FanSided

Three Guardians batters who need to get it together

By James Mastrucci |
Cleveland Guardians v Oakland Athletics
Cleveland Guardians v Oakland Athletics / Thearon W. Henderson/GettyImages
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The Cleveland Guardians are off to an impressive start this season, winning seven of their last 10 games and leading the American League Central with a 7-4 record. Even though it is early and things can change rather quickly, there are three players in the Cleveland lineup who need to start producing at the plate.

3. Oscar Gonzalez

Oscar Gonzalez has the fewest plate appearances and least games played of players appearing on this list. When Gonzalez has seen the field it has not been the fun type of nautical nonsense we experienced late last season. Gonzalez has just five hits in 31 at-bats with six strikeouts leading to an uninspiring .161/.161/.226 slash line. The breakout from last season featuring 11 home runs may be an outlier for Gonzalez over the course of his career, but the power surge and production in 2022 shows that there is more there than what is currently being seen.

2. Amed Rosario

The most divisive player on this list and on Guardians twitter, Amed Rosario. The Guardians shortstop has struck out 13 times in 11 games while only tallying 10 hits. While Rosario is never going to be an elite offensive shortstop, the .282/.316/.406 slash line over his first two years in Cleveland is significantly better than his current .204/.259/.224.

History shows that there will be a correction in this area and that is desperately needed as Rosario's 49 at-bats this year lead all of baseball. Cleveland is going to need a lot more production out of someone who gets to the plate this often and bats second in the order. If not, perhaps dropping Rosario down in the order or a much larger transactional move may be in the future.

1. Josh Bell

Last but not least, and certainly not surprising to see here is Josh Bell. Bell has not been able to produce much of anything at the plate so far and that is incredibly disappointing. Cleveland signed Bell to provide a power boost to their light hitting lineup and not much has come of it. All three of Bell's hits this season are singles and that is not at all what the Guardians signed up for when agreeing to terms prior to the season. Bell's 13 strikeouts are tied with Amed Rosario for most on the team, not exactly a category anyone wants to be leading in.

The only thing saving grace numbers wise is that Bell has walked nine times this season, tying Myles Straw for a team-high. Without those walks Bell's 2023 would be off to an even more disastrous start than it already is. There is plenty of time for Bell to turn things around, but it is worth noting that Bell has already been dropped in the lineup due to his lack of production. The quick trigger to move Bell down from Terry Francona speaks volumes as he not one to shift the lineup quickly.

Bell has shown in the past that he can be a productive bat. The concern here is that Bell has struggled since a trade to San Diego last season. The Guardians are going to need Bell to remember how to hit and not be the near automatic out he currently is.

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