Guardians Star Lands Disappointing Prediction for 2025
One of the biggest stories for the Cleveland Guardians this past season was outfielder Steven Kwan, who flirted with .400 for a bit and made his first All-Star appearance.
However, Kwan faded significantly down the stretch, finishing with a .293/.368/.425 slash line.
Those are obviously still solid numbers, but he slashed just .206/.316/.302 during the second half, resulting in a massive dip in his overall stats.
That being said, Kwan is slashing .285/.359/.396 for his career, so the numbers he ended with are probably more indicative of who he really is.
Dan Szymborski of FanGraphs has released his ZiPS projections for 2025, and while he has Kwan playing some decent baseball, it's well below the torrid pace the 27-year-old was on during the first half of 2024.
Szymborski is projecting Kwan to slash .283/.360/.389 with eight home runs and 57 RBI, which puts him at a .749 OPS.
Again, that is hardly bad, and it actually does fall right in line with Kwan's career .755 OPS. However, Guardians fans were hoping that Kwan was turning into a perennial All-Star early last season.
Perhaps that's not the case.
Kwan is entering what is just his fourth MLB season, so there is still plenty of time for him to develop. But it could very well be that the Oregon State product is merely a decent, not great, hitter who plays a fantastic left field.
And you know what? There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but given how starving Cleveland may be for offense in 2025, Guardians fan were probably hoping for more.