The Cleveland Guardians are taking some pressure off Steven Kwan in hopes that the former All-Star can re-find his elite form in some lower-leverage opportunities further down in the lineup.

Now, for the first time in four years, the Guardians are sorting through their options for who will be the team’s leadoff hitter. Stephen Vogt said the plan isn’t to have a set hitter at the top of the order. Instead, he’ll craft a lineup with the purpose of beating the opposing starter.

With that in mind, here are three candidates who could hit leadoff for the Guardians moving forward.

Daniel Schneemann is in the midst of a true breakout season at 29 years old. A quarter of the way through the 2026 season, the left-handed hitter owns a .748 OPS.

Schneemann hitter has already hit leadoff in a handful of games following Cleveland’s decision to move Kwan out of that spot, and even filled into that role on some of Kwan’s off days earlier in the year. 

In those opportunities when Schneemann has led off, he has a .722 OPS. He’s proven he can handle the role, and that will likely continue when the Guardians are going up against a right-handed pitcher. 

Speaking of players having a breakout season, Angel Martinez might be one of the best surprises not just for the Guardians but in all of baseball. He currently leads Cleveland with a .821 OPS, and the reigning American League Player of the Week is only getting better.

Like Schneemann, Martinez has had some experience hitting leadoff, not just this season, but in past years, too. This year, when hitting leadoff, the switch-hitter owns a .227/.261/.364 slashline. If this is a role that Martinez will stick in, he must continue to cut down on the chase rate because opposing teams will expose that with Jose Ramirez hitting right behind him. 

That said, the Guardians especially like what Martinez can offer the team, especially hitting right-handed, with a southpaw starter on the mound. 

Travis Bazzana has yet to hit leadoff so far during his big-league career. In fact, the furthest up there order the rookie has hit so far during his infant career has been fifth. 

However, at some point, the Guardians can delay the inevitable in moving him up into one of the two top spots in the lineup.

Even just three weeks into his career, Bazzana has demonstrated phenomenal plate discipline and isn’t chasing at anything out of the zone. Because of that, he owns a walk rate of 15.4 percent, which ranks in the top half of MLB.

The Guardians understandably don’t want to put too much pressure on him, but as long as Cleveland is shuffling players in and out of the lead-off spot, Bazzana could and should see some time there. 

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