The struggles of Franmil Reyes

Franmil Reyes is slumping and everyone knows it. Reyes continues to be a non-factor at the plate and his constant tinkering with his swing and stance has not provided the results that he is seeking. Cleveland’s offense has been struggling to score enough runs to win games and the lack of production from Reyes is a large factor. 

The Guardians outfielder/designated hitter is striking out at 43.1% rate, the second-highest in all of baseball. This is unacceptable for what should be a key foundational bat in the lineup.

Does the failures of the Guardians offense this season fall entirely on Franmil Reyes? Of course not, don’t be ridiculous. However, with the youth that this team is currently featuring all over the diamond, even the 26-year old Reyes has to start taking on veteran responsibilities. That means being able to produce at an acceptable rate and not be a compete afterthought once the game is complete. The latter applies at this current time while it needs to be the former.

Once that happens the Guardians should be able to start piling some wins on top of each other. Without that much needed turnaround at the plate, it will be a long season at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.