The Guardians have yet to capitalize on their new offensive approach (but a breakout could be coming)

Contrary to what you may want to believe about the Cleveland Guardians, they do not employ a small-ball philosophy on offense.

The Guardians have hit the ball in the air 59.6% of the time this season, which is the fifth-most in baseball and has them sandwiched right between the division rival Royals (59.9%) and Twins (59.4%). For what it is worth, the Detroit Tigers lead baseball a fly ball rate of 62.8%.

It's curious that a team that ranks last in bat speed would be so willing to put the ball in the air. The Guardians had the same type of batted-ball data last season (60.6% fly ball rate).

Although it may seem like that "put the ball in the air" approach would suit teams that can generate the most out of their bats, the Braves are the only team that ranks in the top-five in both home runs and bat speed.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs rank seventh and eighth in home runs, but are two of the three closest teams to the Guardians in terms of bat speed. 

Now the Guardians are not last in home runs - no, that sad crown belongs to the Milwaukee Brewers. Though the Guardians aren't far behind, as they've hit 119 home runs this season compared to the 'Brew Crew's' 117.

The Guardians try to squeeze out as much power at the plate as they possibly can, which is why a lot of those batted balls in the air are towards the pull side. Pulled flyballs generate at least two-thirds of all home runs hit, and the Guardians have been in the top-five of pulled air rate for the last three seasons. 

The Guardians' offense could be on the verge of breaking out

Of the players currently on the Guardians' roster, Rhys Hoskins, José Ramírez and Austin Hedges all have pull rates over 50%, but they've combined for just 27 home runs. While part of that can be chalked up to Ramírez's hamate injury and Hedges' profile, that approach hasn't led to a ton of success.

And it wasn't just them; that approach hadn't been working for the entire team before the deadline — perhaps because their bat speed had been at such a low point that they couldn’t maximize their optimal power potential. Hence why they sought out buy-low bats in Nathaniel Lowe and Jo Adell.

Both Adell and Lowe are already placed as the two fastest swingers on the team, and have combined to hit five home runs after Adell's strong showing against the Giants on Tuesday.

They'll need to stay hot to help this Guardians team swing the bats in a way that's been missing almost the entire season.

The way the playoff picture sits, the Guardians are just a game back of the Wild Card and 5.5 games back of the AL Central Division. Here's hoping a power surge can occur for the last 37 games of the season.

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