The Cleveland Guardians were one of MLB’s most pleasant surprises in 2022.
A young, talented team with lots of rookie and second-year contributors, the Guards captivated a portion of fans with their style of play.
They were energetic, they were relentless, they ran the bases well, they moved runners around, and they showed their contact ability, not to mention elite defense and great pitching.
Jose Ramirez obviously had a huge role in their excellent campaign, as did aces Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie.
Andres Gimenez also broke out after an uneven 2021, and Josh Naylor contributed some much-needed power.
We can say, however, that two rookies were crucial in the Guardians’ 2022 success: outfielders Steven Kwan and Oscar Gonzalez.
This graphic shows just how much they contributed.
What a season it was for these @CleGuardians rooks 📊 pic.twitter.com/7Z9uggVPfG
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) December 1, 2022
Opposite Styles, Same Production
The best part of it all is that Kwan and Gonzalez are two completely opposite styles, and that’s fantastic for the offense.
Kwan is a contact-first hitter with an elite eye at the plate: he doesn’t have much power, but he will rarely swing at a pitch outside of the zone and is extremely difficult to strike out.
Gonzalez will expand the zone a bit from time to time, but he has some really nice power and showed in the postseason that he is a star in the clutch, too.
With their two different approaches to hitting, both were similarly good at the plate: Kwan finished with a 124 wRC+ (a stat measuring offensive performance compared to the league average) and Gonzalez checked in at 122.
Both will be mainstays in the Guardians’ lineup for at least five more seasons barring an unexpected trade.
Cleveland could be a force for years to come.
