Last year, I bought some packs of the 2021 Topps Big League. The Topps Big League is an entry-level product and the price is relatively friendly. This year, the 2023 Topps Big League arrived in early April. At the beginning, I thought that it was the 2022 Topps Big League. But, no, there isn’t the 2022 Topps Big League. Well, Topps certainly has different ideas on its products and has changed some plans.
Anyway, the 2023 Topps Big League was released in the spring. I went to a sports card shop just a few days after this product was released. I opened some hobby packs and got some base cards. In particular, I got a Steven Kwan base card and an Amed Rosario base card. While seeing these 2 cards, I began to think about the offense of the Cleveland Guardians.The Guardians got 92 wins last season and won the AL Central title. However, at this moment, they are the third in the AL Central and they are 4 games behind the Minnesota Twins, which currently lead the AL Central.
When we look at the Guardians’ batting stats, it may tell us the reason why the Guardians are not the division leader.
By far this season, the Guardians already played 41 games. The team’s OPS is only .644, which ranks 30th in the majors. Additionally, the Guardians only have 23 home runs, which is the fewest among 30 MLB teams. Furthermore, they now have 132 RBI and again, it’s the fewest among 30 MLB teams. As we can see, the Guardians’ offense isn’t ideal by far this season.
However, there’s good news. Jose Ramirez is still Jose Ramirez. To date, Jose Ramirez slashes .285/.364/.457 with 4 home runs and 22 RBI. His OPS is over .800. Furthermore, he now has 21 walks and was struck out only 15 times. Hence, he’s still productive.
At the same time, Steven Kwan currently bats .275/.357/.356 with 1 home run and 14 RBI. He had a pretty good rookie season in 2022, slashing .298/.373/.400 with 6 home runs and 52 RBI. Kwan still collects hits as he did last season. Additionally, he now has 22 walks and was struck out 19 times. Thus, Kwan is doing his job, but his OPS drops from .773 to .713.
Finally, let’s take a look at other key batters. Josh Bell signed a 2-year deal with the Guardians last December, but, so far, he only slashes .224/.337/.350 with 3 home runs and 19 RBI. Meanwhile, Amed Rosario now hits .262/.297/.372 with 1 home run and 8 RBI. Moreover, Andres Gimenez and Myles Straw each inked a long-term deal with the Guardians. Nevertheless, Gimenez has an OPS below .700 and Straw’s OPS is below .600.
The Guardians are now third in the AL Central. Well, they certainly didn’t have a good start this year. With more than 4 months left in the regular season, the team still has enough time to improve the offense. Jose Ramirez is the only player from the Guardians with an OPS over .800 and he has to continue to do his job for the rest of the season. But, are we going to see other players contribute more to the Guardians’ lineup? Will some of these batters gradually heat up in the summer?
No comments:
Post a Comment