Cleveland Guardians Must Fix Anemic Offense In 4 Team Division Race

Cleveland Guardians Lack Of Offense:

The have to score more runs before it is too late.

In games against the Tampa Bay Rays July 25 and July 26, the Guardians were shut out. They had five hits the first game, and one the second.

baseballreference.com lists the Guardians at No. 29 in Major League Baseball in runs scored, team batting average, and runs batted in.

The Guardians are heavily skewed to left-handed hitters.

mlb.com notes Only four of the team’s top 30 prospects hit right-handed. They include Dean Curley (No. 7) Aaron Walton (No. 8) Alfonsin Rosario (No. 10) and Luke Hill (No. 17).

At the MLB level, of 13 position players, only four are pure right-handed hitters. They include Austin Hedges, David Fry, Rhys Hoskins, and Gabriel Arias.

Cleveland Guardians Ineffective Hitters:

Many of the Guardians offensive woes can be traced to a lack of impactful hitters.

While the Guardians do get occasional homers, some of the players the team counted upon for power have been non-consequential.

As of July 28, those players include:

Kyle Manzardo-hitting .209/.298/.358/.656, with 11 home runs, 32 RBI, and 108 strikeouts in 336 plate appearances.

Rhys Hoskins-hitting .174/.304/.369/.673, with 11 homers, 33 RBIs, and 92 strikeouts in 286 plate appearances. He has walked 43 times.

David Fry-hitting .184/.299/.340/.639.. with six homers, 13 RBIs, and 50 strikeouts in 164 plate appearances.

Gabriel Arias-hitting ..252/.291/.405/.696, with five homers, 10 RBIs, and 51 strikeouts in 117 plate appearances.

That’s 33 homers, and 88 RBIs from four players who are either very consequential ( Manzardo and Hoskins) or somewhat consequential (Fry and Arias) to the Guardians.

Hoskins was a free agent signing. They were counting on his right-handed bat to add power. He is playing on a one-year, $1.5 Million contract.

Cleveland Guardians Platoon Philosophy:

There is no mistaking that Cleveland relies heavily upon statistical data as a focal point of their strategy model.

Metrics play a critical part in daily lineup construction, as well as in-game pinch-hitting changes.

Manager Stephen Vogt is quick to change the hitting side of the hitter, based upon the hand of the pitcher. Many substitutions are made in-game, based upon opposition pitching changes.

Challenge For Cleveland Guardians Front Office:

On July 22, Antonetti told mlb.com, “”We’ll look at all opportunities to try to improve the team.”

He also noted, “Now, whether that means we’ll ultimately be able to get to the finish line on a deal or multiple deals, I have no idea. It’s impossible to predict, but we’ll certainly try.”

The Guardians did trade for switch-hitting catcher, Patrick Bailey from the San Francisco Giants. They gave up left-handed pitching prospect, Matt Wilkinson, and a Competitive Balance Round A draft pick (No. 29 overall) for Bailey.

The Cleveland Guardians need a consequential hitter at the August 3 trade deadline.

Cleveland Guardians Focus On Pitching:

The Guardians are among the best pitching organizations in MLB.

The team consistently finds and develops quality pitchers that keep the team in games. Both starters and relievers. That’s admirable.

The Cleveland Guardians do face a lack of organization major league ready depth of starting pitchers.

In this past MLB draft, the team selected 13 pitchers among their 20 picks.

Unfortunately, as noted by sportingnews.com, their No. 2 selection, high school lefty, Logan Schmidt has decided to enter college, and not sign with Cleveland.

All Star Jose Ramirez is still finding his way back after being on the Injured List with a hamate bone injury.

Hopefully, he starts hitting. Soon.

Great pitching is crucial, but the Cleveland Guardians have to address their anemic offense if they want to win the American League Central Division.