Cleveland Guardians Are Baseball's Best Team Right Now

The Cleveland Guardians are 51-26, good for the best record in baseball.

Just 77 games removed from losing future Hall of Fame manager Terry Francona to retirement, new skipper Stephen Vogt has pressed all of the right buttons.

These Guardians deserve way more national recognition, love and attention; a lot of that starts with Jose Ramirez.

After trading superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor to the Mets, the pressure was on the Guardians organization to strike a deal with their superstar third baseman. Ramirez took one for the team, literally. He agreed to a budget-friendly, seven-year, $141 million extension to stay in Cleveland. And he’s been a hero ever since.

Ramirez, with 72 RBI, leads the MLB in that category. He has 21 home runs and only 39 strikeouts. In comparison, New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge has already struck out 88 times.

Ramirez’s Guardians are one of this season’s best stories. They missed the playoffs last season and seemed to be an organization in the midst of a rebuild with promising young players, including Steven Kwan and Josh Naylor, and an always stellar pitching staff.

But this year, things have been different. After losing Shane Bieber to Tommy John surgery in the first month of the season, the Guardians pitching staff has been a patch job at best.

Journeyman veteran Ben Lively has found the fountain of youth. Tanner Bibee has been solid. But Logan Allen, Triston McKenzie and Carlos Carrasco have been completely hit or miss.

Long gone are the days of Corey Kluber, Mike Clevenger and prime Trevor Bauer on the same staff. The Guardians have had to lean on their bullpen, which is also the best in baseball, to eat a ton of innings. After a weird 2023, Emmanuel Clase has been electric in his closer role, too.

It’s the offense that has been carrying most of the load for the Guardians. Kwan, who was already one of baseball’s best contact hitters, has found a little bit of power and came into the last week of June with a better slugging percentage than Shohei Ohtani.

Despite an average start to the year, Naylor is sixth in the MLB in RBI. He always just finds a way to get runs over and in.

Vogt has pressed all of the right buttons in his first year managing. He took Tyler Freeman, a freakishly athletic utility player, and turned him into a damn good every-day center fielder. He took David Fry, another ultra-utility guy, and turned him into an All-Star. Daniel Schneemann, who just got called up, started six different positions in his first six games.

These Guardians are fun. They’re versatile. They’re going to have a ton of players in this year’s All-Star Game. 

As of Tuesday night, they’re the best team in baseball, and they’re a great story.