Breaking down Guards’ early-season trends

This story was excerpted from Mandy Bell’s Guardians Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The Guardians started as hot as they could have, taking each of the first four series to start the season. It wasn’t until a long doubleheader with the Yankees on Saturday that the win streak was snapped.

It was inevitable. The team couldn’t possibly go all season without dropping a single series to an opponent. But while the first 12 games highlighted a lot of the reasons to be optimistic about this roster, the doubleheader sweep called attention to the weaknesses.

Let’s take a look at three of the best and more concerning early-season trends:

THREE UP1. Gaddis, the bullpen weaponHunter Gaddis may be the most intriguing development so far this season. From backend starter who was fighting for a way to see some innings in the rotation to a possible lights-out, late-inning reliever, he’s grown in many ways since last season. First, his fastball is already averaging 3.1 mph faster than it did last year. He’s topped out at 98 mph and he’s racked up nine strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings. If this continues, he may be the best option for the Guardians’ eighth-inning role.

2. Add some more Platinum to Giménez’s gloveThe Guardians’ defense has been pretty solid all around, but no one shines like Andrés Giménez. It didn’t take new manager Stephen Vogt long to learn that he can expect any ball hit to the right side of the infield to be an out. Whether it’s catching popups over his shoulder, making improbable diving plays or flipping the ball out of his glove to record an out, Giménez has put on a defensive clinic nearly every game so far this season.

3. When in doubt, trust KwanThe ebbs and flows of the offense are already in full effect. That is, except for Steven Kwan, who has yet to ebb. He looked steady all spring and that’s carried into the regular season, as the left fielder has logged at least one hit in 12 of 14 games. His average is up to .381 and his OPS sits at .908 entering Sunday. While he ran into some sophomore struggles last year, he’s been able to show tremendous consistency since Cactus League play began at the end of February. That at the top of the batting order could be a big benefit for the Guardians this season.

THREE DOWN1. Starting pitching depth … or lack thereofThe Guardians have consistently been able to lean on their rotation for the last handful of years, and the projected starting five for 2024 had the potential to be one of the best rotations in baseball. Now, it’s full of question marks. Both Xzavion Curry and Ben Lively have joined the team and could be activated off of the IL in Boston to help Cleveland get through its next turn in the rotation. Curry and Lively have to prove they can pull their weight. Triston McKenzie needs to get back on the right track. Carlos Carrasco needs to get deeper in outings. And someone needs to step up to lead the staff.

2. Teams are starting to pitch around NaylorAnd why wouldn’t they? Josh Naylor is the most threatening bat in Cleveland’s lineup right now. In his first nine games, 51.4% of the pitches thrown to him were in the zone. After a three-hit game in the series opener against the White Sox that jacked up his average to .383, Chicago started to pitch around Naylor. In the next two games, he only saw 38.5% of pitches in the strike zone, drew three walks with one intentional free pass and he started to show his frustration. In Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader, he was walked three more times. The Yankees didn’t walk him in Game 2 and he went 2-for-4 with a homer. There’s a reason to pitch around him, but the more that happens, the Guardians will need to figure out how to produce around that.

3. A quiet bottom of the orderKwan and Naylor have been great. José Ramírez is sure to find his stride. But the bottom of the order is struggling. Estevan Florial, who was the only major addition to the offense this offseason, hit his first homer on Saturday, but has hardly gotten on base otherwise. Gabriel Arias broke an 0-for-15 stretch in the fifth inning of Saturday’s nightcap with a double and only has three hits on the season. Brayan Rocchio got off to a decent start, but he went 3-for-21 in his previous six games leading up to Sunday.