Steven Kwan’s rally-sparking hit against Tigers shows how much he means to Guardians 

Last Saturday the Cleveland Guardians made a huge change in their lineup by moving Steven Kwan out of the leadoff spot. 

While that move may have seemed crazy at the beginning of the season, Kwan’s struggles in 2026 made it necessary given how much of a black hole he was at the top of the lineup. 

After hitting seventh in his first two games out of the leadoff spot. Kwan’s hit seventh in the Guardians’ past two games, which is the second instance coming last night against the Tigers. 

That move ended up helping propel the Guardians to a win in that showdown against Detroit, as he opened the seventh inning with a leadoff double against Tyler Holton and eventually came around to score the game-winning run on a Brayan Rocchio groundout. 

While Kwan’s only played in four games since being bumped down the lineup, he’s posted a .588 on-base percentage in that time and has scored a run in all four games. 

It’s still not the version of Kwan that we’ve been used to seeing in years prior, but it’s a step in the right direction. 

Steven Kwan has been productive since getting moved out of leadoff spot 

Kwan opened the day with a second inning sacrifice fly before walking in the fourth inning and hitting that aforementioned double in the seventh inning. 

The double was the classic Kwan swing, as he got a sinker over the middle of the plate and crushed it 364 feet to right field. 

Although those swings have been few and far between for Kwan this season, his strong plate discipline hasn't gone anywhere. Kwan now ranks in the 100th percentile in whiff rate (8.1%) along with being in the 95th percentile in strikeout rate (11.5%) and walk rate (11%). 

Those themes have been extremely evident since he moved down in the lineup, as he’s racked up eight walks in the four games he’s played since being moved out of the leadoff spot. 

He also gave us a reminder on Tuesday that he’s still a Gold Glove defender thanks to a stellar sliding catch in the sixth inning. 

Kwan scoring the eventual go-ahead run was a great example of how moving him down in the lineup can help him become a more productive player. 

Rocchio’s been the most productive No. 9 hitter in baseball, but most of those rallies caused by that production ended up fizzling out thanks to Kwan being an easy out behind him. 

But Kwan getting on base on Tuesday helped put Rocchio in a position to drive in a run, which is all any team can ask for from the bottom of its lineup.

It's not exactly how the Guardians imagined things would be going at the beginning of the season, but the Guardians have done a great job adapting. 

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