Guardians studs and duds from the first month of the season

The first month of the Cleveland Guardians season is in the books. It has been an inconsistent and frustrating 28 games as Cleveland's 13-15 record is not where they want to be. Even though there is room for improvement, there are some players who stuck out for better or worse.

Dud: Josh Naylor

Josh Naylor has turned it on recently, but overall his month was a disappointment. Naylor slashed .212/.271/.341 in 96 plate appearances with 16 strikeouts to just eight walks, leaving a lot to be desired.

Naylor's .310.344/.482 slash line with three extra-base hits and six runs driven over his last nine games is the upward trend everyone was expecting to see at some point and could be the beginning of an extended stretch of good performances at the plate.

Stud: Jose Ramirez

While Jose Ramirez is yet to fully turn it on, the Guardians third baseman had a very productive month at the plate. 13 of Ramirez' 30 hits in the first month of the season have gone for extra-bases, led by nine doubles and three home runs.

This is a very impressive start to the season for Ramirez and one could only imagine what he looks like when he is firing on all cylinders. The sky is the limit for Ramirez when it happens and it should propel the Guardians up in the standings in the underwhelming American League Central.

Dud: Amed Rosario

The performance of Amed Rosario to start the season would be a lot less frustrating if he was not batting second in the order, but here we are. Rosario has grounded into a team-high five double plays this season and is not providing the type of production expected from hitting in his spot in the lineup.

Rosario's .227/.260/.330 slash line is far from impressive with each number ranking towards to the bottom of Guardians hitters. Batting average is sixth, on-base is ninth, and slugging is eighth. This is simply unacceptable and needs to turn around as soon as possible.

Dud: Hunter Gaddis

If there is anything that was learned about Hunter Gaddis is that he does not belong in the Guardians rotation. Gaddis allowed 14 runs in 19.2 innings and has been very hittable with 22 hits allowed in his five appearances.

The only positive takeaway from Gaddis' early season appearances is that it forced the Guardians to turn to other more promising arms in Logan Allen and Tanner Bibee. Gaddis will more than likely make another apperance for the Guardians this season, hopefully that it will not be the role as a long-term starter.

Stud: Myles Straw

Is Myles Straw back? It certainly seems like it. After a disaspointing 2022 campaign, Straw appears to be performing at a level that Cleveland's front office was expecting when they signed him to a contract extension last year.

Straw's .267/.353/.300 slash line is just a few ticks under what he was able to accomplish in 2021 after landing in Cleveland via trade (.285/.362/.377). Even if this is where Straw settles in for the season it will still be a productive campaign. Straw getting on base and then stealing another is exactly what the Guardians offense needs and he has been able to do that over his first 27 games. Straw currently ranks fourth in the American League with eight stolen bases.

Dud: Cal Quantrill

Cal Quantrill looks like he falls into the category of several other Guardians pitchers, the category of non-rotation arm. Quantrill may be better suited as a multi-inning reliever rather than a member of Cleveland's rotation. More often than not, Quantrill has an inning where nothing goes his way resulting in a rather ugly pitching line. It is the inning which Quantrill allows multiple runs to score which always appears to be his undoing and that is a major problem.

Excluding his 6 innings against Detroit in which Quantrill held the lowly Tigers scoreless, the 28-year old right-hander has allowed 15 runs on 29 hits in 19 innings, not exactly what the Guardians are looking for. Perhaps Quantrill can get back to where he was the previous two seasons, 118 runs allowed in 336 innings. A 3.16 ERA and 1.194 WHIP is a lot more tolerable than the current 5.40 and 1.640 that his first five starts have produced.