Cleveland Guardians Manager Reveals Major Key for Star to Find Success

Stephen Vogt believes Josh Naylor's plate discipline led to his big game in the Cleveland Guardians victory.

Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor (22) watches his shot to right field for a double during the fifth inning of an MLB game against the Seattle Mariners at Progressive Field, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Cleveland Guardians are back in sole possession of first place in the American League Central after they took down the Kansas City Royals in the series finale on Wednesday afternoon.

Cleveland's bats actually came through in the closing innings, and they played the Guardians' style of baseball, which we all know and love.

One of Cleveland's key contributors to this win was Josh Naylor, who finished the game going 3-for-5 from the plate with two RBI and no strikeouts.

It's no secret that Naylor has struggled over the last month and he's still hitting just .234/.320/.432 over his last 30 games. However, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt saw something different in Naylor in this win and it was the key to his success on Wednesday.

"I feel like he's been expanding down and away because teams are throwing changeups down and away," said Vogt. "And so for him, he got his sights a little closer to him and laid off some close pitches down and away on the outer rail and was able to get some pitches over the heart of the plate that he could drive. When he's shooting balls the other way with two strikes like that, that's Naylz."

Jun 19, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor (22) hits a home run during the seventh inning against the Seattle Mariners at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Naylor is an aggressive hitter. This isn't anything new, and it's likely never going to change, given the success he's found swinging at the first pitch he sees.

However, you can be an aggressive hitter while having plate discipline, and that's something Naylor has gone away from over the last month. Since July 28, Naylor has been swinging at 26.9 percent of the pitches he's seen outside of the strike zone.

If Naylor can at least lay off some low pitches, which he statistically doesn't hit as well anyway, then pitchers will have to raise their pitches a little more in the zone, and that's where Josh can feast.

That's what happened on Wednesday, and let's hope it's a glimpse at Naylor approach moving forward.