The Cleveland Guardians have locked up the top spot in the AL Central with an 18-7 September.
Talk about peaking at the right time: the Guards were more “good” than “great” over the course of the season as a whole, but this month, they are on the verge of entering another tier.
At 86-67, they have won nine of their last ten games, including seven in a row.
Oscar Gonzalez, Josh Naylor, Andres Gimenez, and the pitching as a whole have all been instrumental to the recent success.
One of the keys of the recent run has been outfielder Steven Kwan.
After homering on Sunday, he completed an incredible week.
In fact, he was named the American League Player of the Week by MLB.
His Season Is Ending The Same Way It Started
He started off the season red-hot at the plate, and he is making sure he finishes it the same way.
“Guardians rookie Steven Kwan named AL Player of the Week after batting .438 (14 of 32) with nine runs, two triples, two home runs, 10 RBIs, four steals and a .750 slugging percentage over seven games,” AP’s Tom Withers tweeted.
Guardians rookie Steven Kwan named AL Player of the Week after batting .438 (14 of 32) with nine runs, two triples, two home runs, 10 RBIs, four steals and a .750 slugging percentage over seven games.
— Tom Withers (@twithersAP) September 26, 2022
The slugging percentage and the extra-base hits are actually the most encouraging developments of his week.
For the season, Kwan is hitting .298/.373/.400 with six homers, 84 runs, and 19 stolen bases.
Getting that slugging percentage to .400 is critical to his future success as an MLB hitter.
His contact skills and plate discipline are both elite, but if he can’t hit for power, pitchers will start challenging him more often.
It’s nice to see him capitalizing on hittable pitches and hitting them with authority.
Kwan is looking like quite a weapon at the top of the Guardians lineup for the postseason.
NEXT: Guardians Make A Huge Leap Among MLB Contenders