Steven Kwan ends exciting rookie season with major award

Runner movement, contact-focused offense, occasional power, speed and excellent defense.

Can you guess the MLB team?

We’ll help you out: These are the Cleveland Guardians, who nearly made it to the American League Championship Series with their unique brand of baseball.

Defense was actually a big part of the equation.

If Guardians pitchers have Austin Hedges, Andres Gimenez, Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan and Myles Straw playing almost every day, they can rest easy knowing they’ll be making routine plays and increasing the odds of finishing plays the fastest. more difficult.

Kwan, in particular, was incredibly impressive.

The exciting rookie who captivated the MLB universe with his contact ability and plate discipline was also recognized by the league for his stellar defense.

“2022 Rawlings Gold Glove Award Winner – Left Field – AL: Steven Kwan,” Rawlings Baseball tweeted.

2022 Rawlings Golden Glove Award Winner – Left Field – AL: Steven Kwan #RawlingsGoldGloveAwards pic.twitter.com/4YLqRd6xu8

— Rawlings Baseball (@RawlingsSports) November 1, 2022

Yes: The freshman was so good with a glove in his hand that he won the league’s best player award every year.

The numbers confirm his award-winning defensive performance

Kwan had an incredible 21 Defensive Runs Saved, or DRS, and he also had 10 Outs Above Average, or OAA.

Both of these metrics are defensive metrics that gauge different things: combining them helps us better understand a player’s chops on the pitch.

Kwan is, according to these statistics, the elite.

The eyesight test also rarely fails, and we’ve seen Kwan cover an insane amount of ground at every chance he gets.

His arm certainly isn’t elite, but it more than makes up for in speed, range, and smart running.

If we add Kwan’s offensive prowess (124 wRC+, 24% above average), we have a very valuable player ourselves.