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What We Learned About The Guardians: Opening Weekend

Amed Rosario in left field. The emergence of Steven Kwan. What did we learn about the Guardians over Opening Weekend?

Amed Rosario Is Not Ready To Play Left Field 

One of the biggest storylines coming out of Spring Training was Francona’s decision to play Amed Rosario in left field. This is the position Rosario opened the season at on Thursday afternoon. However, he did not last the whole game there.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Hunter Dozier hit a fly ball to left which bounced right off Rosario’s glove. Even though the play was not ruled as an error because of the strong wind, it still highlighted Rosario’s inexperience at the position.

Later in the inning, Nicky Lopez hit a line drive to left-center which Amed Rosario and Myles Straw both attacked. Their lack of communication allowed for the ball to drop, and the Royals to tie the game. 

Tito moved Rosario back to shortstop later in the game, which is where he started on Saturday and Sunday. When Rosario is playing shortstop, he looks much more comfortable not only in the field but at the plate too. Someday we might get to see Rosario take on the outfield full time, but it isn't right now. 

This would be the best-case scenario for the team as a whole in order to make room for the Guardians’ young infielders such as Owen Miller, Andrés Giménez, Ernie Clement, and Gabriel Arias when he is called up. But as for now, Rosario hasn’t had enough reps to show he is able to handle the position. 

Steven Kwan Is The Real Deal

I mean, wow! Coming out of Spring Training, everyone was excited to see how Steven Kwan would perform at the big-league level. But let’s be honest with ourselves, no one saw this coming!

Through the first three games of the season, Kwan is hitting for an average of .800 with an OPS of 1.857. This includes yesterday’s game where he went 5-5 while scoring five runs. Even for a ten-year veteran that would be impressive. But for a rookie seeing his first big league action, it’s flat-out historic. 

Kwan has even performed on the defensive side too. In his first career start in left field, he had an impressive diving catch. This showed his ability to track the ball even in tough winds. 

Kwan absolutely deserves a spot as an everyday player. It is impossible for him to stay this hot for the entire season, but his plate discipline will make him a productive number two-hitter in front of José Ramírez.

The Offense Is Bad … Or Is It?

The first two games of the season were pretty rough for Guardians fans to watch. Only scoring one run over 19 innings of play is certainly not how we envisioned the Guardians era beginning.

But on Sunday, we saw a completely different Guardians squad. In the first two innings, they put up 10 runs which included an Oscar Mercado grand slam. José Ramírez joined the home run party in the seventh inning with a two-run shot. Owen Miller also had a standout day at the plate with four RBI. In the end, the Guardians ended up defeating the Kansas City Royals 17-3 in an all-out rout. 

Unfortunately, this does beg the question of whether the offensive inconstancy will be a season-long theme. For the sake of us fans, let’s hope for more games like Sunday than Thursday and Saturday. 

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