Steven Kwan's unique profile has reached its most extreme point

Steven Kwan has been a remarkably consistent player for the Cleveland Guardians ever since breaking into the major leagues as a contact-and-defense aficionado in 2022,

He's recorded a strikeout rate between 9.4% and 10.4% in every one of his MLB seasons and has had his walk rate land in the 9.7% range in every season as well.

However, things have changed this year. Kwan is both walking (7.8%) and striking out less (8.6%). It's led to some of the most prolific offensive output in any stretch of his career, but can he sustain a more swing-heavy approach without changing his overall profile?

Steven Kwan has evolved into the smartest contact hitter in MLB

The data doesn't exactly favor the changes Kwan has made this year.

His batted ball metrics are down across the board, with a big spike in his chase rate (19.2% in 2024 to 23.9% in 2025). He's expanding the zone more than ever, though his expected batting average of .295 is actually 11 points higher than it was last year, when he seemingly mastered the dimensions of the strike zone.

So, what's behind the improved offensive output? He hasn't improved against any one pitch to a significant degree — his wOBA against fastballs, breaking balls, and off-speed pitches are all within .02 points of last year's numbers (though they've all improved). And, like always, his average exit velocity, barrel rate, and hard-hit rate are in the bottom ten percent among qualified MLB hitters.

In other words, Kwan hasn't changed his usual approach. He hasn't sold out for more power (his pull% is 30.3%, equivalent to last year), and his line drive rate is practically unchanged as well.

However, Kwan, who has stolen 60 bases in 486 career games, is putting the ball on the ground at a significantly higher rate than he did last year, when he blasted a career high 14 home runs. His 46.0% ground ball rate is reminiscent of his 2023 season (46.7%), and he's hitting a majority of them up them up the middle (18.0% of all his batted ball events).

That's a lot of numbers and data to take in, but in effect, what Kwan is doing this year is what all contact hitters with any semblance of speed (read: not Luis Arraez) should be doing: putting the ball in play in hard-to-defend spots.

Normally, you want players to pull the ball in the air. Not so with Kwan, whose dwindling power metrics suggest he's more likely to luck into a home run than hit one on purpose. He's better suited using his tremendous eye-hand coordination to hit nearly everything thrown his way, even if it's out of the strike zone.

His profile isn't the prettiest to look at, and he'll never be a Statcast darling. But Steven Kwan knows the player he is, and he's unlocked perhaps the most optimal version of himself here in 2025.