The Cleveland Guardians' young core will face adversity, but how they respond matters more.
The Cleveland Guardians continue to employ one of the youngest rosters in baseball.
That can be seen as a positive, considering the ceiling for those players could only continue to rise with more experience, but it also comes with plenty of learning curves for the players, both individually and as a group.
Over the last month or so, it’s been a lot of growing pains for Cleveland’s young core.
Chase DeLauter has a .535 OPS over the last 30 games. Travis Bazzana has only had four hits in his last seven games. Angel Martinez has struck out 27 times in his last 30 games.
Despite those struggles, manager Stephen Vogt is remaining positive and knows that a few tough weeks aren't representative of the final product a player is or will be.
"It's baseball. It's the big leagues, and when you're going through it for the first time, the book only gets thicker on you as you stick around longer. You have to continue to make adjustments and stay stubborn to what makes you great," said Vogt on Monday.
"I think sometimes, as a young player, you can think yourself into a little change that turns into a big change over time. And that's what we're trying to avoid. It's okay to have a tough week. It's okay to have a rough month."
Apr 28, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians second basemanTravisBazzana(37) bats in the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn ImagesAs Vogt pointed out, it's important to remember that even the game's best players face adversity and tough stretches at the plate; it's normal.
What comes next for that group is determining how to adapt and take the necessary steps to get out of that funk.
"You look at any good player, they're going to have a month where their numbers aren't up where they normally are, it's how we power through that. How do you keep that positive mindset and focus and stay stubborn to what makes you great?
The big question is, as a manager, how does someone in Vogt's position help get his players back on track?
"Pump them up," exclaimed Vogt. "I mean, it's hard. It's hard to hit in the big leagues... It's hard to get here. It's even harder to stay."
"I think our coaching staff does such a tremendous job of staying positive with these guys that we work hard to not allow our guys to get down into a funk."
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