Steven Kwan Appreciation Thread

[Mott the Hoople]

Now the leader in MLB in BA for a leadoff hitter.

 

[DCTribefan]

 

[BMAN]

Sign this guy to one of those Guardians signature deals.

 

[buzzdog]

Lock him up! Lock him up!

 

[DCTribefan]

 

[LL3]

I'm very "pro-Kwan" and am very appreciative of his skills, efforts and results, but at his age and contract status, he is not somebody I would rush to lock up unless it was a particularly team friendly deal.

 

[CATS44]

Why not?

Kwan is an impact player...even without putting many balls over the fence. And, as we've seen so many times in baseball, contact hitters often gain power as their careers advance.

Eloy Jimenez hit 31 HR in his rookie season. Everybody labeled him as an impact player. In 504 PAs he was worth 1.4 WAR.

Kwan has hit 3 HR this year. In 447 PAs he has been worth 2.8 WAR.

Kwan is the answer to my prayer for the next Michael Brantley...and so far he has been better than Brantley.

 

[thestatman]

I don't understand how with 6 weeks of the season left, the pundits have already handed the ROTY trophy to Rodriguez.

 

[Real Deal]

I don't understand how with 6 weeks of the season left, the pundits have already handed the ROTY trophy to Rodriguez.

Chicks dig the long ball

• Julio Rodriguez -400
• Adley Rutschman +350
• Jeremy Pena +3000
• Bobby Witt, Jr. +3000
• Steve Kwan +4000

 

[thestatman]

Chicks dig the long ball

• Julio Rodriguez -400
• Adley Rutschman +350
• Jeremy Pena +3000
• Bobby Witt, Jr. +3000
• Steve Kwan +4000

Long ball, long dong, chicks are very picky.

 

[sportscoach]

I don't understand how with 6 weeks of the season left, the pundits have already handed the ROTY trophy to Rodriguez.

Rodriguez is at 4.1 WAR and Kwan is at 2.8 WAR. Rodriguez though eventually will come down some, but he has still put up the numbers to essentially win it. This has been a solid group of rookies around the league...

 

[Obscured By Clouds]

Rodriguez is at 4.1 WAR and Kwan is at 2.8 WAR. Rodriguez though eventually will come down some, but he has still put up the numbers to essentially win it. This has been a solid group of rookies around the league...

Seems you used BR's WAR for Rodriguez and FG's WAR for Kwan?

 

[CATS44]

I dont think Witt is really in the conversation for ROY, but there is still time for the other four.

Rodriguez was hot for two months, winning consecutive Rookie of the Month awards, but he has really fallen off since then.

Pena got early love, because he seamlessly stepped in for Correa, but he also has fallen off...more so than Rodriguez.

Rutschman is the one to watch IMO. He has the biggest name by far. (Kwan is the least known.) Rutschman is a catcher, and a catcher who hits is a really big deal. Plus, Rutschman is absolutely destroying baseballs right now....a 1.017 OPS in August so far.

Kwan is also having a big August at .906.

I would not be surprised, in fact I expect, that Rutschman and Kwan finish one-two in both versions of WAR at seasons end.

Whats interesting is that all four are playing for contenders...and the play of Kwan, Rutschman, and Rodriguez will probably be one of the determining factors in who qualifies for the playoffs.

Anyone that gets consideration has had a fine year, but ROY isn't always determined by which rookie actually had the best season.

Name recognition and position carry some weight, and Kwan loses ground on both counts.

Lofton clearly had a better season than Pat Listach in 1992, but Listach...who had a solid season....played SS and played for a very good team.

 

[CDAV45]

Rodriguez is at 4.1 WAR and Kwan is at 2.8 WAR. Rodriguez though eventually will come down some, but he has still put up the numbers to essentially win it. This has been a solid group of rookies around the league...

Thank you for not being a homer. I love Kwan as our lead off hitter and he plays very good defense in LF, but let's not conflate him with Rodriguez. He's not in the same realm. Having said that, I'd be open to a Kwan contract if it was a team friendly one. He's the type of player you want to keep, but I'd give up 2 of him for 1 Rodriguez.

 

[Obscured By Clouds]

Thank you for not being a homer. I love Kwan as our lead off hitter and he plays very good defense in LF, but let's not conflate him with Rodriguez. He's not in the same realm. Having said that, I'd be open to a Kwan contract if it was a team friendly one. He's the type of player you want to keep, but I'd give up 2 of him for 1 Rodriguez.

2 different WARs used in the above. Correct comparison is:

4.1 vs 3.6

or

3.0 vs 2.8.

Yes, Kwan is actually in that same realm, at least so far for this season. There is only a .020 OPS difference between the two.