Jason Foster of https://t.co/HFfd9lkLLD named Chase DeLauter a dark horse candidate to earn an American League All-Star selection at designated hitter.
"Dark horse candidate: Chase DeLauter, Guardians," Foster wrote. "DeLauter is an exciting rookie who has put together a strong season so far, living in the top five among AL rookies in homers and OPS."
(https://t.co/rapAet5AVB)
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report gave the Guardians an A- for their 2026 season so far, praising Cleveland for remaining on pace to contend despite underwhelming performances from several of the club’s biggest stars.
"José Ramírez hasn't hit this poorly (.228 AVG, .397 SLG) since 2015. Steven Kwan is a shell of his former self with a sub-.600 OPS. And Tanner Bibee—who was the clear ace of this staff in both 2023 and 2024—is 0-7 with the worst ERA (4.57) of his young career. Even with those three key pieces underwhelming, though, Cleveland is once again on track to do that thing where it wins around 90 games while spending as little money as possible. The Guardians would be an A+ along with the White Sox if they hadn't been projected for 12 more wins before the season began."
(https://t.co/bTj3tuYI7H)
Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report ranks Parker Messick No. 3 among MLB rookies, highlighting his strong start, elite changeup, and underlying metrics that point toward sustained success and potential All-Star upside.
"After logging a 2.72 ERA in 39.2 innings over seven starts last season, Messick still had to win a spot in the Opening Day rotation this spring. Now he looks like a legitimate All-Star candidate, and his 3.02 FIP and an elite 44.7 percent whiff rate on his changeup both point to sustainable success."
(https://t.co/HbqzXjrUdM)
Paul Hoynes of https://t.co/mROEZio3Hi believes the Guardians may need to consider trading Steven Kwan, arguing it may be better to move him “one year too early” rather than too late.
“We know how they operate,” Hoynes said. “[Steven Kwan's] got one year left of control. This might be the time to trade him. You know, trade him one year too early instead of one year too late.”
(https://t.co/1L2Mlocqxh)
Paul Hoynes of https://t.co/mROEZio3Hi highlights the key issue behind the Guardians' recent scoring struggles, noting that despite a solid overall team batting average during their last homestand, Cleveland failed to cash in with runners in scoring position.
“They got outscored 40 to 17 in the six game homestand,” Hoynes said. “The thing to me is the batting average, the team batting average was not bad. They hit .255 over the homestand. But they only scored 17 runs. They hit .211 with runners in scoring position and they stranded 46 guys in the six games.”
(https://t.co/bL05hsGAAl)
Jim Callis of https://t.co/HFfd9lkdW5 names Travis Bazzana and Parker Messick among MLB's hottest rookies, highlighting Bazzana's stellar first full month in Cleveland and Messick's highly effective changeup.
"Bazzana made his big league debut on April 28 and slashed .311/.398/.476 with 11 extra-base hits and eight steals during his first full month in Cleveland. That's exactly the type of production the Guardians expected when they took him with the first pick in a loaded 2024 Draft; Messick's changeup grades as his best pitch and it's helping his low-90s fastball work as his most effective offering in the Majors."
(https://t.co/JOnFJbf7IX)
Guardians GM Mike Chernoff says Cleveland refuses to lean on payroll disparity as an excuse, stressing that despite a major financial gap with top-spending clubs, the organization remains focused on finding creative ways to win and stay competitive.
“Regardless of what the economic system is, we have to find a way to win. We're not making excuses. Now, our payroll is 70-something million dollars, and you have teams out there with 370-something million dollar payrolls. We're facing the Dodgers the second series of the year, and the guy on the mound is making 70 million dollars, and our whole payroll is around that. We don't make excuses. We just go out and try to win, and we've made the playoffs seven out of the last 10 years. We do have to do things differently in the current system, and that definitely makes it hard. Whatever the system is, we have to find a way around it and find a way to win."
(via @MLBNetworkRadio)
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report identifies the Cleveland Guardians’ biggest lineup issue as the clean-up spot, pointing to an MLB-worst production rate from the No. 4 position despite the team’s AL Central lead.
"Long gone are the days of teams automatically putting their biggest bat at No. 4 in the batting order, but it is still expected that the clean up hitter will at least do something positive. That hasn't been the case for the AL Central-leading Guardians, though, who have gotten an MLB-worst .188 batting average and an MLB-worst .303 slugging percentage from that spot in the lineup."
(https://t.co/EKc7pNWraR)