Cleveland Guardians: Bo Naylor finally on the home-run board in 2024

In Cleveland's 5-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners Tuesday night, the game-changing power of the glorious home run was on full display.

In the Guardians' three-run fourth inning, it was capped off by Bo Naylor's first home run of the young campaign, giving starter Shane Bieber a nice cushion to work with as he cruised to six scoreless innings to continue his own fantastic start to the season.

That's what was missing for the Guardians last season, the big hit that allowed Cleveland to put up a crooked number on teams. Instead of having to scratch and claw for every single run, Naylor instantly gave Bieber and the rest of the team a little breathing room. Forgive me for waxing poetic about one of the most basic plays of a baseball game, something which every other team does seemingly and mystically with ease, but that's how bad it's been for the Guardians over the past year.

As for Naylor, he's off to a solid start in 2024. Through four games and 16 plate appearances, he's slashing .308/.438/.538 with the one home run and two RBI. Most importantly, he's taken three walks to his five strikeouts, and it looks like he's beginning to settle in nicely.

But the 24-year-old's ability to hit for power is what will help continue to transform this offense. If Naylor can even flirt with 25 home runs this season, hitting in the lower third of the lineup, it's going to drastically improve this team offensively, especially as guys like Chase DeLauter and Kyle Manzardo begin to make their presence known at the major-league level.

It's early, but the returns on this retooled offense are looking pretty good.