Steven Kwan sat out Thursday after crashing into the wall while trying to make a catch against the New York Mets on Wednesday, leaving the Cleveland Guardians to open a key stretch without one of their hottest hitters. The team was hoping he could be back for Friday’s opener against the Chicago White Sox.
That hope matters because Kwan has been carrying a season that looked stalled only weeks ago. Since July 1, he has led the majors with a.398 batting average and a.486 on-base percentage, pushing his season average from.212 to.260 and giving the Guardians the kind of production they need as they begin a crucial three-game series.
The numbers behind the surge are hard to miss. Kwan had 31 hits in July, hit.403 with a.484 on-base percentage that month, and then added six hits in 16 at-bats in August. In the middle of May, he was batting around.200. By now, the turnaround is obvious enough that a day off stands out.
That is also why the timing is awkward. Kwan had recently returned to the leadoff spot he held for almost all of his first four seasons, but that change came as the Guardians slipped out of a playoff position after a post-All-Star break slump. His return to the top of the order has not changed the fact that the club has been searching for traction, and the next seven games on the road will ask for more than just one hot stretch from one hitter.
There was a reason for the dip before the surge, too. Kwan had been dealing with a position switch from left field to center field and also spent a few days away from the team because of a personal matter. Even with those disruptions, the left-handed hitter found his rhythm again and put himself back in the middle of the lineup’s most important innings.
The open question now is simple: whether the wall collision on Wednesday is serious enough to keep him out longer. The Guardians do not appear built to absorb much of a delay, especially with Friday’s series opener arriving so quickly and the weekend set followed by another road stop. If Kwan is available, they get a chance to keep pace with a bat that has been one of the best in the majors since July 1. If not, they are left waiting on the player they can least afford to lose.
