Guardians Earn Fair Grade Quarter Of The Way Through MLB Season

The Cleveland Guardians may still have questions that need to be answered, but they continue to win.

Apr 27, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians right fielder Nolan Jones (22) celebrates with designated hitter Jose Ramirez (11) and first baseman Carlos Santana (41) after hitting a three-run home run during the sixth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

It seems like yesterday that the Cleveland Guardians officially reported to Goodyear, Arizona, to start spring training.

However, we're officially a quarter of the way through the season, and we know much more about this team than we did on Opening Day. However, some questions still need to be answered.

Mike Axisa and Matt Snyder of CBS Sports recently graded each team for the first 25 percent of the season. The duo of analysts gave the Guardians a fair grade of "B" for their performance so far.

Axisa and Snyder fairly pointed out that," Cleveland's rotation is the least imposing it has been in some time, and when you add in a defense that rates below average a quarter of the way into the season, you get a bottom-10 run prevention unit."

The Guardians' starter ERA is at 4.34, the fourth-highest in the American League.

Cleveland doesn't have the best lineup in baseball, but they've put up runs when needed.

Even though this roster still has some concerns and unknowns, the Guardians are winning, and you can't take anything away from that.

Heading into Monday's game, the Guardians had the second-best record in the league, only behind their division foe, the Detroit Tigers.

Apr 21, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan (38) and Cleveland Guardians right fielder Jhonkensy Noel (43) react after the Cleveland Guardians defeated the New York Yankees at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images | David Dermer-Imagn Images

"The Guardians have a winning record despite a negative run differential. They've demonstrated a knack for winning one-run games the last several years, so I don't want to chalk that up to luck," continued the analysts.

"Cleveland does walk a tightrope most nights. Their margin of error is very small. A quarter of the way into the season, they've stayed on the right side of those margins."

The Guardians have by no means had a perfect start to the season, but looking around MLB, Cleveland has undoubtedly had an above-average team.

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