Steven Kwan’s season looked like it was drifting in the wrong direction for months. The two-time All-Star was buried in a slump through the first three months, producing at a level that had Cleveland making a notable change: he was moved out of the leadoff spot for the first time since 2022. That reset gave him a short break while he tried to sort things out, and what came next has been one of the season’s sharpest turnarounds.
Kwan said the hardest part was dealing with the disconnect between how things felt and what the results were showing.
“You fight the struggle of, ‘OK, it doesn’t really feel like anything’s changed that badly, but clearly nothing is working right now.’ You basically have to shrug off all of those doubts inside and just try to figure out how you can get better, how you can help contribute,” Kwan said.
“You want baseball to be this merit-based kind of thing, where you work hard, you get good results. This made me feel proud because I stuck to my routines.”
The contrast in his numbers is stark. Through his first 78 games, Kwan was hitting just over .200 with an on-base percentage in the same range.
In the 63 games since, he’s been over .350 at the plate with an on-base percentage near .450, and that stretch leads all of baseball since the start of July. His overall wins above replacement has climbed to its highest point since 2022, and his walk rate has reached a career best, all while his outfield defense has remained elite.
The adjustment wasn’t complicated so much as it was a return to what already worked. Kwan spent the offseason trying to add more pull-side power, but the experiment left him vulnerable to pitches up and away and the results cratered. Instead of forcing that approach, he went back to the version of himself that made him an All-Star in the first place: working counts, using the whole field, and leaning on contact and plate discipline instead of power that was never the base of his game.
That reset has made Kwan one of the key reasons the Guardians are in position for another deep October run.
In Other News...
Brayan Rocchio Just Delivered Another Massive Moment For Cleveland
Brayan Rocchio keeps finding himself in the middle of Clevelands biggest September swings, and he did it again Wednesday night at Progressive Field. The Guardians edged the White Sox 7-6 in walk-off fashion, with Rocchio coming through in the bottom of the ninth with a two-run double that flipped the game and gave Cleveland a jolt in the middle of a tightly packed division race.
The win pulled the Guardians to within half a game of Chicago in the AL Central, which only adds more weight to what comes next in the series finale. For a club trying to climb past the White Sox, these late-inning moments have started to feel less like isolated highlights and more like the kind of plays that can shape an entire chase. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Escaped A Bullpen Meltdown In The Best Possible Way
Brayan Rocchio spent the late innings turning a messy afternoon into something the Guardians could live with, and maybe even enjoy. His two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the ninth delivered a 7-6 walk-off win over the White Sox, rescuing Cleveland after a bullpen stumble erased a two-run lead and flipped the game into a 6-4 deficit by the middle innings.
For a team trying to hold ground in the AL Central, the timing mattered as much as the finish. Cleveland had already watched Chicago take one game in the division race, and a second straight loss would have made the weekend feel far heavier, but Rocchios hit gave the Guardians the best possible escape route and a much cleaner ending than the one they had been headed toward. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Rookie Just Delivered The Response Cleveland Needed Most
Petey Halpin gave the Guardians the kind of answer a young player is often asked to provide, and he did it in a game that carried real weight in the AL Central race. After an early defensive misplay, the rookie settled in and came up with the biggest swing of the night against the White Sox, turning a tight game into a 6-3 Cleveland win that pushed the club into first place.
The performance mattered for more than just the final score. Halpin had not done much in limited success against left-handed pitching before this one, so the go-ahead blast stood out as a clear step forward, especially since it was his first home run off a lefty. Teammates and coaches viewed the night as more than a hot streak, seeing it as a sign of poise and leadership from a player who kept responding after a rough start. [Read more 🡒]