These Guardians Are Picking It Up At The Perfect Time

Brayan Rocchio

Brayan Rocchio has received a lot of love over the last month, and he deserves it. After an abysmal start to the season, he went down to the minors, used it as a reset, and came back up to the MLB level as a new player.

Since he was called up on July 1, Rocchio has hit .282/.325/.427. Stephen Vogt has loved how he’s hit towards the backend of the batting order, playing the key role of turning over the lineup to Steven Kwan, Jose Ramirez, and whoever else is hitting second in the lineup.

Plus, Rocchio has transitioned nicely to being Cleveland’s everyday second baseman. 

Bo Naylor

Offense has never been Bo Naylor’s biggest strength at the big-league level. He’s shown flashes of being a productive MLB hitter, but has always struggled with consistency.

However, Naylor made some mechanical adjustments to his swing, emphasizing simplicity, and he’s looked like a new player ever since. 

Stephen Vogt spoke about these adjustments on July 23, and since then, Bo has tallied six extra base hits, recorded a hard hit rate of 37.9 percent. 

Catching is always going to be da defense-minded position for the Guardians. So, if they’re getting above-average production from their primary backstop, it’s going to make Cleveland’s lineup feel much longer for opposing pitching staffs.

Nic Enright

It only seems fair to highlight one of the members of the pitching staff who has stepped up in the wake of Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase’s leave. Cade Smith and Hunter Gaddis have experience in high-leverage situations, so it's great to see them continuing to succeed. 

A pitcher who has really been picking it up at the perfect time is Nic Enright, who has been a lifesaver for Cleveland’s bullpen over the last few weeks. He’s pitched 9.0 innings in his last seven games, allowing just two earned runs. Both of those came in the same appearance against the Athletics. 

Enright is also following the Golden Rule of big league relievers: don’t let free runners reach base. Since June 24, the right-hander has a 0.89 WHIP and a 26.5 percent strikeout rate.

These impressive stats culminated in New York when Enright logged his first career save in extra innings against the Mets.

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