2 Cleveland Guardians whose hot streaks will continue and 1 who will fade

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The Cleveland Guardians are off to an impressive 6-2 start to the year, with back-to-back series wins over the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners, currently one win shy of securing a third in Minnesota. A large part of the early season success for the Guardians has been the offensive production from a few key players. There are a couple of players whose success should be expected to continue, while there is one other that it would be far from surprising to see fade as the season progresses.

1. Steven Kwan will continue his hot start

2023 saw Steven Kwan's numbers regress quite a bit from his outstanding rookie year, but it appears that Cleveland's two-time Gold Glove-winning left fielder has returned to form in the batter's box.

Slashing .385/.400/.513 with two doubles and a home run in eight games, Kwan leads regular starters with a 166 OPS+. Kwan leads the American League in hits with 15 and runs scored (10) entering play on Friday, April 5th.

It is not solely about the production from Kwan, it is how he is doing it. Kwan is pulling the ball a career-high 35.3% of the time while also recording a 29.4% rate up the middle, a career-low. This is a very encouraging development for Kwan, and it should lead to more future success. Being able to pull the ball more frequently will lead to more opportunities for doubles and triples, which should put the hard-hitting bats in the lineup that follow him in the order in position to drive him in.

2. Andres Gimenez will keep it going at the plate

The offense of the Cleveland Guardians is so much better when Andres Gimenez is locked in at the plate, and that is what has been seen from him through the first handful of games to start the year.

Like the previously mentioned Steven Kwan, Gimenez is rebounding from a down year in 2023, which saw his slash line drop across the board from .297/.371/.466 in 2022 to last year's .251/.314/.399. So far, Gimenez has a more than solid .300/.405/.500 slash line to go with four doubles and one triple in eight games.

Gimenez is hitting the ball harder much more consistently than in previous years, with a soft contact. rate of just 14.3%, the lowest of his career. This has played a factor in his line drive percentage sitting at a career-best 28.6%, while his ground ball percentage is at 39.3%, nearly seven percent lower than his career average (46%). These are two areas that indicate more future success for Gimenez moving forward, and that will make a world of difference for the Guardians' offense this season. as having someone produce ahead of Jose Ramirez in the lineup will make things much easier for him and everyone who follows him in the lineup.

3. Will Brennan's early success will likely fade

Now, it is time to be the bearer of bad news. It does not seem particularly likely that Will Brennan will be able to continue his hot start to the year.

Yes, Brennan's seven hits in 23 at-bats are encouraging, but the fact that they are all singles suggests that his success may not continue that much longer. 21.7% of his batted balls have been soft contact, which is up 4.5% from last season. It is incredibly difficult to have sustained success when there is so much soft contact and a complete lack of extra-base hits, two areas that most of the Guardians lineup experienced difficulties in just last season.

This is not to say that Brennan can not be a productive player for the Guardians, or that he will not be one this season. It is just stating it is more likely for his production to take a bit of a dip rather than continue, considering the types of hits he is getting and how he is getting them. It is possible that Brennan could hit the ball harder to reduce his soft contact rate on batted balls, but until that starts happening, it is hard to envision a world where he continues batting above .300.