Guardians' Surprising Slugger Made Painful Decision Much Easier

It was surely a painstaking decision for the Cleveland Guardians to send Brayan Rocchio down to Triple-A, but based on how horrendous he has been at the plate this season, they were left with no choice. But the move was certainly made easier by a certain surprising slugger.

Daniel Schneemann.

Schneemann has perhaps been the most pleasant surprise of the season for the Guardians thus far, as he has slashed .263/.344/.513 with five home runs and 12 RBI over 91 plate appearances. Is it sustainable? His lifetime .730 OPS in the minors says otherwise, but for now, Cleveland seems perfectly content to ride the wave.

And why not? Sometimes, players do blossom out of nowhere. It's not a common occurrence, but it does happen, and we may be seeing that with Schneemann in 2025.

The 28-year-old has been particularly impressive in May, boasting a .310/.412/.690 slash line with three homers and eight RBI. Meanwhile, Rocchio had registered a .433 OPS overall through the first month-and-a-half of the campaign, and patience was obviously beginning to run thin.

A former top prospect, Rocchio's bat was at least respectable in the minors (.276/.349/.426), but he has been unable to get anything going at the dish for parts of three professional seasons now, owning a paltry .582 OPS since entering the big leagues in 2023.

Whether or not Schneemann will continue to rake is obviously anyone's guess. His career numbers dictate that he will come down to earth at some point, as does his rather concerning 14.5 percent line-drive rate (he was at 22.2 percent last year, for reference).

But for now, there is no question that Schneeman's sudden emergence helped the Guardians pull the trigger on Rocchio, and Gabriel Arias being in the middle of what appears to be a breakout campaign played a role, too.

Hopefully, Schneemann can maintain his current level of production, or at least somewhere close to it. Cleveland's offense desperately needs it.

Read More Cleveland Guardians Coverage