CLEVELAND — Clutch hitting propelled the Guardians to a dramatic 5-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers in extra innings Wednesday afternoon at Progressive Field.
Before the Guardians (24-13) won their ninth series in 12 attempts this season by beating the AL Central foe Tigers (19-18) for the second time in three days, hitting coach Chris Valaika discussed several aspects of the Cleveland lineup .
Here's what to know about the observations Valaika shared:
Jose Ramirez is batting .238 with 30 RBIs, six doubles, a triple and seven home runs in 147 at-bats. His OPS is .718. Ramirez broke out of an 0-for-19 slump Sunday and proceeded to go 5 for 11 with a double, two homers and five RBIs until he cooled off with an 0 for 4 series finale against the Tigers.
Valaika explained Ramirez's baseball intelligence is elite, so he only needs to offer him "little nuggets" of coaching advice along the way.
"I've never been around somebody like Hosey, just the way he can take in information through an at-bat," Valaika said. "We've talked about the seven-pitch at-bats, 10-pitch at-bat, 12-pitch at-bat homers that he hits, just how he's getting better and better through those at-bats.
"The biggest things for me with Hosey is just the complete player that he is, seeing your best player run hustle doubles and diving into second base, busting it down the line to break up a double play and extend an inning. Him doing those little things, if our best player can do that, that just sets the tone for the rest of these guys. So he's super special, super valuable to us and really important to me."
Josh Naylor is hitting .270 with a .901 OPS in 126 at-bats. He has compiled seven doubles, nine home runs and 28 RBIs. In 2023, he hit .308 with an .843 OPS, 97 RBIs, 31 doubles and 17 homers.
"We were trying to keep him positive [early last season by pointing out], 'You're hitting the ball hard. It's going to turn. Don't change your approach. Don't get into that chase-a-result mentality,'" Valaika said. "Kudos to him that he didn't, and he fought his way out of it and had the year that he had.
"As far as growth goes, he learned a lot from that, to not ride that wave, the up and down. We're playing 162. We've got a six-month season. Let's look up in October and worry about what the numbers are, not in April or May."
The younger brother of Josh Naylor, Bo Naylor is hitting .176 with a .558 OPS in 91 at-bats. He has hit one double and three home runs.
"Bo's been doing a great job and, a lot like Josh last year, just kind of weathering some of those storms and getting through some of the early season struggles," Valaika said. "We've seen Bo for the last three years, and he's been kind of a historic slow starter. I'm not worried about him. I don't think anybody in this clubhouse is worried about him.
"Seeing him over the last couple of days with consistent at-bats, he's really starting to settle in. He's driven some balls the last three nights. So I think just time and getting him comfortable and just letting him settle in with those consistent at-bats is going to be the biggest thing with Bo."
Before Steven Kwan landed on the 10-day injured list Monday with a hamstring injury the Guardians expect to sideline him for four weeks, he had been on fire at the plate. He entered this week with an AL-leading 47 hits and .353 batting average. He scored 28 runs and compiled six doubles, two triples and three home runs with 11 RBIs and a .903 OPS.
"I think that's always been in there," Valaika said. "We saw that type of performance in the minor leagues. I think the biggest thing with Kwan right now — he's holding much better angles. When we talk about hitting mechanics, we're seeing him be more productive in the air.
"He's impacting the ball harder, so those things are all starting to translate into a more productive at-bat, and the way he controls the zone, he's taken his walks. Those things are just going to keep compounding."
With Kwan idle, Estevan Florial has stepped into the leadoff spot. In 72 at-bats, Florial is hitting .194 with four doubles, a triple, three home runs, 10 RBIs and a .669 OPS. He has hit safely in three of his last four games since being inserted atop the batting order.
"He's done a great job," Valaika said. "I know it's been a small sample, but his ability to control the zone and give us some impact at the top of the lineup has been great. I think we'll live with some of the ups and downs that we've seen this year, but the consistency as well, knowing that he can impact those balls and take a walk when we need it, and he's going to make the pitcher work. We might not get a result at the end of it, but he's going to see five, six, seven pitches, and that's only going to help the guys that follow."
Kyle Manzardo made his MLB debut Monday after being promoted from Triple-A Columbus with Kwan landing on the IL. Manzardo served as a designated hitter and went 0 for 7 through his first two Guardians games, striking out five times. He pinch hit in the seventh inning Wednesday and recorded his first MLB hit.
Instead of reacting to a minuscule sample size, Valaika is simply focused on helping Manzardo settle in.
"At least initially, let him get his feet wet, not trying to dump on him with scouting reports and all kinds of stuff that we have," Valaika said. "Give him 20, 30 at-bats to just taste the big leagues a little bit, and then when we see things, when we need to make adjustments, [we will].
"Other clubs don't know him yet. Everybody's got computers, but they're going to go look up things how to attack him. But it's a different beast in the minor leagues than the big leagues. So before we jump to conclusions or try to intervene, let's let some of the dust settle and see what the game's telling us at this point or at this level, and then we will go from there with him."
Manzardo is the No. 2 prospect in the Guardians organization, according to MLB Pipeline.
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Will Brennan is hitting .240 with 14 RBIs, five doubles, four homers and a .697 OPS in 100 at-bats.
Valaika said Josh Naylor breaking out last season is reference point he can use to guide Brennan.
"The biggest thing with Will, he's hitting the ball as hard as he's ever hit the ball," Valaika said. "So those things are going to turn, and him rather than trying to chase a result, chase a hit, continue to hit the ball hard, and they're going to fall. We've seen that.
"I think the biggest impact on Will has been Josh and them hitting together, Josh kind of putting his arm around him and kind of weathering some of this storm with him and seeing him come out the other side right now."
When David Fry has been in the lineup this season, he has usually been effective. He's hitting .316 with four doubles, two home runs, 10 RBIs and a .929 OPS in 57 at-bats. On Wednesday, he tied the score in the ninth inning with a solo homer, allowing the Guardians to eventually triumph on Brayan Rocchio's walk-off single in the 10th.
"He definitely has a low-maintenance swing," Valaika said. "I think what David does so well is he prepares so much. Obviously, on the catching side, the bandwidth that he has to take in seeing it from a reverse lens, but when he's in the dugout, he's studying pitchers.
"He knows where the pinch hits are. He knows when he's going to have to come in and impact the game. We'll go up in the cage. We'll try to constrain things to match who he's going to come in and pinch. So he's going in with a plan, and he's done a great job executing those plans."
More on Guardians' wild win over Tigers: Another series victory is in the books after a walk-off hit in extra innings against an AL Central opponent
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians hitting coach Chris Valaika offers observations
