It's Time For The Guardians To Shake Up Their Lineup
The Cleveland Guardians are having some trouble on offense. This isn't breaking news by any means with the team slashing .225/.303/.430 with a .626 OPS over the last half month.
This has led them to drop their last four series to teams they should have beaten when looking at the rosters on paper. It's time that they shake some things up with the lineup to hopefully find a spark on offense.
The first change that needs to be is taking Amed Rosario out of the two hole.
I fully expect Rosario to heat up with the summer months. Last season he hit .211 in April/March and .259 in May then exploded with a .360 batting average in June. It was the same story in 2021 as the shortstop had a batting average of .179 over the first month but rebounded to hit .307 in the second month.
However, his struggles at the plate to start the season can't hide, especially with the rest of the lineup slumping. Rosario currently has a batting average of .226, an OPS of .593, and a 28.8 SO% which is well above the league average. He also hits groundballs 47.1 percent of the time which often results in double plays. Rosario has already hit into 5 this season.
One solution is moving up Andres Giminez to hit second. However, Gimenez has had his own struggles over the last few weeks and I still get nervous about back-to-back left-handed hitters at the top of the lineup.
Another answer could be Steven Kwan in the leadoff, Jose Ramirez batting second, and Josh Bell hitting third. Bell has been a bright spot for the Guardians in their rough patch and has 12 hits with a .800 OPS in the last 15 days.
Who is batting second isn't the only area that needs to be addressed. The middle of the lineup also may need to see some change too. This starts with Will Brennan getting more at-bats.
Brennan's standard stats may not lead one to think he needs more plate appearances, but the advanced stats differ. He has an xBA at the 79th percentile and is a disciplined hitter with a K% at the 89th percentile and a Whiff% at the 80th percentile.
If he can get more plate appearances then Brennan will be able to show what he is truly capable of at the Big League level.
Suggesting that the Guardians may need to make some changes to the lineup doesn't mean the season is over. The 2022 Guardians were 9-12 in the month of April and 12-12 in May and they won the division.
But the AL Central is more competitive in 2023 with the Minnesota Twins being a formidable foe. Cleveland can't afford to get too far behind them this early on in the season and switching up the batting order could help keep pace with them while rejuvenating the offense.
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Read More:
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