This toolsy outfielder has thrust himself into the Guardians' leadoff conversation

Earlier this year, Daniel Schnemann took advantage of a rare Steven Kwan off day by slugging a leadoff home run against the Blue Jays. 

On Wednesday, the Guardians gave Kwan another off day as he works through his struggles this season, and this time Angel Martínez made his statement with a leadoff home run in the Guardians’ 4-2 win over the Angels. 

It’s no secret that the Guardians’ leadoff spot has been a bit of a black hole this season thanks to Steven Kwan’s struggles, and Martínez’s electric start was another reminder of what Cleveland has been missing at the top of its lineup. 

The mere fact that we’re talking about Martínez as a viable leadoff shows just how much his game has grown since the start of 2026. 

Not only has Martínez posted a .260/.300/473 slashline this season, he’s been better defensively thanks to him seeing more time in the corners as opposed to center fielder. 

Martínez has already proven that he’s an important part of the Guardians’ long-term core — his swing on Thursday showed why he’s a viable option at leadoff if/when the Guardians remove Steven Kwan. 

Angel Martínez’s leadoff home run showed why he needs to be at the top of the Guardians’ lineup 

Martínez’s leadoff homer came a day after he smashed a third-inning home run in the Guardians’ win over the Angels on Tuesday. And perhaps the most telling thing about Martínez’s home runs is that both of the pitchers who gave them up felt they made a good pitch. 

Walbert Ureña (Tuesday’s victim) said the pitch Martínez hit out was a good one and that he’d throw it again. Ureña tried to beat him with a changeup down, but Martínez was able to get his bat out in front of it and hit the ball 353 feet despite only  having one hand on the bat. 

He left the yard less than 24 hours later on a slider down from Reid Detmers that he scooped out to left field. 

“He’s a good offspeed hitter… that was a pretty good pitch. It was down and in and he got under it,” Detmers said. 

And Detmers was spot on in his assessment of Martínez, who is now hitting .368 on breaking balls and .300 against offspeed pitches. He’s also hitting just .177 against the fastball, which is the antithesis of the current big leaguer. 

He also loves the first pitch, which makes him a dangerous option in the leadoff spot. 

“Angel’s got the power. He's ready to swing and everybody knows it, so you’ve got to make a really good first quality pitch,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said before Wednesday’s game. 

Meanwhile, Kwan’s swinging at just 9% of the first pitches he’s seeing and almost always seems to be in an 0-1 count. 

The Guardians have a plethora of options to consider in the leadoff spot instead of Kwan (Schnemann and Brayan Rocchio also come to mind), but Martínez continues to stake his claim for the spot. 

He’s got the perfect blend of speed and power (eight steals) and is putting up more and more professional at-bats after struggling last season. Wednesday’s game was a great step in the right direction. 

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