Cleveland Guardians: The 2022 Opening Day Dream Lineup

2. Amed Rosario, SS, Cleveland Guardians

It took a bit of time, but once Amed Rosario hit a rhythm he quickly became one of the more underrated players in baseball. Arriving to Cleveland as part of the Francisco Lindor, the weight on Rosario’s shoulders was heavy, needing to make the trade seem worth it. While others were part of the deal, Rosario became the focal point and ended up outplaying Lindor in more ways than one.

In the field, Rosario struggled a bit earlier on, resulting in 10 errors on the season at shortstop. However, from August 2 until September 9, he was error-free. He had a trio late in the season, but the skills are there and a full offseason of focusing on short, rather than trying to learn center, should help.

As for at the plate, Rosario finished strong over the last 14 days of the season, slashing .324/.395/.471. While that stretch was impressive, it wasn’t even his best part of the season. The month of August saw Rosario hit .372/.397/.584 with 20 RBI.

Even if Rosario regresses from those stats, which should be anticipated, and falls around the .280 mark, that would be a huge gain for Cleveland in the top trio of the order.