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2024 Guardians Spring Training Thread

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Real Deal said:
Can't wait for the brutality of April on our offense. Hope our pitching comes out wrecking the league. It's time for some baseball boys!! Go Guards
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It's been a mild winter so hopefully April is nice. Regardless, I don't think we should have high expectations from the lineup to start the season.
 
I'm pretty excited about this year... Lots of familiar faces, but some changes and a chance for a couple or more of the guys to bounce back and excel in 2024. If things click, there is a lot to like.

C - Naylor. This time last year there was a lot of justified optimism with Zunino... This year it's our catcher of the future. Things may start slow or come in bits and pieces for a sec, but all and all this should be a huge improvement over our 2023 output. Oh yeah, also David Fry... And Austin Hedges to help those guys out and after a strong ST at the plate, who really knows...

1B - Nalyor. Yes the older one. Should be solid and if you're not expecting him to have his best year as a professional to date at the plate in 2024.... You're a terrible fan. Also David Fry, others.

2B - Gimenez. Platinum glove wearing player... That's amazing. If he can get a bit more productive at the plate, closer to 2022 stuff... He's an All-star. I'm calling it a sophomore slump.

SS - Rocchio. If this dude does the unthinkable and wins the RoY, gets us a PPI pick - talk about a story. Whoever is hitting better between Rocchio and Arias will eventually win out here. For now.

3B - Some gangsta named Jose Ramirez?

LF - Steven Kwan. Like Gimenez, last year was a bit of a let down after their performances in 2022. At the plate that is. He'll be closer to his 2022 self, maybe even better.

CF - Tyler Freeman. A healthy and ready to go Freeman finally gets a chance to see if the bat plays in MLB. It will. He is also doing that at a position he is new to, enter Estevan Florial. He'll get plenty of looks to see if the bat plays. Will Brennan, Ramon Laureano and even Steven Kwan could play here.

RF - Ramon Laureano... His old teammate is his manager these days... He's a free agent next year, this is his moment. He might be the closest thing we've had since Mike Napoli. Let him start and try not to lose the job.
 
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The things I'm excited for this season:
1. Bo taking over the lion's share of C responsibilities and becoming the best C this team has had since Victor.
2. Josh being healthy and getting closer to his prime. He's a 25+ HR potential hitter.
3. Arias winning SS back from Rocchio who isn't going to sniff ROY. Let's be real here.
4. Manzardo getting called up a few weeks into the season.
5. DeLauter forcing his way into Cleveland due to his performance in Columbus and the lack of power from Kwan, Brennan, Laureano, Rocchio and Freeman.
6. A better lineup around JRam so most of the burden doesn't fall on him.
7. How the rotation morphs if Bieber is dealt.
8. Johnathan Rodriguez claiming a corner OF and/or the DH spots.
9. Florial exploding so I can hear all the Yankee fans crying from NW Ohio.
10. Young talent in general finding it's way to Cleveland and replacing the mediocrity.
11. Very excited to see the philisophical changes toward hitting take hold.

The things I'm not excited about for this season:
1. Not knowing what becomes of Bieber
2. Not trading McKenzie and seeing him hit the IL again
3. Kwan hitting the ball like a child
4. Freeman doing the same as Kwan
5. Brennan not hitting the ball with more authority
6. Wasting time by giving Laureano AB
7. Rocchio not hitting the ball very hard and playing defense at a level well below Arias.
8. Hedges in the lineup every 5th day.
9. Battling KC for 3rd place in the AL Central which will happen if they don't get some thump in this lineup.
 
Florial looks like quite the long-shot, no?

CDAV45 said:
The things I'm not excited about for this season:
1. Not knowing what becomes of Bieber
2. Not trading McKenzie and seeing him hit the IL again
3. Kwan hitting the ball like a child
4. Freeman doing the same as Kwan
5. Brennan not hitting the ball with more authority
6. Wasting time by giving Laureano AB
7. Rocchio not hitting the ball very hard and playing defense at a level well below Arias.
8. Hedges in the lineup every 5th day.
9. Battling KC for 3rd place in the AL Central which will happen if they don't get some thump in this lineup.
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I am not worried about no.9.
Yet.
 
CDAV45 said:
The things I'm excited for this season:
1. Bo taking over the lion's share of C responsibilities and becoming the best C this team has had since Victor.
2. Josh being healthy and getting closer to his prime. He's a 25+ HR potential hitter.
3. Arias winning SS back from Rocchio who isn't going to sniff ROY. Let's be real here.
4. Manzardo getting called up a few weeks into the season.
5. DeLauter forcing his way into Cleveland due to his performance in Columbus and the lack of power from Kwan, Brennan, Laureano, Rocchio and Freeman.
6. A better lineup around JRam so most of the burden doesn't fall on him.
7. How the rotation morphs if Bieber is dealt.
8. Johnathan Rodriguez claiming a corner OF and/or the DH spots.
9. Florial exploding so I can hear all the Yankee fans crying from NW Ohio.
10. Young talent in general finding it's way to Cleveland and replacing the mediocrity.
11. Very excited to see the philisophical changes toward hitting take hold.

The things I'm not excited about for this season:
1. Not knowing what becomes of Bieber
2. Not trading McKenzie and seeing him hit the IL again
3. Kwan hitting the ball like a child
4. Freeman doing the same as Kwan
5. Brennan not hitting the ball with more authority
6. Wasting time by giving Laureano AB
7. Rocchio not hitting the ball very hard and playing defense at a level well below Arias.
8. Hedges in the lineup every 5th day.
9. Battling KC for 3rd place in the AL Central which will happen if they don't get some thump in this lineup.
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Kwan hitting the ball like a child... Lol.

You're gonna be disappointed man.

A big power surge ain't coming in 2024, but it is looking better. DeLauter isn't playing AAA ball, for starters, he begins with Akron and will skip AAA as needed/deserved. Columbus is for other rostered guys, and Straw.
 
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Criznit said:
Kwan hitting the ball like a child... Lol.

You're gonna be disappointed man.

A big power surge ain't coming in 2024, but it is looking better. DeLauter isn't playing AAA ball, for starters, he begins with Akron and will skip AAA as needed/deserved. Columbus is for other rostered guys, and Straw.
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He hits the ball like a child. Who on the roster has lower EV's? He just makes a lot of contact.

I'm not going to be disappointed because I don't have high expectations.

Obviously I don't see a big power surge coming in 2024 unless some of the prospects/young players breakthrough. No shit DeLauter isn't playing in AAA to start, but he isn't going to skip AAA. He'll at the very least have a brief stint in Columbus and they aren't going to risk him losing his rookie status this season.
 
Benway said:
Florial looks like quite the long-shot, no?



I am not worried about no.9.
Yet.
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Yes, Florial looks like a long-shot. He also has a much higher ceiling than the other 4 OFers which is why he is rostered. Do you prefer a safe bet for mediocrity or a riskier chance on better talent?

If they don't promote some of the talent in the system and give the more talented players the opportunities then there's a good chance we're 3rd or 4th in the division.....again. Least productive OF in the league will help that happen along with teams like Detroit and KC getting better.
 
I'm more worried about the bullpen than anything. The outfield won't produce a lot of home runs but I expect decent batting averages and their share of doubles.

Kwan is taking bigger swings. On Friday he hit a grand slam over the right-center field wall. IIRC, all his home runs last year were down the right field line. I also saw him double to deep right center a few days earlier. Once the weather gets hot he'll drive some doubles and home runs to right.

Will Brennan is also trying to do damage as opposed to just putting the ball in play. Four of his seven hits this spring went for extra bases. And five of Laureano's ten hits were for extra bases.

I'm also very interested to see how the change in hitting philosophy impacts the slugging percentages and run scoring. I believe they also plan to run more. Gimenez stole four bases this spring, Freeman three, and even Josh swiped a couple.

We might not see a jump in power in April when the weather is cold, but come the summer I'm confident we'll see more extra base hits than last year, especially from the catching position. Last year Guardians' catchers ranked 24th in OPS. Their centerfielders ranked last and right field was 28th. Those three positions killed the offense and I'm confident we will be much improved offensively at all three this year.
 
Check the ages of some of our core guys:

Gavin Williams - 23
Bo Naylor - 24
Andres Gimenez - 25
Logan Allen - 25
Tanner Bibee - 25
Xzavion Curry - 25
Stephen Kwan - 26
Tristan McKenzie - 26
Emanuel Clase - 26
Hunter Gaddis - 26

Add Rocchio (23), DeLauter (22) and Manzardo (23), and it's a fun, young group with immense potential. Still the youngest teams in MLB
 
Damage said:
Check the ages of some of our core guys:

Gavin Williams - 23
Bo Naylor - 24
Andres Gimenez - 25
Logan Allen - 25
Tanner Bibee - 25
Xzavion Curry - 25
Stephen Kwan - 26
Tristan McKenzie - 26
Emanuel Clase - 26
Hunter Gaddis - 26

Add Rocchio (23), DeLauter (22) and Manzardo (23), and it's a fun, young group with immense potential. Still the youngest teams in MLB
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plus we get to add the #1 pick of the draft to this as well
 
Damage said:
Check the ages of some of our core guys:

Gavin Williams - 23
Bo Naylor - 24
Andres Gimenez - 25
Logan Allen - 25
Tanner Bibee - 25
Xzavion Curry - 25
Stephen Kwan - 26
Tristan McKenzie - 26
Emanuel Clase - 26
Hunter Gaddis - 26

Add Rocchio (23), DeLauter (22) and Manzardo (23), and it's a fun, young group with immense potential. Still the youngest teams in MLB
Click to expand...
don't forget Ralphie....
 
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