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The Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees begin the American League Championship Series on Monday. The Guardians beat the Detroit Tigers in five games in the ALDS to force the matchup. While they are heavy underdogs in this series, Cleveland can make the World Series for the second time in eight years. Ahead of Game 1, we'll look at our Guardians ALCS bold predictions.
The Yankees took the American League's best record by just 1.5 games, so they will have home-field advantage in this matchup. That played a big role in the ALDS for Cleveland, who won two of the three games played in Ohio to clinch over the Tigers. The Yankees dominated on the road against the Royals, winning both games in Kansas City.
These two franchises last met in the 2022 ALDS, which the Bombers won in five games. New York also defeated the Guardians in the 2020 Wild Card Series and 2017 ALDS. Cleveland last won a series over the Yankees in the 2007 ALDS. They'll square off in the ALCS for the first time since 1997 but before they do, here are our Guardians' bold predictions.
Steven Kwan will lead the series in hits
Every Guardians game starts with one of the best contact hitters in baseball. Steven Kwan posted a .292 batting average this year, which was tanked by a poor second half. At the All-Star Break, he had a .352 average in 69 games, and his postseason form has followed that trend. He led the Division Series with 11 hits and he will lead this series in hits as well.
The Yankees do not have a true contact player like Kwan and very few teams do. While he is only in his third MLB season, he has developed a reputation as a great hitter and defensive left fielder. In six games with the Yankees, Kwan only hit .182. His four hits in 22 at-bats were the fewest against any team with at least 20 ABs. Those struggles will flip in this series.
The Guardians need to have Kwan rolling in this series to beat the Yankees. Even though Aaron Judge was not himself in the ALDS, he still presents a power threat that no team in the league has. Trying to out-slug the Yankees will not lead to success for any team in the playoffs. Having Kwan on top of his game will prevent Cleveland from falling into that trap.
Jose Ramirez leads the Guardians in RBI
Two spots behind Kwan in the Guardians lineup is their MVP and franchise player Jose Ramirez. The third baseman will finish in the top five in MVP voting for the sixth time after a 39-homer, 41-steal season. On top of those excellent numbers, he posted 118 RBI, the third-most in baseball. He will continue his great season by leading the team in RBI in the ALCS.
Ramirez knocked in three runs against the Tigers despite going only 3-16 at the plate. Even with Kwan on base most of the time he came up, Ramirez could not knock him in at a high rate. That slump will not continue and he will lead the team in RBI this series. Lane Thomas led during the ALDS because of his series-clinching grand slam on Saturday.
Emmanuel Clase appears in every single game
The Guardians have an excellent bullpen that is anchored by closer Emmanuel Clase. He had one of the greatest regular seasons a relief pitcher has ever had, with a 0.61 ERA in 71 appearances. His heavy usage continued against the Tigers, as he appeared in four of the games. Clase allowed his first home run to a lefty in Game 2, as the game-winner came off the bat of Kerry Carpenter. He will rebound from that and appear in every single game of a very close series.
These teams are very well-matched and will play close games for this entire series. Stephen Vogt will likely use Clase against the meat of the Yankees order, which features Juan Soto, Judge, Austin Wells, and Giancarlo Stanton. In that lane or as a closer, the Guardians will find a way to get their best pitcher into every game in this series.
The Guardians and Yankees play Game 1 of the American League Championship Series at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on Monday. Carlos Rodón will face Alex Cobb in the game, which will be at Yankee Stadium.
