Cleveland Sports Forum

How Cleveland’s Austin Hedges learned to stop worrying (about hitting) and love his job Cleveland Guardians' Austin Hedges reacts as he jogs the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Seattle Mariners during the fourth inning of a spring training baseball game Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024, in Peoria, Ariz. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
By Tyler Kepner
6h ago


GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Austin Hedges wants to manage someday, and he already knows the main task. Good managers create an environment for players to be their best selves.

“And it’s tough, because most guys are trying to figure out what other guys do — this guy does this, that guy does that,” said Hedges, a catcher for the Cleveland Guardians. “But it’s like: ‘What do you do? Figure out what makes you great. Everyone works hard, but what is your thing?’ And just buy into that and obsess over it every single day.”

Hedges, now entering his 10th season in the majors, is exceptionally good at one thing and historically poor at another. He will always work on his hitting, always believe he can make a breakthrough, always remember that he has hit dozens of home runs at the highest level of his profession.

Yet no player in the last century has come to the plate as often as Hedges with a batting average so low. In 2,213 career plate appearances, Hedges has batted just .189. The only position player with more plate appearances and a lower average, a catcher named Bill Bergen, retired in 1911.

For Hedges, accepting his limitations has helped him accentuate what makes him great.

“But it was hard to get there,” Hedges, 31, conceded. “And the only way I got there was by getting out enough where I’m like, ‘OK, but they’re still throwing me in the lineup. They still want me here. Why? If I can’t help the team offensively, then I’ve got to be able to do something else.’”

Teams keep giving Hedges millions each season to mentor their pitchers, plan their strategy and catch about half their games. He helped Cleveland reach the playoffs in 2020 and 2022, then spent most of last season with Pittsburgh before winning a championship with Texas.

After slipping from 92 wins in 2022 to 76 last season, the Guardians made sure to bring Hedges back. They signed no other major-league free agents for more than $750,000, but found $4 million in their tight budget for Hedges.

“The rapport he builds with pitchers, even when he’s not in the game — just the way he converses with them, the energy he brings, the way he helps in game planning, we missed that a lot last year,” General Manager Mike Chernoff said. “That, in our minds, completely outweighs the offense.”

The Guardians, who outslugged only Oakland last season, added no offensive thump and will rely again on their pitching. Starter Triston McKenzie, who is healthy after missing most of last season with shoulder and elbow trouble, said he was eager to reunite with Hedges.

“He puts two, three, four times, five times the effort than I’ve ever seen catchers put in, in terms of labeling scouting reports, going through each hitter, figuring out a plan of attack and making it customizable to whoever’s on the mound that day,” McKenzie said. “It allows a lot of stress to be taken off our minds.”

Stephen Vogt, the former catcher and new Cleveland manager, said Hedges had some of the best hands in the game and uncommon patience in receiving each pitch. Minimal glove movement helps Hedges frame strikes, and the data supports his reputation.

Last season, Sports Info Solutions credited Hedges with a major-league-best 11 strike zone runs saved, a metric that attempts to measure, in runs, a catcher’s impact on ball-strike calls. Two others tied Hedges (the Mets’ Francisco Alvarez and the Giants’ Patrick Bailey), but both caught at least 1,000 more pitches.

Hedges also scores well in Sports Info Solutions’ defensive runs saved calculations. In the company’s 21 seasons of data, Hedges ranks fifth, behind Yadier Molina, Russell Martin, Buster Posey and Jeff Mathis — all of whom caught hundreds more games.

For Hedges, catching has been a lifelong passion. Bored by the other positions, he was working by age 13 with a catching instructor, Brett Kay, who would later coach him at JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. Hedges hit well there, but scouts had their doubts.

“I remember when he was going to get drafted, they always questioned the hit tool,” Kay said. “And I’m like, ‘Listen, it’s not the hit tool that’s going to take him to the big leagues, and it’s not the hit tool that’s going to make him stay there for 15 or 20 years. Yes, if he hits, he’ll be a Hall of Famer. That’s how good he is defensively. But his long-lasting power is his defense and his ability to be a great teammate.’”

Hedges, who was drafted in the second round by San Diego in 2011, was the ideal pupil for Kay, who learned the position from two of the masters: Bob Boone, a four-time All-Star and family friend, and Gary Carter, a Hall of Famer who coached Kay in the minors with the Mets.

From them, Kay knew the value of presenting a pitch to the umpire — framing, that is — long before analysts quantified it. He taught Hedges the art of receiving the ball, how to angle his body and manipulate the glove to get borderline pitches called strikes. Hedges responded eagerly, with a perfectionist’s attention to detail.

“I just tried to make everything a strike, and by the time I got to pro ball and the big leagues, I had done it and other guys hadn’t even thought about it,” said Hedges, who reached the majors in 2015. “But then what happens is the league starts figuring out how to do some things, and I went from, like, the top of the league to flirting with the top 10. I was like, ‘What’s happening here?’”

Hedges had hit .163 in 2022, but started all seven of the Guardians’ postseason games. The Pirates, hoping to add moxie to a young clubhouse, signed Hedges for one year and $5 million. He bonded immediately with their catching coach, Jordan Comadena — “He’s a mastermind,” Hedges said — and redefined his technique.

Comadena — yes, his nickname is “Funky” — had helped Jacob Stallings win a Gold Glove for the Pirates in 2021. He said he encouraged Hedges to use his strong hands and forearms to “blast through the pitch,” and emphasized that quickness means deception for a catcher.

“They’re moving the ball, but to the umpire, it doesn’t look like it,” Comadena said. “They don’t see where you catch it, they see where you stop it. If it’s catch-move, the umpires see that and you’re not going to trick them as often as you can when it’s a one-piece move.”

The old way of catching, Hedges said, was to be soft with your hands. Working with Comadena, he said, changed his mindset.

“Most catchers are trying to catch an egg and keep it, not break it,” Hedges said. “I’m trying to crack that egg into a trillion pieces. I’m smashing it. Most guys move from their shoulder to raise the ball. I’m trying to press the ball from my elbow, as fast as I can, to a spot that is clearly a strike.”

Pitch selection beats hitters, pitch presentation sways the umpires, but it’s all in service of the pitcher. To Hedges, that is the essence of his job. He can handle the frustration of hitting for the thrill of making teammates better as a catcher.

“My skill set now is making it about everybody else,” said Hedges, who is deeply offended by the notion of an automated strike zone, which Major League Baseball has used in the minors.

“The thing that bothers me about the idea of a full automatic strike zone is you’re just telling me that I wasted my time for 31 years working on this,” he said. “It would be like taking away bunting because people don’t want to watch it. No, that’s a skill for guys that helps teams win games.

“My skill set dictates counts, and leverage counts win ballgames — 1-2 counts win ballgames, 2-1 counts lose ballgames; that’s the difference of the 1-1 pitch. I’ve got infinity amount of receiving work, thousands upon thousands of balls received. And if they take that away, I would take it really personally because that’s my life. That’s my livelihood.”

Hedges is not ready to switch livelihoods just yet. The industry still values the best version of himself. Managing can wait.

No truth to the rumor they are going to rename the Mendoza Line to the Hedges Line.

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A new book details the life and career of Larry Doby, who was the second black player to enter Major League Baseball, back in 1947.

How Larry Doby helped integrate Major League Baseball weeks after Jackie Robinson’s historic signing

By Social Links for Gavin Newsham

Published March 9, 2024, 8:00 a.m. ET

On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson made history when he signed onto the National League’s Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB).

Just six weeks later, Larry Doby, a 23-year-old from Paterson, NJ, left the Newark Eagles in the Negro National League to join the Cleveland Indians and become the first ever Black player in the American League.

But if he thought Robinson breaking through the color barrier would make things easier, he was wrong, as Jerry Izenberg explains in “Larry Doby In Black and White: The Story of a Baseball Pioneer” (Sports Publishing).




Doby throws the first pitch at the 1997 All-Star game in Cleveland, OH.

When Doby first met his new teammates, the welcome was anything but warm. “I walked down that line, stuck out my hand, and very few hands came back in return,” he recalls.

“Most of the ones that did were cold-fish handshakes — along with a look that said, ‘You don’t belong here.’ ”

But he was philosophical.

“Jackie got all the credit for putting up with the racists’ crap and abuse. He was the first,” Doby says in the book. “But the crap I took was just as bad.

“Nobody said, ‘We’re going to be nice to the second Black.’ ”

Born in Camden, SC, in 1923, Larry Doby was the son of a semiprofessional baseball player, David Doby, who moved north to New Jersey with his mother, Etta, after his father drowned when he was 6.

At school, Doby excelled at baseball, basketball and football, winning an athletic scholarship to Long Island University. Indeed, Doby’s sporting prowess was such that he achieved celebrity status at Paterson’s Eastside HS. Everyone had his back.

When the school football team were invited to play segregated high school bowl games in Florida, the team voted to stay home rather than play without Doby, the only Black player in their line-up.

After playing for the Newark Eagles, and time in the military, Doby got his shot at the big time, signing for the Cleveland Indians in 1947.

But unlike Robinson in Brooklyn, Doby’s situation in Cleveland was markedly different.

Still schools were segregated and restaurants either refused to serve Blacks or charged a premium. Movie theaters made Black filmgoers sit in the balcony while amusement parks denied them entry.


An archival shot of Doby and Jackie Robinson from their glory days.

Baseball was no different.

Doby had beer bottles thrown at him during games down South and had tobacco juice spat in his face by a Philadelphia Athletics infielder.

In stadiums in Washington and St. Louis, meanwhile, Doby had to enter via a separate entrance to his teammates. It only spurred him on.

“I always hit well in Washington and St. Louis,” he said. “I saw them out in the Jim Crow seats. I felt like a high school quarterback with his own 5,000 cheerleaders . . . And I will tell you they made some noise. “When I hit a home run, their sound was deafening.”

Unlike Robinson, Doby never enjoyed the same support networks. Even at Spring training camps, he sat in the team bus while colleagues ate in whites-only restaurants.

For Izenberg, a long-time friend of Doby’s, the way he handled himself in the face of prejudice was extraordinary. “I would ask myself — but never him — How could he keep from hating,” he writes.

“I know that had it been me, I could not.”

That Doby stuck it out was down to the man who signed him for the Indians, club owner Bill Veeck.




Cleveland Indians-owner Bill Veeck signed Doby into the integrated major leagues.

When Veeck took Doby out of the Negro National League, it was the start of a lifelong friendship between the two. Often, Veeck made surprise visits to whatever city the Indians were playing in, just to check up on Doby.

Certainly, Veeck came under fire for signing him.

Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby, for instance, was livid. “Bill Veeck did the Negro race no favors when he signed Larry Doby to a Cleveland contract,” he said at the time. “If he were white, he wouldn’t be considered good enough to play with a semipro club.”

Hornsby was proved emphatically wrong.

The year after joining the Indians, Doby became the first black player to play and win a World Series, and the first to hit a home run in the contest. In 1952, he led the American League in home runs — the first Black player to do so — and would become a seven-time All-Star.

When he retired, Doby became the American League’s first black manager, taking charge of the Detroit Tigers in 1979. In 1998, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Larry Doby died in 2003 after a long battle with cancer, almost two years to the day he lost his wife of 55 years, Helyn, to the same disease.

The praise was fulsome.

President George W. Bush called Doby’s influence “profound” while MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said the veteran slugger “endured the pain of being a pioneer with grace, dignity, and determination.”

Later, on the anniversary of his 100th birthday, Larry Doby was posthumously awarded a Congressional Gold Medal.

For Izenberg, it was long-overdue recognition, even if Larry might have regarded it as ridiculous.

“Looking back,” he writes, “Larry was a hero to everyone except himself.”

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These pitchers could factor into the Guardians' bullpen soon

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The bullpen is one of the pieces of this roster that has yet to be put together. James Karinchak (shoulder fatigue) and Trevor Stephan (right elbow bruise) having to miss some time this spring certainly threw unexpected wrenches in any of the Guardians’ plans entering camp. It seems safe to assume at least three spots are up for grabs. Guys like Carlos Carrasco, Xzavion Curry and Ben Lively will certainly be in the hunt, but there are a handful of others who aren’t far behind.

There are a group of younger relief candidates who are just one step away from proving they’re Major League ready. “It just comes down to them pounding the zone,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “We see it when they’re getting behind, they have to give in. That’s when they’re getting hit or they’re walk, walk, hit. But when pitchers with that kind of stuff get ahead, they put themselves in a position to succeed.” Let’s take a look at three hurlers who fall in this category and could soon be joining the big league bullpen.

Tim Herrin
has been in the Majors before, and is the most likely of this group to get there first again. With the extra openings likely to be available, Herrin could find himself with an Opening Day roster spot. But as Vogt alluded to, he’ll have to continue to show throughout the final weeks of camp that he’s able to get ahead in counts.

Herrin’s 23 big league appearances in ‘23 resulted in a 5.53 ERA with 12 walks and 32 strikeouts in 27 2/3 frames. In Triple-A Columbus, he owned a 3.38 ERA in 37 1/3 innings. He’s given the club a taste of what another left-handed arm could look like in this ‘pen, but he needs to take the next step to win the job.

Entering Saturday’s 5-4 loss to the Angels at Goodyear Ballpark, Herrin had allowed two runs (each on solo homers) in five innings. He allowed one more run against Los Angeles in two frames. Overall, he has walked one batter and hit another, but he’s also recorded seven strikeouts in seven innings. He has just over three weeks left to keep showing that he can pound the strike zone. [his 2 innngs yesterday were homer-free]

Cade Smith
The fact that Cade Smith is already on the 40-man roster is helpful for the Guardians, who may want to avoid designating players for assignment to fill out this bullpen. But he still has a little more to show before he earns that final promotion.

Smith was great in Double-A Akron last year, owning a 2.86 ERA with 13 saves, nine walks and 29 strikeouts in 17 appearances (22 innings). He struggled a little more in Triple-A Columbus with a 4.65 ERA, but still struck out 66 batters in 40 2/3 innings.

He’s been impressive in big league camp, entering Saturday with one run allowed in 3 1/3 innings with no walks and four strikeouts. Against the Angels, he picked up two strikeouts and allowed a single in a scoreless inning. [On Saturday 1 inning, 2 hit ,no walks, 2 strikeouts: 6K vs 0 BB is impressive]

Franco Aleman
is the lone non-roster invitee on this list. A 23-year-old righty selected in the 10th round of the 2021 Draft, Aleman’s stuff continues to get better as he settles into a full-time reliever role. Once he was promoted to Double-A Akron in July last year, he didn’t allow an earned run in 24 innings. His fastball averaged 96 mph for the year, but reached as high as 101 mph on the radar gun.

He didn't have the same success in High-A prior to this, so the Guardians will need a little time to see that he can be consistent. So far this spring, he’s giving that indication, with three scoreless innings and six strikeouts. His best performance may have been in the ninth inning of a 2-1 win on Friday afternoon against the White Sox. In a save situation, he closed out the game with back-to-back strikeouts, a hit batter and one more punchout.

“I mean, that was fun. Holy cow,” Vogt said of the outing. “The fastball is real. The breaking ball is real. The presence. There’s a lot to be excited about with Franco. [Friday] was really cool. You could tell when he was coming in that he was closing the game. It wasn’t just 'Oh, I’m going to have to go throw an inning in a Spring Training game.' He took it very seriously. You could see that from his demeanor and it was really fun.”

Am I wrong, wasn't Frank Robinson the first African -American manager for the Tribe in 73?

I think you are right. I was there on opening day !

Guardians 2024 Opening Day roster projection 2.0: Who will have to wait their turn? Mar 3, 2024; Mesa, Arizona, USA; Cleveland Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio (4) hits against the Chicago Cubs in the first inning at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
By Zack Meisel
Mar 11, 2024



The Cleveland Guardians have used 50 players each of the past two seasons, so the 26 who make the Opening Day roster won’t be the only ones to influence the club’s standing.

“Every time you can hear your name called in a major-league stadium on Opening Day,” manager Stephen Vogt said, “it’s a big deal. We don’t take that lightly. But just because you don’t make the Opening Day roster doesn’t mean you’re not going to play a huge role on this team.”

On that note, let’s forecast who will head to Oakland in two weeks for the opener and who will have to wait their turn to contribute to the 2024 Guardians.

Catchers (3): Bo Naylor, Austin Hedges, David Fry

Others in camp: Michael Berglund, Bryan Lavastida, Dom Nuñez, Eric Rodriguez

Teammates have contended all spring they missed Hedges’ presence last season, and it’s easy to brush aside such a sentiment … until you walk into the clubhouse or observe a back-field bullpen session or pickoff drill and his booming voice jolts you from your morning stupor.

He’s the first to note his offensive shortcomings — his OPS the last five years is .516, a tick above José Ramírez’s slugging percentage in that span — but his elite defense and game-calling and his leadership should at least pay dividends for Naylor, the pitching staff and a less-experienced coaching staff.
go-deeper

GO DEEPER

How Cleveland’s Austin Hedges learned to stop worrying (about hitting) and love his job

The question here is how Fry fits. He has focused primarily on catching instead of bouncing to the corner infield and outfield spots. Would it benefit him to head to Triple A to catch five times a week? Or would it benefit the team to have his versatility on the big-league roster, where he could offer a right-handed stick off the bench and enable Vogt to limit Hedges’ at-bats?

Infielders (5): José Ramírez, Andrés Giménez, Gabriel Arias, Tyler Freeman, Josh Naylor

Others on the 40-man: Juan Brito, Deyvison De Los Santos, Angel Martínez, Brayan Rocchio, José Tena

Others in camp: Ray Delgado, Kyle Manzardo, Micah Pries, Daniel Schneemann

Freeman might be the most interesting player in camp, a shoo-in for the utility infielder job who is proving he can handle center field, too. Last year, he started only in Sunday matinees. This year, as long as his bat isn’t faulty, he should earn more consistent playing time, even if it means moving around the diamond — perhaps center field a few times a week, shortstop once or twice a week and third base when Ramírez needs a breather.

“It’s valuable to have somebody who can do that,” Vogt said. “He’s athletic enough to do that.”
Tyler Freeman hit .242 with a .661 OPS in 168 plate appearances last season. (Rick Scuteri / USA Today)

Arias and Rocchio are vying for attention, too, of course, but there’s probably only room for one of them. And that’s without mentioning Martínez, who has swung the most sizzling stick of the spring.

“When he gets in the game, he’s not scared,” Vogt said. “I love seeing that from a young player.”

Martínez, Tena and Brito could form a crowd at Triple A as they all await an opportunity. Cue the line we’ve repeated for several years now: There ought to be a trade at some point to alleviate the logjam.

The other wrinkle on the infield involves De Los Santos, who remains a tricky fit as a Rule 5 selection. Members of two other organizations have asked me recently what the Guardians see in him, curious that they’d hold an audition for a 20-year-old with mixed results at Double A. It’s not just the Opening Day roster decision; it’s the acknowledgment that hanging on to him means six months of transactional bobbing and weaving to keep him on the roster, even though he’s a hefty project.

Outfielders (5): Steven Kwan, Estevan Florial, Myles Straw, Will Brennan, Ramón Laureano

Others on the 40-man: Jhonkensy Noel, Johnathan Rodriguez, George Valera

Others in camp: Lorenzo Cedrola, Petey Halpin

There’s not as much to sort through here. Valera, sidelined with a strained hamstring, was optioned to Triple A last week. Noel and Rodriguez need strong showings in Columbus to earn a look this summer.

Where this gets puzzling is in center field. Brennan and Laureano seem like a perfect match for right field. Kwan is the left fielder. In center, Florial and Straw offer vastly different profiles at the plate. Florial is out of options and Straw is under contract for the next three years, so they’ll almost certainly be in the mix. And then there’s Freeman, jockeying to steal playing time from the two. Straw would be an ideal late-innings defensive replacement as Freeman grows accustomed to the outfield.

Starting pitchers (5): Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie, Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Logan Allen

Others on the 40-man: Joey Cantillo, Xzavion Curry, Daniel Espino

Others in camp: Tyler Beede, Jack Leftwich

McKenzie’s feeling fully healthy and Bieber’s touching 94 mph with his fastball are welcome developments for a rotation that has a high ceiling but a fragile foundation. Along those lines, Williams is expected to resume throwing in the coming days, but his elbow discomfort after an awkward weighted-ball toss late last week is a team’s spring nightmare. Perhaps the most compelling storyline is what happens to all of the swing guys. Curry, Gaddis, Carrasco, Lively, Cantillo and Beede are being stretched out but could slot into the bullpen to fill a multi-inning role.

With a couple of injuries in the pen, that group should be especially valuable early in the season, especially so the Guardians don’t burn out their starters in April.

Relievers (8): Emmanuel Clase, Scott Barlow, Sam Hentges, Eli Morgan, Nick Sandlin, Tim Herrin, Ben Lively, Hunter Gaddis

Others on the 40-man: James Karinchak, Cade Smith, Trevor Stephan

Others in camp: Franco Aleman, Anthony Banda, Jaime Barria, Tanner Burns, Carlos Carrasco, Nic Enright, Anthony Gose, Mason Hickman, Adam Oller, Tyler Zuber

Injuries to Stephan (elbow) and Karinchak (shoulder) have altered the complexion of this group. Herrin and Smith are on the 40-man roster and either (or both) would be a sensible addition. Herrin would arm Vogt with a second lefty to pair with Hentges.

Lively is out of options, and the team handed him a big-league contract, so it clearly thinks enough of him to place him on the Opening Day roster. The last spot could boil down to Carrasco, Smith and Gaddis. Carrasco would be the storybook choice, but that’s not the way to make roster decisions. He’ll need to prove there’s still some swing-and-miss stuff in his arsenal to secure a spot as a non-roster invitee.

I'd give away Florial and waste a spot on De Los Santos's longterm potential.
If they insist on giving Florial a chance to show how badly he can play in the regular season, they'll demote Fry but we know he'll be back at the first opportunity.

I understand holding Curry in reserve as a starter in Columbus but I'd be disappointed if he doesn't return north. Only one of Gaddis or Livey seems sufficient; I;d like to see Smith, but he also could start in Columbus and be ready for promotion at any moment

The second wave of roster moves has come for the Cleveland Guardians as they hover over the halfway mark of spring training. The organization announced on Tuesday afternoon that they had optioned the following players to start the season.

Johnathan Rodriguez
Johnathan Rodriguez was one of the right-handed power bats who had the potential to make some noise during spring training. Manager Stephen Vogt had a lot of good things to say about the prospect at the start of camp,

However, Rodriguez has put together a rather mediocre spring so far. He only has a batting average of .211, an OPS of .529, and has yet to record an extra-base hit.

Jhonkensy Noel
The other power hitter who had a slim chance of cracking the Opening Day roster was Jhonkensy Noel. But his production has also been underwhelming. Noel has put up a higher OPS of .591 and has hit three doubles in 22 at-bats. The one positive that he has is his versatility on defense.
Juan Brito
Juan Brito will join Noel and Rodrigez in the minors to start the season. He's hit .200/.333/.267 in his 15 plate appearances this spring. It always felt like if Brito were to help this team at some point it would come later this season not the first weekend.

Joey Cantillo
Vogt raved about Joey Cantillo's pitch mic and mindset in the early days of camp. The left-handed pitcher has appeared in 7.0 innings and given up four total earned runs in those appearances.

Cleveland's rotation is all but set at this point, so it's not surprising that Cantillo will start the year in the minor.

Reassigned To Minor League Camp
Some other notable moves made on Tuesday were reassigning five players to the team's minor league camp. These players include RHP Franco Aleman, RHP Nic Enright, RHP Mason Hickman, C Michael Berglund, and C Eric Rodriguez.

DeLauter, Cleveland's No. 1 prospect and the No. 31 overall prospect per MLB Pipeline, has been the talk of Spring Training. He’ll again be the focal point in the Guardians' inaugural Spring Breakout game on Saturday against the Reds at 7:05 p.m. ET at Goodyear Ballpark. On Tuesday, he solidified why he deserves the hype when he launched his second homer of the spring to help lift the Guardians to a 3-0 victory over the Rangers at Surprise Stadium.

DeLauter will still probably begin the season in the Minors. But his arrival to the big leagues won’t be too far into the future. There have been three things this spring that have made it glaringly obvious that he could be a good fit for Cleveland’s lineup. Maybe they’ll shine even brighter in the Spring Breakout matchup.

To the naked eye, it’s almost too easy to overlook DeLauter’s professionalism. When he’s in big league camp around Major League hitters, he blends in with everyone else to the point that you can forget he’s a 22-year-old Minor Leaguer in his second professional season. He doesn’t seem overwhelmed. He’s not trying to do too much.

“The kid’s got a really slow heartbeat,” Guardians hitting coach Chris Valaika said. “I can’t iterate that enough. It’s been really fun to watch someone that young take professional at-bats, knowing we have someone like that coming through our system.”

Professionalism in an at-bat is mostly defined by patience. So often, young players can get sped up when they see Major League pitching, leading to chasing pitches out of the strike zone or being too aggressive in their approaches. Not DeLauter.

“Just trusting myself, trusting my ability,” DeLauter said when asked how he keeps his poise. “I mean, trusting that’s the reason they would have put me in the lineup. So just go play.”


Power potential
Talk about things the Guardians have been craving… There’s an obvious void in the power department, specifically in the outfield. Last year, the Guardians received 16 home runs from their outfielders. The next fewest number of homers hit by a team’s outfield was the Nationals with … 46. The need is there and DeLauter teased fans with his ability to quench their thirst in the near future once again on Tuesday, off of a lefty hurler, no less.

“That’s something I’ve been trying to work on this offseason is hitting lefties,” DeLauter said. “And pulling fastballs. If I’m able to do that, night and day.”

This is nothing new for DeLauter. He racked up five homers in 23 games in the Arizona Fall League -- when he first set off alarm bells for the Guardians that he can live up to the hype, considering he had to miss half of his first professional season last year due to left foot surgery.

What has pitching coach Willis seen this spring? [You won't learn too much from these innocuous questions.]

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- There may be a lot of questions for the Guardians to answer before Spring Training ends in two weeks, but there’s one thing we know for sure: Pitching will need to be their strength yet again.

Who has made the biggest strides? Who left lasting impressions? Pitching coach Carl Willis addressed all of this and more prior to Cleveland’s matchup against the Cubs on Wednesday.

The topic: Who are you looking at for late innings?
The skinny: The Guardians will likely have to start the year without James Karinchak (shoulder fatigue) and Trevor Stephan (bruised elbow). That means other candidates will need to prove they can handle the high-leverage frames.
Willis: “Truthfully, it all comes back to your willingness to attack the strike zone. Throwing strikes with the best stuff you can command. Not necessarily your best stuff on Trackman, but the best stuff you can command. … We want guys to either have the ability to pitch multiple innings or conserve their pitches, get the job done so you can come back again tomorrow. I think big picture, we’re kind of looking for all those things. It takes some maturity. That doesn’t mean it takes age, but it takes some maturity as a player to have that kind of confidence.”


The topic: Tim Herrin’s growth
The skinny: When it comes to those open bullpen spots, Herrin being a lefty with some Major League experience certainly makes him a candidate. He’ll have some things to prove in the final weeks of camp to make that happen, but his growth since his first spring last year could help.
Willis: “I think he’s a lot more confident. I think that he has been able to simplify his approach. We sat down with him very early in camp and showed him numbers of when he starts a count 0-1 compared to when he starts a count 1-0 and the separation was huge. So we’ve started this camp basically with just challenging him 0-0, we’re attacking the zone. … I feel like we’re kind of seeing a guy stand on the mound and there’s a lot more maturity in terms of the thought process. He looks like, ‘I’m gonna get this guy out’ as opposed to, ‘Maybe I hope I get this guy out.’”


The topic: Shane Bieber’s improvements
The skinny: Bieber went into the offseason ready to improve a number of things, but his velocity was at the top of the list. After spending time at Driveline, his hard work has been on full display during Cactus League outings.
Willis: “I think obviously the first thing that shows itself is there has been an uptick in velocity. … Once he started to accomplish that, it kind of led into some things improving that maybe you didn’t anticipate or as he started to get some power back to the curveball and just now with the finish to his fastball, kind of finding a place for maybe another secondary pitch to be part of the game plan.”

The topic: Triston McKenzie’s return to the mound
The skinny: McKenzie made just four starts in 2023 due to teres major muscle and elbow troubles. From what he’s shown so far this spring, you wouldn’t have any idea that he’s recovering from such a grueling year.
Willis: “He actually reached his highest velocities I think in the third inning of work [on Monday]. He has no symptoms, no issues with anything. His slider has been, I think, very much improved during Spring Training, particularly taking into account the atmosphere in Arizona. … I think he’s probably been better than, personally, I thought he’d be at this point in Spring Training. I would have taken where he’s at now at the beginning of the regular season.”

The topic: Franco Aleman’s strong impression
The skinny: There’s always a young guy who stands out in camp. When it comes to relievers, the 6-foot-6 Aleman was him, tossing three scoreless innings with six strikeouts.
Willis: “That guy’s got stuff. I mean, he’s an imposing figure on the mound. He competes. He has a high intensity about him. And he has electric stuff. He’s what you look for in terms of guys to pitch leverage innings toward the back of a bullpen. … He was sent out yesterday, but basically that goal is to be more consistent, not only with strike throwing but just the quality of your misses, as well. He’s got Major League stuff.

What's he think of Cade Smith?
Will Barlow be setup or assistant closer?
Is Carrasco a viable long-man or is his return mere sentiment?
Surprises this spring?
Jack Leftwich: a reliever or will he back to starting in Akron?
etc

Can Guardians’ Emmanuel Clase reclaim his title as AL’s top closer in 2024? Sep 16, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase (48) throws a pitch during the ninth inning against the Texas Rangers at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
By Zack Meisel
7h ago

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — The radar gun wasn’t in use at Chase Field on March 30, 2021. Stephen Vogt wasn’t familiar with the reliever emerging from the bullpen.

Vogt was leading off an inning for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He didn’t need the official velocity. He could hear the baseball screaming before it collided with Austin Hedges’ mitt.

Vogt popped out against Emmanuel Clase in that end-of-spring tune-up.

“I will brag about that,” he said, three years later.

As he retreated to the bench, Vogt told the on-deck hitter, “Hey, it cut a little bit.” Vogt then went and checked the Diamondbacks’ data and discovered Clase was throwing 101 mph with a lot of movement.

“I’m like, ‘Yeah, it cut a little bit,’” he said, confirming the understatement he lightheartedly delivered to his teammate.

Clase is no longer unfamiliar. By the end of the summer, he could be the Cleveland Guardians’ all-time saves leader.

That would be an impressive feat for a guy who turns 26 on Monday. Cody Allen, whose reign as relief king appears to be on borrowed time, racked up most of his saves in a five-year stretch just ahead of his 30th birthday (2014-18). His run as the team’s ninth-inning extinguisher coincided with a stretch of playoff contention, so there were plenty of opportunities to secure victories. For Clase, the club won a bunch in 2022, but it’s more a matter of the Guardians’ playing so many close games. He’s always summoned. It’s always high-leverage. Cleveland led the league with 58 one-run games last season.
Most saves, franchise history
Cody Allen

149
Bob Wickman

139
Doug Jones

129
Chris Perez

124
Emmanuel Clase

110

Unsurprisingly, then, Clase leads the league in appearances over the last three years. He owns a 1.97 ERA over that stretch. It feels like nitpicking to say he could be better, but, well, he agreed there are ways he can improve after his first tussle with non-invincibility.

“He wants to get back to being even better than he was,” Vogt said, “which is going to be tough to do. That’s just the mark of who he is. He’s a guy who wants to be the best. He’s not satisfied if he’s not the best.”

A handful of metrics stand out about Clase’s 2023 season, which ended with a 3.22 ERA and an MLB-high 44 saves.

1. His first-pitch strike percentage dipped to 56.7 percent from 65.1 percent in 2022.

2. His chase rate plummeted to 30.8 percent from 46.2 percent in 2022.

3. The whiff rate on his slider dropped to 31.3 percent from 42.7 percent in 2022. Even more notably, the whiff rate on sliders in the strike zone fell to 15.7 percent from 31.4 percent in 2022.

4. His ground-ball rate has tumbled each of the last two years: 68.3 percent to 64.5 percent to 56.6 percent.

5. His cutter became much more hittable, especially for extra bases.

A lot of this seems fixable.

“Emmanuel had two very good years and, yeah, last year was a step back,” Vogt said. “It’s hard to say that with (44) saves. But he’s come in determined, and we’re looking at all the areas of how we’re always looking to improve. There’s definitely some conversations.”

Consistently throwing first-pitch strikes makes everything else easier, especially when you boast a 99 mph cutter and a 91 mph slider. When hitters fall behind in the count, they’re desperate to cover the entire zone, so they’re more susceptible to chasing, especially when Clase’s slider carries enough velocity to resemble his cutter. Hitters swung at only 31.3 percent of his first pitches last season, compared with 42 percent in 2022.

This all helps to explain how a reliever with two elite pitches can record a strikeout rate that ranked in the 33rd percentile in the league.
Most RP appearances in MLB, 2021-23
Emmanuel Clase

223

1.97
Tyler Rogers

216

2.93
Héctor Neris

215

3.03
A.J. Minter

206

3.13
Tanner Scott

203

3.74
Scott Barlow

203

2.95

Clase was a model of efficiency in 2022, routinely finishing his ninth innings in 10 pitches or fewer, a result of throwing early-count strikes and inducing weak contact.

Now, some of that weak contact spoiled his 2023 season.

Opponents’ batting average on balls in play in 2022: .222
Opponents’ batting average on balls in play in 2023: .295

Some of that is simply poorer fortune, a hitter’s fending off a cutter on his hands and the blooped baseball’s landing between a trio of converging fielders at the onset of outfield grass. In seemingly every Clase blown save — there were 12 last season, most in the majors — there’s at least one awkward infield chopper that becomes a cheap base hit.

“It’s tough, because anytime you’re throwing that hard with movement,” Vogt said, “you’re going to miss the barrel, so if guys are making contact, it’s generally not going to be squared up, so you’re going to get the weird hits away from the shift, you’re going to get the squibbers, the bloopers.”

Why leave things in the cold hands of the baseball gods when you throw two pitches that should be able to induce plenty of swing-and-miss? The issue last season was that his ground-ball rate dropped and his strikeout rate dropped, too. More fly balls. More hard contact. More frustration.

If he can sacrifice some of that weak contact for an increase in whiffs, he could be more effective. Of course, what pitcher wouldn’t sign up for that tradeoff?

Clase has the stuff to make it work, though. Hitters whiffed on his cutter and slider out of the zone at a more frequent rate than they did in 2022. He just needs to convince them to chase them more often.

“I know there were a couple games I let slip by,” Clase said, “but at the same time, for me, it was a big lesson to learn from that and keep focused and be positive in how to deal with those situations. I feel I’m in a better position this year after learning from last year.”

He certainly still carries a daunting presence on the mound.

When Clase was throwing a live batting practice session earlier in camp, Vogt walked by the group of scheduled hitters and quipped, “If you guys don’t make contact today, you need to come see me.”

He encouraged them to relax and to swing hard, and not sweat the 98 mph heat headed their way on a mid-February morning. It’s the same approach he took to the plate three years ago at Chase Field.

“You’re facing one of the best in the world,” Vogt said. “Have some fun with it.”

Guardians inform several players they have made the 2024 opening day roster
Updated: Mar. 22, 2024, 2:33 p.m.|Published: Mar. 22, 2024, 12:23 p.m.
Cleveland Guardians v Los Angeles Angels






By Joe Noga, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The spring training battle to be Cleveland’s opening day shortstop is over.

Infielders Brayan Rocchio and Gabriel Arias were both informed Friday that they have made the Guardians roster with Rocchio earning the “bulk of the reps” at short while Arias’ ability to play in the outfield helped him earn a utility spot.

Cleveland’s president of baseball operations, Chris Antonetti also confirmed catcher David Fry and pitchers Carlos Carrasco and Tyler Beede have made the roster and that the club reassigned lefty Anthony Gose and utility man Daniel Schneemann to minor league camp.


Antonetti also said utility-man-turned-center-fielder Tyler Freeman has made the club, leaving Cleveland’s outfield crowded and the status of several players uncertain. Myles Straw’s spot on the roster is not guaranteed at the monent. The Gold Glove center fielder signed a five-year, $25 million contract in April of 2022, but has a minor league option remaining and could be outrighted to Triple-A if he first clears waivers.




Estevan Florial, acquired from the Yankees in a trade for Cody Morris, is out of options, which could give him leverage for the final spot in the outfield. Vogt said Floreal’s ability to move around the outfield is appealing.

“We’ve seen the quality of his work and the potential for some power there,” Vogt said. “We still have some decisions to make. We still have a few more days to work through some things, but overall, I’ve enjoyed getting to know a Flo and watching him work.”

Rookie Chase DeLauter, who was never technically in major league camp despite belting four home runs and hitting .520 in 25 at-bats, will not appear in any more big league exhibition games, Manager Stephen Vogt said.

“We couldn’t be more excited about what Chase showed this spring,” Vogt said. “The future for him is very bright. Very impressed with the spring that Chase had. It was really fun to get to know the kid and watch him work.”




Rocchio and Arias have been the focus of the shortstop battle since camp opened, with Rocchio, the No. 91 prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline, surging ahead in the last two weeks.

“The beauty of having both of them on the team is they both bring defensive versatility, but our goal at the beginning of the season is that Brayan take the bulk of reps at shortstop.”

Arias’ ability to play the outfield and the fact that he is a right-handed hitter helped secure his spot on the roster, according to Vogt.

“When you talk about Gabby, you’re talking about one of the more talented players, young players in the game and his ability to move all over the diamond is definitely going to be an asset for us,” Vogt said. “Being able to use him at all the positions I think is going to be a huge benefit for the team and for Gabby as well.”

Fry, a versatile player who logged innings in the outfield and at first base last season, will be the third catcher on Cleveland’s roster behind Bo Naylor and Austin Hedges.

“We feel like he could start games behind the plate,” Vogt said. “He could come into games and catch as well as impact the roster at first base, corner, outfield and possibly even some third base. Versatility seems to be the theme of what we’re talking about with this roster and David definitely adds to that.”


Either Carrasco or Beede will fill the opening as Cleveland’s No. 5 starter created when Gavin Williams was sidelined with a sore elbow earlier in camp. He said Beede’s stuff has played really well in camp.

“He has four or five pitches that he can use in his arsenal at any time,” Antonetti said. “We’ve seen him be very efficient. We’ve seen him attack the zone, we’ve seen him finish hitters. Really excited about the repertoire that Tyler has worked on and he’s just shown us a lot of good things this spring.”

Antonetti said Carrasco was clear from the beginning that Cleveland was the place where he wanted to try to continue pitching.

“I don’t think anyone is surprised that Carlos came out and did exactly that,” Antonetti said. “He did it with the work that he puts in every day to make himself the best pitcher he could be. And he’s also continues to be an extraordinary teammate at leader in the clubhouse. We feel overall we’re a better team both on the field and the clubhouse with Carlos Carrasco as part of it.”


Antonetti said Gose, who missed last season after undergoing reconstructive surgery on his left elbow, has made progress and has attacked his rehab assignments, positioning himself to help the club at some point this year.

“We just made the determination that it won’t be for the opening day roster, but Anthony deserves a ton of credit for all of the work he’s put in to get himself to this point,” Antonetti said.

Antonetti called Schneemann one of the highlights of camp.

“He’s tried to help make himself a better player and be the best teammate he possibly could be,” Antonetti said. “He impacted a lot of games, and it’s another guy we think will help us at some point this year, just not opening day.”

Blowing smoke up everybody's butt must be a requirement for management on this team.
Never a discouraging word. Everything is wonderful.