Stephen Vogt Gives Insight Into Why Steven Kwan Has Struggled for the Guardians

The four-time Golden Glove winner, Steven Kwan, hasn't been able to build up any consistency at the plate to begin the 2026 campaign.

Apr 19, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan (38) hits a sacrifice fly during the third inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images | David Dermer-Imagn Images

Steven Kwan doesn't look like the player he has been for the Cleveland Guardians the past four campaigns.

To begin the 2026 season, Kwan, the Guardians four-time Golden Glove winner, has been one of the team's weak spots in the lineup. Batting leadoff, he is currently slashing .225/.310/.284 for an OPS of .594.

While he does have the third most amount of hits on the team at a mark of 23, everything he's doing at the plate right now is pointing towards him being in a funk.

Before the Guardians were set to take on the Tampa Bay Rays from Progressive Field on Monday, April 27, manager Stephen Vogt was asked about Kwan's early-season struggles, defending him in response.

"I don't know if we can pinpoint anything," Vogt began. "I think Kwany's had a tough month. I'd chalk it up to that. You look at anybody's season, they're going to have a tough month. It doesn't matter who you are. So... we talked to him about maybe being a little more aggressive. We started to see that.

"He's still getting his hits. He's still throwing them out there and still maintain that Kwany's one of the best leadoff hitters in the league and he's going to continue to be."

"Kwany's had a tough month... Chalk it up to that"#Guardians Stephen Vogt was ask if he could pinpoint anything related to Steven Kwan's lower exit velocity. Says they have also talked about being more aggressive.#GuardsBall @WEWS pic.twitter.com/uEqMWLRDFu

— Mason Horodyski (@MasonHorodyski) April 27, 2026

It's no surprise that Vogt came out in support of Kwan, who for the past four campaigns has been quietly one of MLB's best outfielders, as just weeks ago, the 41-year-old manager said during a postgame press conference that being a players manager is sometimes his downfall.

"Yeah, it's baseball. You know, I worry about all of our guys," Vogt said in response to questions regarding Slade Cecconi's early-season struggles as well. "That's probably one of my downfalls..."

Earlier in the year, Vogt also stuck up for closer Cade Smith, who was allowing hits and runs in the ninth inning, putting the Guardians' bullpen in tough decisions.

Where To Go Now?

The tough part for Kwan is that this season hasn't been like years past.

In previous campaigns, Kwan was the only one producing any sort of productive at-bats, a narrative that has done a complete 180 in 2026. Now, guys like Daniel Schneemann, Angel Martinez and Chase DeLauter spend time in the open grass, putting pressure on Kwan to begin performing.

If he doesn't, he could end up falling behind each of them for time on any given day.

DeLauter is hitting with power, Schneemann is consistently getting on base and producing incredible defensive players, and Martinez is doing all of that combined. Just recently, after Kwan was ruled out of a contest due to neck discomfort, Schneemann batted leadoff, knocking a single and a home run to help get the offense flowing for the Guardians.

It's becoming increasingly hard to justify playing Kwan, especially while those three maintain some of the best numbers on the entire team, not just the outfield position group.

With the Guardians back at home against a strong Rays squad, Kwan's going to be placed back in the leadoff spot with the expectation to help begin outings strongly for Cleveland.

If Cleveland wants any chance to start putting the recent series struggles behind them, Kwan will need to be a focal point for such efforts.