Estevan Florial Appears To Be Taking Over As Guardians Leadoff Hitter

Estevan Florial has filled in for the Cleveland Guardians as their leadoff hitter with Steven Kwan on the injured list.

Apr 19, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians designated hitter Estevan Florial (90) celebrates after hitting an RBI single during the eighth inning against the Oakland Athletics at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

If there is one thing that Steven Kwan is elite at, it’s setting the tone. He’s been the Cleveland Guardians’ leadoff shortly after his debut in 2022 and has done a tremendous job at that. However, the Guardians now find themselves with a void to fill with Kwan heading to the injured list for what could be up to four weeks.

Estevan Florial has been given the chance to be Cleveland’s first hitter in the lineup the past two games and based on the way Stephen Vogt is talking, it sounds like that will continue.

“Two days in and he’s doing a great job,” said Vogt after Cleveland’s 2-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

“Florial’s a good hitter. We’ve talked about this all year, there’s going to be some swing and miss, we understand that, but he manages at-bats well and he can run. He causes some things to happen.”

Apr 30, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Cleveland Guardians designated hitter Estevan Florial (90) hits a three-run home run to right field against the Houston Astros during the sixth inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports / Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

Tuesday night will be Florial’s third game leading off for the Guardians, so far the results have been promising in the very short sample size. In seven at-bats, he has two hits, one stolen base, and has only struck out once.

The job of a leadoff hitter is also to see as many pitches as possible. Florial has been able to do that by working multiple eight-or-more pitch at-bats. 

As for now, there doesn’t seem to be a reason to move him out of this role. Whether this experiment will end up working out for Cleveland and Florial remains to be seen. 

Either way, the Guardians need to do something at the top of the order with Kwan’s absence. Perhaps this will be an opportunity for Florial to flourish.