Cleveland Baseball Insider

Three Guardians Who Could Have A Breakout Season In 2022

Steven Kwan, Yu Chang, and Andrés Giménez could all breakout in 2022.
Tommy Wild|
Three Guardians Who Could Have A Breakout Season In 2022
Three Guardians Who Could Have A Breakout Season In 2022

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Cleveland Guardians

Every year as fans, we get to enjoy watching players finally have their breakout season at the major league level. Usually for us Guardians fans, we see this happen with our pitching staff. Last year it was Cal Quantrill and in the shortened 2020 season it was Cy Young winner Shane Bieber. So as we are on the eve of Opening Day, let’s take a look at some players who could potentially have their breakout season in 2022, and why.

Steven Kwan

Coming into Spring Training, not many people may have known who Steven Kwan was. I certainly was not expecting him to make the Opening Day roster. But Kwan has already become a fan favorite and the regular season hasn’t even started yet. This is every indication of how well he has been playing this spring. The main reason for all this hype is his approach and production at the plate.

Kwan’s offense numbers in Spring Training show exactly why he is ready to have a breakout season in 2022. Over his 32 at-bats, Kwan hit for an average of .469, with 15 hits, a 1.031 OPS, and zero strikeouts. Yes, that is right, zero strikeouts! To go through this long of a stretch without striking out represents tremendous plate discipline.

It’s no secret that the Guardians need more offense coming from their outfield and Kwan certainly has shown that he can provide that. He has also shown that he can hold his own on defense as well. If Kwan keeps this offensive production up, combined with solid defense, he could quickly become an everyday outfielder for the Guardians while having a breakout season.

Yu Chang 

For all the attention that young Guardians infielders have been getting, Yu Chang might be the most deserving to get a starting job in the infield. At least to start the season. This starting job could quickly turn into a bigger role. Even though Chang has played the utility role for Cleveland the past three seasons, filling in all over the infield, his spring training numbers show that he is ready to take the next step and have a breakout season as an everyday player.

This spring, Chang had a total of 36 at-bats while hitting for an average of .306 and an OPS of .925. This includes two home runs, one of those being a grand slam. With such a strong spring, Tito is going to have no choice but to find playing time for Chang once the season starts.

Chang’s emergence this spring is not a total surprise when looking at how he finished last season. After a very difficult start to the year in 2021, Chang hit for an average of .286 from July until October. This included a .323 average in the month of August. Chang’s hot end to the season, combined with his great Spring Training makes him a key Guardians player to watch for a breakout season.

Andrés Giménez

Andrés Giménez had quite a lot to live up to as one of the main pieces in the Francisco Lindor trade. His defensive ability was never in doubt, but throughout 2021 his offense surely was.

Giménez could be looking at a breakout season for a few reasons in 2022. The first one is that he will be moving back to his natural position of shortstop more often with Amed Rosario playing more left field. With Giménez feeling more comfortable on the defensive side, this comfortability could also translate to the plate as well.

The other reason that Giménez is looking to have a breakout season is his spring offensive numbers look great. He had a monster spring training with an average of .360 over 11 games. Francona also seemed optimistic about Giménez’s offense heading into the season as well, saying that “I think that is encouraging that he showed up with the same batting stance then he did last year.” This shows that Giménez has gotten comfortable with his swing at the plate, and ready to have a big year for the Guardians!

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Tommy Wild
TOMMY WILD

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