Steven Kwan has proven himself to be one of the most talented players in MLB since he made his big-league debut during the 2022 season. While much of the recognition is for his skills as a hitter, which is undoubtedly true, the Cleveland Guardians outfielder is also one of the best defenders in the sport. 

As MLB revealed the finalists for the 2025 Gold Glove Awards on Wednesday afternoon, Kwan was unsurprisingly named one of the three finalists up for the award among American League left fielders.

The other two players under consideration to win it are Wyatt Langford of the Texas Rangers and Tyler Soderstrom of the Athletics.

While both of these players are incredible defenders in their own right, they wouldn’t be finalists if they weren’t, it really shouldn’t be a competition on who wins the Gold Glove for AL left fielders; Kwan should by far and away win the award.

Starting with the simple counting stats, Kwan led all of baseball in outfield assists with 13. That’s more than both Soderstrom (11) and Langford (four). 

The outfielder's arm is easily one of the pieces that make him the elite defender that he is. Kwan ranked in the 100th percentile of arm strength last season, and he single-handedly changed the course of a game.

There were times when he threw a runner out or prevented one from taking the extra base, aware that Kwan's threat of catching them was a possibility.

Soderstrum does technically have a better arm strength than Kwan, but the Guardians left fielder’s accuracy makes him much more dangerous. 

Kwan’s Gold Glove case only gets strangers when looking at his advanced numbers. The outfielder had six outs above average, which was the most by any American League left fielder. 

First and foremost, his 22 defensive runs saved (via Fielding Bible) were tied for the most by any player in MLB, out of any position. This metric alone should help the 28-year-old secure his fourth Gold Glove in his fourth season.

At this point, we shouldn’t just be viewing Kwan as a Gold Glove winner.

With his consistently good defense, Kwan is making a strong case to be in contention to win a Platinum Glove at some point during his career.