3 Cleveland Guardians who want April to continue and 3 others who are grateful for it coming to an end

The month of April has come to a close, and there are a handful of players on the roster of the Cleveland Guardians who would have preferred if the month never ended instead of the calendar flipping to May. There are also a few who are incredibly grateful for that it has come to an end and are hoping to put behind their April struggles as they look ahead to what May will bring.

Honorable Mentions

Jakob Junis - Relief Pitcher

It has been a productive first month for Jakob Junis, pitching to a 1.93 ERA and 0.929 WHIP in 14 innings across 13 appearances. Based upon his performance in April, Junis looks like he could be a reliable option out of Cleveland's bullpen more times than not.

Hunter Gaddis - Relief Pitcher

With a 0.77 ERA, 1.029 WHIP, and 15.4 K/9, Hunter Gaddis continues to be one of the best arms coming out of Cleveland's bullpen. The one run allowed by Gaddis is the fewest of the seven most frequently used Guardians relievers.

Cade Smith - Relief Pitcher

It has only been a month into his second season, but Cade Smith is proving that his rookie campaign was no fluke. In his major league-leading 16 appearances, Smith has a 1.15 ERA, 1.085 WHIP, and 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings pitched. Smith even has three saves on the year, as he has taken a few extra duties in the early parts of this season.

Guardians player who would like April to continue - Steven Kwan

The first month of the season was incredibly kind to Cleveland Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan. The 27-year-old is slashing .322/.370.466 with five doubles and four home runs in 30 games played. Kwan has proven to be the most important offensive player for the Guardians so far.

One of the most important aspects of Kwan's early season success is him showing the ability to register hits of the non-single variety. Kwan developing into something beyond a singles-only hitter will make Cleveland's entire lineup more difficult for opposing pitchers. Being able to present a genuine threat of driving the ball into the gap or over the fence is going to make pitchers think twice about firing a get-me-over fastball with Kwan at the plate.

Kwan hit a career-high 14 home runs last season, and there is a very good chance that he would have eclipsed the 20-homer mark if he would not have missed a sizable chunk of time in the middle of the season. If he can stay healthy, he should be able to be within range of getting to or beyond 20 home runs, and his four in April are a good start toward that becoming a reality.

Guardians player happy that April is over - Brayan Rocchio

Cleveland Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio has not enjoyed the month of May like a few of his teammates have. Rocchio has struggled out of the gate, and it seems like he would welcome a frest start with a new month of the season underway.

With a .205/.277/.247 slash line and only three of his 15 hits going for extra-bases (all doubles), Rocchio's performance with a bat in his hand is not anywhere remotely close to what anyone would consider to be an acceptable level. Rocchio's 53 OPS+ is the lowest of Cleveland's regulars and fourth-lowest overall.

Even though a month is still a small sample size when compared to an entire season, it seems like Rocchio's offensive outburst during the playoffs last season was nothing more than a well-timed hot streak rather than a performance that future expectations should be based upon. Going 11-33 with two doubles and one home run in 10 games was nice at the time, but it should have been viewed a little more skepticism instead of the nearly universally agreed upon enthusiasm.

Usually, for players like Rocchio, the defensive skillset can help offset the loss of production at the plate, but that has not been the case so far. Rocchio's six errors lead all of baseball and could have been a reason for his recent disappearance from the lineup. Hopefully, Rocchio can put his struggles at the plate and in the field behind him in May.

Guardians player who would like April to continue - Angel Martinez

Angel Martinez may not have begun the 2025 season as someone that the Cleveland Guardians were expecting to get solid production from, but through the first month of the season, he has proven he belongs.

In 17 games played, Martinez has a .333/.339/,439 slash line with four doubles and a triple. Even though he may have the fewest games played of the lineup regulars, his 123 OPS+ in his 60 plate appearances is the third-highest on the team.

Martinez got his chance to stake a claim for regular playing time after regular center fielder Lane Thomas was placed on the injured list with a wrist injury after being hit by a pitch previously. This was a relatively welcome swap of players, considering how ineffective Thomas was before landing on the IL and how much better Martinez has been in his place.

Eventually, Thomas will come off the injured list and will have to be re-inserted into Cleveland's lineup plans. The good news for Martinez is that his positional versatility will provide Guardians manager the maximum amount of flexibility when constructing his lineup, allowing the 23-year-old switch-hitter to remain an integral part of Cleveland's roster.

Guardians player happy that April is over - Gavin Williams

To say that the expectations entering the season for Gavin Williams were high would be an understatement. The 25-year-old member of the Cleveland Guardians' starting rotation appeared ready in spring training to put the disappointing 2024 year behind him, but so far, 2025 looks to be a continuation of what transpired last season.

In six starts, Williams has a 5.14 ERA and 1.571 WHIP, not exactly what the Guardians were hoping for here. The five home runs allowed up to this point are one-third of the total of his previous two seasons combined, and the fact it has come this rapidly does not bode well for when the weather starts to warm up, and the ball flies farther more consistently.

If there is a reason to be optimistic about the rest of the season for Williams, it is that he has allowed two runs or fewer in four starts this season. One of the problems with this is that one of those starts lasted just 3 innings. The other is the nine runs allowed in 8.2 innings across two starts, including his last outing, which saw him get chased after 2 innings in Cleveland's 11-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

Williams has the ability to pitch better than what he has shown this far, it will just be up to him to perform closer to his true skill level.

Guardians player who would like April to continue - Kyle Manzardo

The Cleveland Guardians were betting big on the offensive potential of Kyle Manzardo when they made the decision to trade Josh Naylor to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Even though Carlos Santana has technically replaced Naylor in the field at first, it was what Manzardo might be able to provide with a bat in his hand that should be looked at here, and so far, the production has been quite good.

In 27 games played in April, Manzardo has a team-high eight home runs and 19 runs batted in, with his 141 OPS+ slightly edging out the previously mentioned Steven Kwan for the top spot on the Guardians (140). Manzardo's .538 slugging percentage leads the team, with the next closest player being 72 points away (also Kwan - .466).

Manzardo also has a Guardians-high 13 walks, as his walk rate has increased by nearly 7% over last year, going from 5.8 to 12. Being able to get on base in this manner shows that Manzardo has an excellent understanding of the strike zone, and that should lead to even more success than he has already experienced.

The only real blemish on Manzardo's stat line is his .220 batting average, but that is not really as big of an issue as it seems. The season is still young enough that a solid weekend of baseball could get it up to a more respectable number. That's before mentioning that batting average may not be an important metric to someone with Manzardo's offensive profile. Would it be nice for it to be higher? Sure, but as long as he is producing in other ways, it does not matter all that much.

Guardians player happy that April is over - Nolan Jones

When the Cleveland Guardians brought back former top outfield prospect Nolan Jones by way of trading Tyler Freeman to the Colorado Rockies, they were hoping to solidify their outfield while also providing some additional power to their lineup. There is just one problem, Jones has not been a productive player at the plate.

Jones is slashing .171/.284/.286 with five doubles and one home run in 26 games. The 27-year-old has struck out 25 times this season, the third-most on the Guardians behind Gabriel Arias (29) and Kyle Manzardo (27). Unlike Arias and Manzardo, who each have an OPS+ over the league average number of 100 (121 and 141, respectively), Jones's sits well below at just 66. A clear-cut example of strikeouts being tolerated as long as the player is productive, and it is clear that this description does not currently apply to Jones.

Even though Jones may not performing at an acceptable level at this time, expect him to continue seeing time in the outfield for the Guardians. If Jones can produce anything remotely close to what he did in 2023 for Colorado, it could help elevate the offensive floor of this Guardians team. But first, Jones will have to turn things around and show that he is a better player than what he has shown so far.