2022 Cleveland Guardians Regular Season Thread

[buzzdog]

Hosey is hitting .217 in September. Six extra base hits in 92 at-bats. What is wrong with him?

One thing I noticed is he's hungry for RBI's. When he comes up with RISP he gets ahead in the count and then chases bad pitches. Last night he had a 2-0 count and I knew he would swing at the next pitch no matter where it was and sure enough he chased it. He ended up chasing three pitches out of the zone and striking out. You can see it coming.

I think he has a goal of 130 RBI's or something and is going out of his way for RBI's. He's also fouling off a lot of fastballs in the zone that you'd expect him to square up. It used to be you were taking your life in your hands if you threw Jose a fastball down the middle, but now I see it all the time and he fouls them off, pops them up, or beats them into the ground. He looks like he's lunging at the ball rather than staying balanced and swinging smoothly. Maybe he's trying to get to 30 home runs.

He no longer has to carry the team offensively so he should just relax, forget about his stats, and take whatever the pitcher gives him, even if it's a base on balls.

Jose has completely abandoned any thoughts of strike zone discipline. He knows he's being pitched around and it seems he's frustrated by it so he's made the conscious decision to chase pitches out of the zone on a regular basis. I guess that's okay for the remainder of the regular season and he's golfed a few homers out at his ankles which I think was probably a net negative if he thinks he can do that at will. I fear he's establishing some habits and muscle memory that will cause him to do the exact same thing in the playoffs, and playoff level pitching will eat him alive if he doesn't force them to throw strikes.

He needs to reign it back in and if he doesn't the coaches need to have a little heart to heart talk with him. I'm not sure strike zone discipline is something you can just turn off and back on at will, there are habits involved. He needs to practice swinging only at strikes for awhile.

 

[macbdog]

Jose has completely abandoned any thoughts of strike zone discipline. He knows he's being pitched around and it seems he's frustrated by it so he's made the conscious decision to chase pitches out of the zone on a regular basis. I guess that's okay for the remainder of the regular season and he's golfed a few homers out at his ankles which I think was probably a net negative if he thinks he can do that at will. I fear he's establishing some habits and muscle memory that will cause him to do the exact same thing in the playoffs, and playoff level pitching will eat him alive if he doesn't force them to throw strikes.

He needs to reign it back in and if he doesn't the coaches need to have a little heart to heart talk with him. I'm not sure strike zone discipline is something you can just turn off and back on at will, there are habits involved. He needs to practice swinging only at strikes for awhile.

Jose was mia in the playoffs 2 of the last 3 times they have made it, doing much the same thing. Have to wonder how diff his approach would be if there was a veteran hitter behind Jose if both his approach and the pitchers approach didn't change. But alas, there were none available in FA or trade, so will have to wait for Álex Escobar to be ready next year to slot in behind him.

 

[Benway]

He could end up being the next Michael Brantley (.298/.795 career) only much better defensively. He may be there already.

I have a weird memory of Brantley being a plus defender. The numbers show a very different picture, except for one season. (2011?) Throughout his career he has been routinely dreadful in the field.
Like Kwan, he had a weak arm, though generated assists by playing the wall like a fiddle.
Kwan is a damn revelation on LF. He throws himself into every play like a demon. His numbers are superior as well; he's not just an eye-test illusion.

Offensively, he's been a genius at making adjustments. The guy is just playing chess with AL pitchers so far. The great thing about baseball is that you can be no bigger than Joe Morgan and still absolutely dominate. He's a long way from being an MVP candidate, but I can't cross him off just yet.

 

[sportscoach]

I have a weird memory of Brantley being a plus defender. The numbers show a very different picture, except for one season. (2011?) Throughout his career he has been routinely dreadful in the field.
Like Kwan, he had a weak arm, though generated assists by playing the wall like a fiddle.
Kwan is a damn revelation on LF. He throws himself into every play like a demon. His numbers are superior as well; he's not just an eye-test illusion.

Offensively, he's been a genius at making adjustments. The guy is just playing chess with AL pitchers so far. The great thing about baseball is that you can be no bigger than Joe Morgan and still absolutely dominate. He's a long way from being an MVP candidate, but I can't cross him off just yet.

Brantley wasn't rated a good fielder, but he also never made any errors though, so its more of the, no he wasn't a good fielder, but since he never made any errors (16 Errors in 10.7K+ of innings), he was trustworthy out there. He was the guy, who would make every single routine play and could trust to put up a good AB every at bat. You couldn't ask for anymore...

Kwan will never be Brantley... Brennan has that upside. The Kwan you see right now, honestly is his peak, but it's a very sustainable peak. Like what you see now, baring injury, is likely what you will get the next 8ish years...

 

[Gson]

..during his sophomore and later seasons..Kwan, with professional training and nutrition, will fill out.. As a teenager at Oregon State..he was all of 165 pounds.. Since then, he's only gained a couple more pounds.. During the next year or three.. expect his weight to go up about 10 %, overall... with most of it being all muscle and flexibility.. At the end of the day, the latter part of Kwan's power output during the 2022 season may be what he can become and or approach.. for the next 8'ish years..

The Kwan we're seeing now.. is a very good ML player.. but he's far from a finished product..

 

[DCTribefan]

Have to laugh at all the athletic trainers, nutritionists, and professional scouts who post on this forum.

 

[BimboColesHair]

Have to laugh at all the athletic trainers, nutritionists, and professional scouts who post on this forum.

Hey, don’t forget the hall of fame managers.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Brantley rarely made an error or misplayed the wall. His arm was very accurate - he had four years with 10-12 assists. A lot of them were because he played the wall perfectly and got off a quick throw right on the money, surprising the batter. I also thought he was better defensively than his rating indicated, but maybe he was marked down due to lack of range.

In terms of hitting I can see Kwan being a very similar hitter; .300 average, 15-20 home runs, rarely chases bad pitches, always a tough out. Kwan will get more infield hits than Brantley, steal more bags, and probably get more doubles due to his speed. Brantley's high was 23 stolen bases; his next highest year was 17. Kwan has 19.

At age 24 Brantley hit .266/.702 with an OPS+ of 97. Kwan at 24 is hitting .302/.780 with an OPS+ of 126.

 

[The Oi]

Any love for Eli Lingos? Keeps performing

You really never can perform enough Lingos.

 

[DCTribefan]

Hey, don’t forget the hall of fame managers.

Bazinga.

 

[bob2the2nd]

Brantley wasn't rated a good fielder, but he also never made any errors though, so its more of the, no he wasn't a good fielder, but since he never made any errors (16 Errors in 10.7K+ of innings), he was trustworthy out there. He was the guy, who would make every single routine play and could trust to put up a good AB every at bat. You couldn't ask for anymore...

Kwan will never be Brantley... Brennan has that upside. The Kwan you see right now, honestly is his peak, but it's a very sustainable peak. Like what you see now, baring injury, is likely what you will get the next 8ish years...

I think making the statement that any player's rookie year will be there peak is a bit ridiculous. Does it happen, absolutely. However way more often than not players build on their rookie years.

I dont expect that Kwan will ever finish in the top 3 MVP voting (like Brantley in 2014), but thats also brantleys best year statistically and he has only had 1 other season that got close to that (2 if you squint). While i agree i dont expect most of his numbers to change that much I do expect him to develop a bit more power. It might not be 25 HRs a year, but i would expect 30-35 doubles, and 10-15 HRs

 

[bigfoot5415]

Anyone think we sign Kwan or maybe even Gonzalez to a long term deal if next season is similar to this one?

 

[DerekG123]

I think making the statement that any player's rookie year will be there peak is a bit ridiculous. Does it happen, absolutely. However way more often than not players build on their rookie years.

I dont expect that Kwan will ever finish in the top 3 MVP voting (like Brantley in 2014), but thats also brantleys best year statistically and he has only had 1 other season that got close to that (2 if you squint). While i agree i dont expect most of his numbers to change that much I do expect him to develop a bit more power. It might not be 25 HRs a year, but i would expect 30-35 doubles, and 10-15 HRs

Yeah I dont know how we can say this year is his peak performance ability. Even this year, look at how much better his numbers would be if he didnt have that struggle period in mid-late April and May. He probably wont have that again, so his numbers should rise. Plus even if he power doesnt dramatically jump, he could get better at making contact, his eye could get even better. He could just further perfect the things he is really good at, its possible imo.

 

[sportscoach]

I think making the statement that any player's rookie year will be there peak is a bit ridiculous. Does it happen, absolutely. However way more often than not players build on their rookie years.

I dont expect that Kwan will ever finish in the top 3 MVP voting (like Brantley in 2014), but thats also brantleys best year statistically and he has only had 1 other season that got close to that (2 if you squint). While i agree i dont expect most of his numbers to change that much I do expect him to develop a bit more power. It might not be 25 HRs a year, but i would expect 30-35 doubles, and 10-15 HRs

He won't ever hit more than 10 HRs, that's not his game... A full season without his slump, would he around 6 WAR, between his hits and defense (via baseball reference). Since he naturally lacks power, he really won't improve over 6 WAR in a season. There is a limit numbers wise when your power is limited... Thing is, look up how many guys can produce 6 WAR for 8 seasons of their careers. Even if I say he has peaked, that's All-Star numbers for 8 seasons... Borderline Hall of Fame if he could do it for 12...

 

[Gson]

Yeah I dont know how we can say this year is his peak performance ability. Even this year, look at how much better his numbers would be if he didnt have that struggle period in mid-late April and May. He probably wont have that again, so his numbers should rise. Plus even if he power doesnt dramatically jump, he could get better at making contact, his eye could get even better. He could just further perfect the things he is really good at, its possible imo.

Organically.. through familiarization with the pitchers he's facing..he should be able to work counts as well or better.. recognize pitcher's sequencing.. and, as he matures.. turn on more pitches..

Projecting Kwan to be a single digit home run producer is the same as claiming a player won't be traded.. falsely..