The Cleveland Baseball Club has been struggling offensively which is why the return of Tyler Naquin has been a welcome sight.
There has been two constants this season when it comes to the Cleveland Baseball Club. Dominant pitching and dreadful offense. The outfield was a question mark before the season began and it still is an an area of concern. Cleveland has tried nearly every option available to them in an attempt to jumpstart the offense. However it is the return of one player in particular that may be providing some stability in the Cleveland outfield, Tyler Naquin.
Tyler Naquin missed the start of the season due to injury and was off to a bit of a rough start. Naquin did not look great through his first six games as he only managed 4 hits and 6 strikeouts in 7 games. This resulted in a rather uninspiring slash line.
.167/.200/.292/.492
In the following six games Tyler Naquin would turn things around. Naquin has 9 hits (4 doubles) in 6 games and has only struck out 4 times. Naquin’s slash line over the last 6 games is impressive, albeit unsustainable.
.500/.500/.722/.1.222
There will be a correction from this number, but is still encouraging to see an outfielder not named Franmil Reyes hit the ball. Even when the numbers level out they more than likely be better than what any of Delino DeSheilds, Jordan Luplow, Greg Allen, Oscar Mercado, Domingo Santana, Bradley Zimmer, Daniel Johnson, and Mike Freeman have produced during the 2020 season.
Tyler Naquin is currently slashing .310/.326/.476/.802 in 13 games this season with 5 doubles and 1 triple. Cleveland really needs Naquin to continue producing, even with the expected drop-off. This will help when the team hopefully supplements their offense before the trade deadline. Naquin in addition to 1-2 more outfield bats will make a huge difference for an offense that desperately needs help beyond the 5th batter in the order.
