Austin Hedges has been one of the Cleveland Guardians' top hitters through the first month of the 2026 MLB season.
Just over a month into the 2026 MLB season, Austin Hedges owns a .325/.364/.500 slash line, and his wRC+ of 138 is the highest on the Cleveland Guardians (min. 40 plate appearances).
Just what everyone was expecting, right?
At this point in Hedges' career, he and the Guardians were very well aware of the type of player he is and the value he brings, as evidenced by Cleveland's re-signing him last fall. Hedges will bring elite defense behind the plate and locker-room leadership that has an impact felt well beyond the stats and the box scores.
That said, Hedges' production at the plate to start the 2026 season understandably is coming as a surprise to many, and that continued in Cleveland's 14-6 win over the Athletics on Saturday afternoon.
In this win for the Guardians, Hedges went 3-for-5 at the plate with a home run and two doubles.
Hedges joked after the game that he wasn't sure if he ever had a three-hit game in his career. It was actually the ninth in his career, but his first since 2019 when he was with the San Diego Padres.
May 2, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Cleveland Guardians catcher Austin Hedges (27) celebrates with teammates after scoring a run against the Athletics during the fifth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images"I'm nasty," Hedges jokingly proclaimed.
Stephen Vogt chose to take a more analytical approach in reaction to Hedges' big game.
"That's what Hedges does. He impacts the game behind the plate, and he's impacting it at the plate," said Cleveland's skipper.
Hedges did end up noting after Saturday's game that one of the keys to his success has simply just been sticking to his approach and plan in the box, which has clearly worked out well for him so far.
Many didn't expect Hedges to start the season with this amount of success at the plate (myself included), but maybe we should have.
Last September, Hedges was one of Cleveland's best hitters in their final month comeback, logging a .820 OPS in 88 at-bats.
The Guardians are relying on or counting on Hedges to be one of their top hitters for the rest of the season, but as long as he continues to this output at the plate, it'll be a bonus of the back half of Cleveland's lineup.
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