This Stat Is Becoming Alarming For Guardians' Steven Kwan

The Cleveland Guardians need to help Steven Kwan increase his batting average on balls in play.

Aug 4, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan (38) hits an RBI single during the third inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-USA TODAY Sports / David Dermer-USA TODAY Sports

Steven Kwan has gained a reputation as being one of baseball's best contact hitters since he entered the league in 2022. The Cleveland Guardians' star even set a record in his rookie season for the most pitches seen (116) without swinging and missing.

Making contact with the ball is great, but that doesn't guarantee a player will get on base or record a hit. Kwan is learning that the hard way over the last few weeks as he searches for answers at the plate.

One stat may hold the key to the reason behind Kwan's slump.

From the start of the season leading up until the All-Star Break, Kwan had a batting average of balls put in play (BABIP) of an astounding .371. It felt like he was going to get a hit every time he swung the bat.

However, Kwan's BABIP has dropped to a .198 since the All-Star Break.

Jun 23, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan (38) watches his single in the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

This is becoming a problem for both Kwan and the Guardians because, as Cleveland's leadoff hitter, he needs to get on base. The hits aren't coming around for Kwan right now, and his walk rate is just at 8.3 percent.

An interesting piece of the puzzle here is how the results of the balls Kwan has put in play have shifted.

26.2 percent of the balls that Kwan was hitting ahead of the All-Star Break were classified as line drives. Since then, only hitting 18.8 percent of the contact he's made have been classified as such.

That's a steady decline. The other concerning part is that these line drives have turned into pop-ups and fly balls, with that number increasing from 36.9 to 43.6 percent since the All-Star Break and the number of infield fly balls increasing from 3.3 to 8.6 percent.

There could be a variety of reasons for why Kwan is hitting more fly balls instead of line drives. Some of that includes the types of pitches he's hitting, the location of those pitches, or simply not hitting the ball square.

Kwan is a good hitter. He's demonstrated the ability to adjust to major league hitting after they've adjusted to him so there shouldn't too much concern that he won't break out of the slump.

However, the question now is: Can Kwan get back on track quickly enough to help the Guardians extend their lead in the American League Central before they're caught by the Kansas City Royals or Minnesota Twins?