Versatile Guardians utility player praised for early-season performance

A team's utility player may not be the most valued or important player on any given team, but when a team has a good one, like the Cleveland Guardians appear to, it can help elevate the performance of everyone around them. With his performance so far, the incredibly versatile Daniel Schneemann has clearly put himself on the map as one of the best utility players in the sport.

Entering play on Wednesday, May 14th, Schneemann has a .262/.340/.500 slash line with five doubles and five home runs while driving in 12 runs in 32 games. The 136 OPS+ posted during this time is the third-best on the Guardians right now, trailing Steven Kwan's team-leading 143, while Jose Ramirez and his 141 OPS+ is not far behind. This has resulted in being identified as one of seven utility players who have made their mark on the early parts of this season.

MLB.com's Jeffrey Lutz made sure to note how Schneemann was able to recover from a rough beginning of the year to becoming one of the Guardians' most effective players at the plate (stats used in the article are accurate as of Monday, May 12th). "This season, he got off to a 1-for-19 start. But since then, he has a 1.004 OPS and nine extra-base hits in 69 plate appearances." wrote Lutz, highlighting the offensive contributions from Schneemann that have helped play a role in the Guardians having one of the better records in the sport.

There is another aspect to all of this that cannot be ignored here. The Guardians optioned the struggling Brayan Rocchio to Triple-A and had Gabriel Arias slide over from second base to take his place at shortstop. With Arias essentially becoming the everyday shortstop in Cleveland, it opens up the second base spot for Schneemann, a role he has also basically taken on since the decision was made to reduce Rocchio's usage and eventually send him to Columbus. 

Ideally, Scheemann is at second base most days, but to limit his usage in other areas would be a mistake. Other players still need off days, and Schneemann being able to play at second and third, in addition to all three outfield spots, should allow Guardians manager Stephen Vogt to manage everyone's playing time accordingly. More importantly, however, this should result in the highest possible offensive output from all parties involved, and that could be the difference between being a genuine contender and an also-ran by season's end.