With a 28-33 record, the Cleveland Guardians haven’t been particularly good in 2023.
If we examine the season as a whole, their offense has been a big problem.
As of Thursday afternoon, they ranked 29th out of 30 MLB squads in runs scored, with 221.
Only the Detroit Tigers have scored less.
However, if we take a closer look to the last 10 games, the Guardians’ offense is starting to resemble the 2022 unit.
If you don’t remember, last year’s Guardians were not powerful, but they knew how to manufacture runs.
Contact, walks, moving the runners when it’s needed, a few doubles, and timely hitting are re-appearing in the last 10 games.
The numbers back that up.
“Over each MLB Team’s last 10 Games, Cleveland’s offense ranks: 2nd with 100 hits, 2nd with 27 doubles, 2nd with .282 BA, T-11th with 47 runs, 13th with .733 OPS, Last with 5 HR,” Cleveland Stats tweeted.
Over each MLB Team's last 10 Games, Cleveland's offense ranks:
2nd with 100 hits
2nd with 27 doubles
2nd with .282 BA
T-11th with 47 runs
13th with .733 OPS
Last with 5 HRpic.twitter.com/56bH8VInd4— Cleveland Stats (@CLE_STATS) June 8, 2023
Basically, they have been last season’s Guards.
There appears to be no way to make this lineup hit more than a few home runs, but as long as they hit a few doubles, get on base, and are aggressive on the basepaths, they can win with their pitching.
Home runs are the easiest path to score runs in bunches, but they are also expensive and the Guardians won’t spend like the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, or New York Mets.
They do have some hitters that are expected to pick up their home run pace, such as Jose Ramirez, Josh Naylor, Andres Gimenez, and others.
Things can, and probably will, get better.
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