillies. So perhaps the Guardians have unlocked something for Lively in year eight, but a larger sample is needed.

And finally, there's Carlos Carrasco, who is a great redemption story in his return to Cleveland at the age of 37. But Cookie was one of the worst starting pitchers in the league in 2023 and although he's battling in 2024, he's still at -0.1 bWAR through his first five starts.

Guardians living on borrowed time
So although the overall success of the Guardians has been eye-opening across the league, it's clear the rotation won't allow them to keep winning at this torrid pace. They may have done enough already to remain in the playoff picture all summer and perhaps they can even win the AL Central, but going into a playoff series with the names Cleveland currently has is a sketchy proposition at best.

And unfortunately, if history is any guidebook, the Guardians won't be willing to make a big splash at the trade deadline in order to remedy their shortcomings. If anything, they'll be aggressive in trading away anyone they think they can get value for, as they did with Civale a season ago.

That could easily find them their next Josh Naylor or Andrés Giménez, but in terms of winning now, it doesn't bring them any closer to playoff glory.

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News and Notes: Guardians Fail First Test Vs. Braves

News and Notes for Saturday, April 27th, 2024

By Quincy Wheeler Apr 27, 2024, 7:00am EDT

The Guardians didn’t fare well in their first test against one of the elite teams in Major League Baseball, losing 6-2 to the Atlanta Braves Friday night.

Chris Sale brought back recent memories of Cleveland’s struggles vs. left-handed pitching, allowing only two hits and one walk while striking out six in seven innings of one-run baseball. The lefty mashers David Fry and Ramon Laureano were not up to the task last night, which certainly happens. I would assume the leash on Laureano as a platoon player vs. LHP is probably not longer than the end of May, but it’s disappointing he hasn’t been able to continue his 120 wRC+ against LHP in his career into 2024 so far (obligatory small sample size caveat).

Brayan Rocchio looked overmatched. Gabriel Arias went 1 for 4. The offensive highlights were a leadoff home run from Steven Kwan and a late double from Tyler Freeman. Josh Naylor is in a bit of a funk and may get a day off like Andres Gimenez got yesterday if Vogt’s recent trends are any guide.

Meanwhile, Logan Allen continued a trend of short, uneven performances for Guardians starting pitchers, giving up five hits, two walks, four runs and hitting a batter. He didn’t give up any homers, but Pedro Avila did. Tyler Beede was pretty bad for an inning and a third and won’t last long walking two batters and hitting a third if that’s the pattern. Hopefully, for his sake and the Guardians’, he can turn things around because he seems like a great dude with a fun story. Personally, I’d rather root for a good guy like Beede struggling than be a Braves fan forced to root for a bad guy like Marcell Ozuna succeeding.

Ah well, today is a new day and we will now see if Tanner Bibee can turn in a good performance against a good hitting team. This game and series aren’t going to determine much about my perspective on the 2024 Guardians, but I will say it’s becoming clear that this team needs Gavin Williams to come back strong from this elbow discomfort. Things aren’t sustainable with the current starting rotation production, and while I like Logan Allen, I do not want him to be more than my #4 starter, especially in a potential playoff series.

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Success or failure of Guardians’ season depends on one question: The week in baseball

Published: Apr. 27, 2024, 2:25 p.m.

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

ATLANTA -- The Guardians have played only 26 games. The season is still young, still taking its first tentative steps.

How will it be remembered?

There are so many different directions it can take. They can build on their impressive 18-8 start and turn it into another division title in the AL Central.

The chemistry is certainly there. The leaping celebration on the bases after a home run or key hit makes for good viewing.

The worst case scenario would be a collapse, a tumble in the AL Central standings that would negate all the good things they’ve done in the first month of the season.

That would be a surprise. This team learned a lot last year. Following their success in 2022, some may have felt seasons like that were guaranteed. The only thing carrying that kind of guarantee is a Russian election.

“I think we definitely needed last year, at least for me,” said left fielder Steven Kwan. “The first year (2022) was really exciting. The youngest team and all those kind of narratives.

“I think we showed up the next year and thought that was just going to happen again. It’s a tough game, a tough league. You can’t just roll the bats and balls out and expect to win.

“At least for me, it made me go into this past offseason with a different kind of fire. A different kind of motivation. I’d like to think that everyone else had the same kind of energy. We were keeping track of people, being accountable. I think you’re seeing the fruits of that now.”

Kwan added that it is easy to say such things during a hot start when everybody is smiling and the music is loud in the clubhouse.

“We’ll see how things go as the season progresses,” he said.

No matter what the next five months hold for the Guards, the one event that has already shaped it will be Shane Bieber’s right elbow injury. The starting rotation has been working in quicksand ever since Bieber underwent Tommy John surgery after making two starts in which he pitched 12 scoreless innings with 20 strikeouts.

The Guardians desperately needed a healthy Bieber to take a turn every five days because he had a real chance to reach the sixth inning or beyond. It would have eased the pressure on the rest of the rotation and given the guys in the pen another day to ice their arms.

If someone does emerge to take Bieber’s place, the Guardians become a much more dangerous team. If not, they could be a halfway house for every available arm on the waiver wire just to get through the season.

So far no one has stepped out of Bieber’s shadow. Since the former Cy Young winner made his second and final start of the season on April 2, the Guardians have had two starters pitch past the sixth inning in the last 20 games. Logan Allen did it on April 3 and Ben Lively went 6 1/3 innings on Tuesday against Boston.

If that causes a wince, just imagine how those guys in the bullpen feel. They’re already carrying the third heaviest workload in the AL with 104 2/3 innings.

Right now the Guardians have six pitchers on the injured list. Bieber and Gavin Williams are the only starters. Williams, who opened the year on the IL, just received a cortisone shot in his right elbow and it’s not known when he’ll be able to pitch again.

Triston McKenzie isn’t on the IL, but he’s trying to rebound from a strained UCL injury in his right elbow from last season. In his last start he went four innings.

Their No. 1 emergency starter is Xzavion Curry. He started against Syracuse on Saturday for Class AAA Columbus. If there is another major-league ready starter lurking in the minors, he has yet to emerge.

“The only way to grade anything is wins and losses,” said veteran catcher Austin Hedges. “We’re winning ballgames and the rotation is keeping us in games.

“It definitely hasn’t been easy, but it’s early. When you lose Biebs early, guys have to step into roles they haven’t experienced before or necessarily expected to have this year. We’re going to be leaning on a lot of guys to be able to try and get deep into games.”

If anyone knows how a pitcher learns to get past the fifth and sixth innings, it’s Hedges.

“The tough part about it is that it’s a game to game thing,” said Hedges. “This game might ask you to do one thing, this game might ask you to do another thing. But each game is always asking you to throw strikes and get ahead of guys.

“When we’re commanding the strike zone and pitching aggressively, that’s usually a recipe for going deep into games.”

Now if the Guardians can turn that recipe into a reality so a hot start is not forgotten come August.



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MLB Power Rankings: Guardians goin’ up, Braves reclaim the throne; plus standout stats The Athletic MLB Staff
Apr 23, 2024

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By Grant Brisbee, Andy McCullough and Stephen J. Nesbitt

Every week,​ we​ ask a selected group of our baseball​ writers​ — local and national — to rank the teams from first to worst. Here are the collective results.

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Athletic’s MLB Power Rankings, where we answer the questions on your mind. Which team currently looks like the best in baseball? How close are the Phillies to catching the Braves? How far should the Dodgers drop after a tough homestand? Is there a Pacific Coast League team that sneaks into the top 30 and pushes the White Sox to 31st place?

This week, we’re hunting for statistics that might mean more than your typical April numbers and using them to describe what each team is going for. There will likely be a bunch of happy, fun stats at the top, and then it will descend into madness. Remember that ophthalmologists strongly recommend that you don’t stare at the White Sox blurb without special glasses.

All stats through Monday morning.
1. Atlanta Braves

Record: 15-6
Last Power Ranking: T-2

Notable stat: The lineup’s collective .828 OPS

Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo posted an .829 OPS last season. Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien finished the year with an .826 OPS. Can you imagine a lineup stocked with carbon copies of Nimmo and Semien? That’s what the Braves have. The offense just does not quit. This past weekend, it was catcher Travis d’Arnaud’s turn to carry the group with a three-homer barrage against Texas. The lineup’s depth has allowed the club to keep chugging along despite Spencer Strider’s season-ending elbow surgery and catcher Sean Murphy’s extended absence with a strained oblique muscle. — Andy McCullough
go-deeper

GO DEEPER

Braves' Spencer Strider candidly discusses his elbow surgery and pitching injury 'epidemic'
2. New York Yankees

Record: 15-8
Last Power Ranking: 1

Notable stat: Aaron Judge’s .690 OPS against fastballs

As The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner noted, Judge had destroyed heaters in the past. He tended to crush fastballs in the strike zone throughout his career. Thus far, in 2024, he hasn’t been able to catch up. The lack of success is the key to his slow start because otherwise, Judge has been himself. His eye is keen, and he tends not to chase pitches outside the zone — he entered Monday with a .320 on-base percentage despite batting .183. When he makes contact, he strikes the ball with force. But he hasn’t been able to cover fastballs in the zone, which is a bit worrisome. — McCullough
3. Baltimore Orioles

Record: 15-7
Last Power Ranking: 4

Notable stat: Colton Cowser and Jordan Westburg’s combined 34 RBIs

On any other club, players like Cowser and Westburg would be considered potential saviors. Both are former first-round picks with significant potential. On the Orioles, they are almost afterthoughts. Such is the plight — if you want to call it that — of sharing a roster with wunderkinder like Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, and Jackson Holliday. While Holliday has floundered since being called up, Cowser and Westburg have supplied firepower to the lineup. The Orioles lead the American League in slugging, and the duo of Cowser and Westburg are part of the reason. — McCullough
4. Los Angeles Dodgers

Record: 13-11
Last Power Ranking: T-2

Notable stat: 34.7 percent, the lowest ground-ball percentage in baseball

Ground balls stink. Line drives rule. So, the Dodgers have built a roster that hits the ball hard. This sabermetrics stuff is easy.

They don’t just have the lowest ground-ball percentage, either; they’re almost five percentage points lower than the second-best team in baseball. Combine this with the highest line-drive rate in baseball, and you have the, well, Dodgers. They’re hitting the heck out of the ol’ horsehide. — Grant Brisbee
Zack Wheeler and his fellow Phillies starters have been logging major innings so far this season. (Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
5. Philadelphia Phillies

Record: 15-8
Last Power Ranking: 6

Notable stat: Six innings per start from the rotation

When Aaron Nola is the relative weak spot of your starting rotation, you’re in a good place. The Phillies’ starters have been gobbling up outs and piling up innings in the early going. Ranger Suárez spun a shutout against the Rockies last week. Zack Wheeler carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the White Sox. (If you’re going to face lower-tier competition, you might as well give your bullpen some rest.) Spencer Turnbull looks like an incredible bargain on a $2 million deal. The rotation has provided stability as the offense begins to click into gear. — McCullough
go-deeper

GO DEEPER

Taijuan Walker feels ready earlier than Phillies expected: What does it mean for the rotation?
6. Milwaukee Brewers

Record: 14-7
Last Power Ranking: 7

Notable stat: .789 team OPS

We joked a while ago that the Brewers’ lineup was up there with the Braves and Dodgers, only faster. We regret the error — they’d stomp the Dodgers. The Brewers are second in the majors in batting average (.275), on-base percentage (.348) and third in slugging percentage (.441). The Brew Crew, for now, is cleaning up without Christian Yelich, who started hot this season before suffering a lower back strain. Opposing pitchers are finding that even if they get past William Contreras and Willy Adames, they’re liable to be smacked around by Nos. 7, 8 and 9 hitters Blake Perkins, Brice Turang, and Jackson Chourio. — Stephen J. Nesbitt
7. Tampa Bay Rays

Record: 12-12
Last Power Ranking: 5

Notable stat: Randy Arozarena and Yandy Díaz’s collective .191 batting average

The Rays are scuffling. Brandon Lowe and Josh Lowe are both on the shelf. Taylor Walls is still rehabbing from hip surgery. The American League East does not allow much room to breathe. So Tampa Bay entered Monday in last place despite a winning record. Such is life in the East. For the Rays, there is an easy solution to their offensive woes: Their two best hitters need to play as they usually do. Arozarena has been walking less and striking out more than usual in the early going. Díaz has been making less hard contact than normal. Neither trend can continue if the Rays intend to contend. — McCullough

8. Cleveland Guardians

Record: 16-6
Last Power Ranking: 17

Notable stat: Four shutouts thrown

Listen, I wanted to call out the Guardians’ top-five slugging percentage, given the team’s reputation for having a bunch of Punch-and-Judy hitters around José Ramírez in the lineup. (Josh Naylor is raking.) But we’ve got to give credit to this pitching staff. They’re without Shane Bieber, Gavin Williams and a handful of relievers. Their best healthy starter has a 4.44 ERA, and two others have 5s. But the Guards are getting it done. Emmanuel Clase, Hunter Gaddis (?) and Tim Herrin (??) are untouchable out of the pen. I don’t know how they’re doing this, and I don’t know if they can keep it up. But it’s gonna be a good ride. — Nesbitt
go-deeper

GO DEEPER

Polaroids, bat slams and ‘saying the stupidest thing’: Inside the Guardians’ scorching start
9. Chicago Cubs

Record: 13-9
Last Power Ranking: 10

Notable stat: Shota Imanaga and Javier Assad’s combined 1.48 ERA

The Cubs started the season with starter Jameson Taillon on the injured list. Ace Justin Steele joined him there after an Opening Day hamstring injury. Chicago needed someone to step up in the rotation, and two have. Imanaga is 3-0 with an 0.84 ERA and a 0.750 WHIP. Assad is 2-0 with a 2.11 ERA and 1.031 WHIP. Both have pitched 21 1/3 innings, with 21 strikeouts and 14 hits allowed. The Cubs already have had eight pitchers make starts, and Kyle Hendricks has gotten rocked. Stability from Imanaga and Assad has saved the Cubbies. Taillon is back in the rotation, and Steele shouldn’t be far behind. — Nesbitt
10. Arizona Diamondbacks

Record: 11-13
Last Power Ranking: 9

Notable stat: Corbin Carroll’s 84-mph average exit velocity

Last season’s Rookie of the Year is scuffling mightily, and his exit velocity is a huge reason why. Not only did he lose more of last year’s velocity than almost any other batter this season, but he’s close to the bottom of the league. If he doesn’t get his numbers up in this category, he will have one of the worst seasons by exit velocity in the Statcast Era.

Youth is on his side, so it’s not time to panic yet. He sure looks like a different player so far this season, though. — Brisbee

'Moments I live for': Josh Naylor clutch again in 11-inning win

By Mandy Bell @MandyBell02

April 27, 2024

ATLANTA -- Josh Naylor knew what was about to happen.

He was on deck when automatic runner Steven Kwan was moved to third base on an Andrés Giménez groundout, sending José Ramírez to the plate with the game tied in the top of the 11th inning.

There was no doubt in Naylor’s mind that the Braves were going to walk Ramírez. And why wouldn’t they? Not only has he proven to be one of the best hitters in the league year after year, having a runner on first could set up a potential inning-ending double play. Why not try their luck against Naylor instead?

“'They’re going to walk him, they’re going to want to face me and I’m going to make them regret it … in a humble way,'” Naylor said.

Naylor needed just one pitch to humbly make them regret pitching to him, as he sent the go-ahead RBI double into the right-field corner to help the Guardians walk away with a 4-2 victory over the Braves at Truist Park on Saturday night.

“But I want that,” Naylor continued. “I want them to walk him because I want that chance to get that big-time run in and put the boys up by one or two, whatever the case is. I never shy away from those moments. Those are moments that I live for.”




That last sentiment is an understatement for the way Naylor has thrived in the spotlight this year. Entering the night, Naylor owned a .462 average and 1.409 OPS in late and close situations this year. Those moments are defined by plate appearances in the seventh inning or later when his team is tied, ahead by one or the tying run is at least on deck.

For so long, Ramírez was the only bat a Cleveland fan would want in the batter’s box with the game on the line. Now, either he or Naylor will easily suffice.

“[Naylor] wants the big moment,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “He wants to step up for his teammates. This is an unbelievable teammate, Josh Naylor, and he wants that for everybody, not just himself. That’s what makes him who he is.”

Naylor explained earlier this year that he had so much confidence in his brother, Bo, to deliver in a big moment because of watching him in the backyard growing up. Those same memories also translate to why the eldest Naylor’s pulse doesn’t seem to rise when the pressure is on.

He remembers his parents throwing out situations in the backyard on his final pitch of the day. He needed to hit the ball over the neighbor’s fence to win the game. He had one chance and it taught him how to hit when the stakes were high.

“If we don’t do [hit the ball over the neighbor’s fence], it sucks because we got to live with it for the rest of that night and then come back tomorrow and try to do it,” Naylor said. “It’s something we’ve always done as kids and it’s what we love. Those are the moments we drive for.”

Now, he’s been able to live out those childhood fantasies on baseball’s biggest stage. Although he had gone 0-for-12 heading into Saturday’s game, it was almost as if there was an expectation that he would once again deliver with the game on the line when he stepped into the batter’s box in the top of the 11th.

He’s been so consistent for the Guardians that it’s hard to encapsulate the impact that Naylor has had on the Guardians’ early success this season. But Nick Sandlin, who picked up his first career save by shutting the Braves down in the bottom of the 11th, did his best to sum up Naylor’s hot start.

“Hellacious,” Sandlin said.

There was no doubt in Naylor’s mind as he walked up to the batter’s box in that final frame. He wasn’t rattled when the flap on his helmet broke as he was on deck. He certainly wasn’t surprised when Ramírez was given an intentional free pass to first base so that he could be the one at the plate with the game on the line instead. The only thing he felt was eagerness to get the job done once again.

“It’s just something you want to experience in your life,” Naylor said. “Those pressure opportunities, they’re a blessing. It’s what you work hard for. It’s what you want to be part of every single day.”




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News and Notes: Test Passed, Guardians Get One from the Braves in Extras

News and Notes for Sunday, April 28th, 2024

By Quincy Wheeler Apr 28, 2024, 8:02am EDT

Last night, we learned that the Guardians have what it takes to beat the best team in MLB as they won in Atlanta in 11 innings, 4-2. Last night, the Atlanta Braves learned:

Gonna walk Jose?

You know what Josh Naylor does.

I hope last night’s game is seen as key point in the season not primarily because of the win over Atlanta but because of the excellent start Tanner Bibee gave his team against the best lineup in baseball. With his fastball and slider velocity up almost 1 mph in average for the year, Bibee rode both pitches at around a 40% rate, dropping in an occasional change and a once-in-a-blue-moon curveball to allow only two hits and no walks in seven scoreless innings against the Braves, striking out nine. Unfortunately, Bibee had to sit for around twenty minutes as the Guardians scored two in the top of the eighth and manager Stephen Vogt said after the game that his plan to bring Bibee back out for the bottom of the eighth was then scuttled.

No matter, time to turn to the Guardians’ excellent pen as Hunter Gaddis emerged. Unfortunately, the excellent season Gaddis is turning in took the wrong time for a hiccup as he gave up two runs to tie the game. Although he gave up a couple hard-hit balls, the primary offender was a bloop hit that surely should have been caught.

Ladies & gents, it's tied.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1784393345873190987

’m not sure if Tyler Freeman or Will Brennan didn’t get a good break on this ball (my guess is Freeman from the clip), but my primary disagreement is with having both playing that far back in what I assume is a “no-doubles” defense against Jared Kelenic. Personally, I think one can assume the no-doubles possibility is always well-established when Kelenic is at the plate, and I’d be playing the outfielders further in. But, hindsight is 20-20 and the Guardians lost their hard-fought lead.

It was up to an offense that had been stymied by Charlie Morton to find a way to scratch some more runs out against the Braves bullpen. Some notes on Guardians’ hitters during the game: I’m a firm believer in Bo Naylor. He has a groove in his swing. Major league pitchers are basically challenging him to hit velocity in the zone and it was clear that was Morton and the Braves’ approach. I think Bo can respond and hit these pitches enough to move teams off this plan of attack, but it’s clearly what he has to prove right now. He did, however, get a shoutout from Bibee after the game for his work behind the dish:

"Kudos to Bo. I wouldn't have this success without him."

Tanner Bibee gives credit to Bo Naylor for helping him achieve a great night on the mound in Atlanta.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1784412322485641382

Gabriel Arias got the start at shortstop in what felt to me like a potential sea-change moment for him to prove to Vogt that he deserves the lion’s share of those reps. Arias went 0 for 4, BUT he had two of the highest exit velocities in the game and one of them was on a lineout with an .830 xBA (the other was a groundout illustrating his launch angle issues). As we conclude the month of April, I, a Rocchio supporter, am ready to see Arias as the primary starter and Rocchio in the first guy off the bench role Arias has assumed so far. For me, Arias has done enough to show he deserves a longer look, even though I’m far from convinced he’s the long-term answer. Plus, there’s this:

The Guardians scored their runs in the eighth in a quintessential Guardians’ way, They scored a run on three hits with exit velocities of 31.1, 27.8 and 25.4 mph, all with xBA under .325. Because Elon Musk broke Twitter’s search feature, I cannot find a tweet that pointed out that no team has scored a run in such a way in the Statcast era, but it’s out there somewhere. And, Dan, just like that... Disgusting Baseball... is... BACK (shoutout StuGotz of the Dan LeBatard show). Jose Ramirez was at the center of the rally as his steal of second base enabled Steven Kwan to steal home producing the second run of the inning,

Unsung heroes of the rest of the game will remain the Guardians’ reliable bullpen arms. Emmanuel Clase dominated the Braves in the 9th. Scott Barlow performed a Houdini act in the 10th with the help of excellent defense, And, Nick Sandlin, who allowed a couple hard-hit balls, demonstrated some veteran poise in saving the game in the bottom of the 11th with the top of the Atlanta lineup at the plate.

The game was won in the top of the 11th, as mentioned at the beginning of this article, when the Braves intentionally walked Jose Ramirez to face Josh Naylor with two men now on base:

Cleveland takes the lead!!

https://twitter.com/i/status/1784401565559759290

Josh Naylor lives for these moments:

"I enjoy pressure, I think it's a blessing. Pressure is a gift."

Josh Naylor does not mind the pressure at all in clutch moments, he embraces it.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1784406255148118426

So does Stephen Vogt:

"I can't talk about him enough or find the words to describe what he means to us. He's the epitome of a professional and of a baseball player."

Nothing but continuous praise from Stephen Vogt of the importance of José Ramírez to his ball club.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1784409368592617476

The rubber match of the series happens this afternoon at 1:35PM EST.

In other news, Sam Hentges made his third rehab appearance on Friday and was up to 95 mph with his fastball so he should return to the ballclub soon. I’d assume (and hope) either Pedro Avila or Tyler Beede will make way for the lefty to rejoin the Guardians.

Friday night was yet another reminder of the value Austin Hedges provides as a framer, something he’s been doing all season:

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In MLB draft prospect news, it was a BIG day for Georgia’s Charlie Condon who would certainly seem to be putting himself in a “can’t miss” category:

"Charlie Condon is Georgia's new top dog in home runs!"

More on the No. 1 Draft prospect, whose D1-leading 29th homer of the season -- and 54th of his career -- set a pair of school records:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1784386030344589469

But don’t forget about sleeper Braden Montgomery:

You know what I like about Braden Montgomery and how his game will translate? These are big league swings and big league bat speed. Very, very few little league homers. These aren’t alloy/aluminum nukes. They’re legit barrels at any level.

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Around MLB:

Between the White Sox and the Angels, the Twins offense has awakened from their early season sleep.

The Royals finally lost to the Tigers.

The White Sox won AGAIN and the Rays should feel bad.

Shohei Ohtani hits the ball so dang hard.

Maybe MLB broke out the juiced balls yesterday, because five teams scored in double-digits with three exceeding fifteen runs.

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Power Rankings: Fascinating week sends teams shuffling

It was a fascinating week, punctuated by a stirring series between two teams in our top four ... two teams that look like they are going to be that high for a while. These rankings, as always, are compiled from rankings from MLB.com contributors whose names you can find at the bottom of this (and every) piece, but the words are mine. If you dislike the rankings, yell at all of us. But if you dislike the words, feel free to yell at me.

4) Guardians (previously: 4).
Season high: 4 | Season low: 21
The Guardians lost two out of three against the Braves, and while there is no category on the MLB.com standings page for “moral victories,” the upstart Guardians have to feel good about how they measure up with the top team in baseball. They were one eighth-inning Braves comeback away from winning the series on the road. It’s clear that they measure up. It’ll be fascinating to see if they can bury the Astros: They’ve got three in Houston, and there may be no better time to catch Houston. They need every win they can get right now, because it sure looks like the Twins have woken up; there are four teams in this division currently over .500.