A strange Cleveland trend just got another chapter Monday night at Progressive Field, and Petey Halpin was the one who wrote it.
The Guardians rookie went deep twice in the franchise-tying seven-homer outburst against the Twins, joining a growing list of first-year players in Cleveland who have not merely arrived with their first big league homer, but have immediately followed it with another. Kyle Manzardo did it in 2024.
Chase DeLauder did it in the opening series this year against Seattle. Halpin made it three.
On the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast, Joe Noga pointed out the odd rhythm this has created for the Guardians. “What’s with Guardians rookies and getting their first home runs in bunches? ...
Petey Halpin does the same thing. First ball goes over the fence, second home run.
These guys, these rookies come up and they hit home runs in bunches.”
The pattern is quirky, but Halpin’s night also said something more serious about the way Cleveland has been building. The organization keeps producing rookies who look ready when the call comes, even if their paths to impact are different.
Halpin has never been the obvious power bat in the system. He’s known more as a glove-first player, someone whose value comes from defensive versatility and baserunning as much as anything he does with the bat.
He’s been shuttled between Cleveland and Triple-A Columbus three times this season. He isn’t an everyday fixture, and by all accounts he has handled that role without complaint.
What changed, according to Noga and Paul Hoynes, started between games of Saturday’s doubleheader against Pittsburgh. Halpin worked in the cage with hitting coach Grant Fink and made adjustments to his swing, shortening things up and getting quicker to the ball. The effects showed up right away in Game 2 of the doubleheader, carried over into Sunday, and then turned into Monday’s two-homer burst.
The second homer stood out even among the rest of the night’s fireworks. Noga described it as “a ball that was four feet off the ground.
One of the highest pitches hit for a home run in the Statcast era for a Guardians player.” It was the kind of swing that looked nothing like a player who had been expected to bring this sort of pop.
His teammates noticed, too. The dugout’s reaction was about more than the box score.
They know what Halpin has been through, and they know how he has carried himself through the roster churn. As Hoynes relayed, Tanner Bibee said after the game that Halpin “sat for a long time.
He doesn’t open his mouth. He never complains.”
That kind of presence matters in a clubhouse.
Hoynes also laid out just how many young players have been pushed into the picture this year: “They’ve had nine rookies make their big league debut this season alone.”
That number speaks to more than just the injuries that have forced Cleveland’s hand. It reflects an organization that chose this offseason to lean on internal development instead of chasing outside help. The results have not been smooth every night, but they have produced real pieces when the Guardians needed them.
The next decision is already looming. Angel Martínez is reportedly nearing a return from injury, and that means someone has to head back to Columbus.
Halpin or Khalil Watson, both rookies who have contributed during this stretch, will likely be the one left out. It’s the kind of problem a team only gets when the pipeline is actually working.
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For the Guardians, it is the kind of transaction that can feel more procedural than personal, even when a young player has done enough to make the decision uncomfortable. Watson has still shown enough in this stretch to matter to the organization, and the timing suggests this is more of a pause than a goodbye, with a bigger opportunity likely to come when rosters expand later in the season. [Read more 🡒]
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The broader roster puzzle, though, is still very much in motion. Angel Martnez is moving along on a rehab assignment as he works back from a foot fracture, giving Cleveland another potential option to monitor in the coming days as the lineup keeps shifting around injuries and availability. For now, the Guardians at least get Ramrez back, but the ripple effects of getting everyone healthy again are still only beginning to sort themselves out. [Read more 🡒]