CLEVELAND — We're talkin' baseball, talkin' Guards!
The Guardians will kick off their 2024 season Thursday night in California against the Oakland Athletics. It's already shaping up to be one of Cleveland's most intriguing campaigns in recent memory, with new manager Stephen Vogt replacing future Hall of Famer Terry Francona after 11 seasons.
Francona's tenure saw the club enjoy a lengthy run of success, with six postseason appearances and an American League pennant. Most prognosticators had them getting back to the playoffs in 2023, but alas, injuries and inconsistency saw them crash to a 76-86 record.
With a compelling amount of returning stars as well as young talent, can the Guards bounce back in 2024, or will a slew of question marks see them turn in another lackluster season? Our 3News and WKYC Studios staff gives its predictions for the upcoming year.
Jay Crawford
- Final record: 85-77, 3rd in AL Central
- Playoffs?: No
- Team MVP: José Ramírez
- Breakout star: Brayan Rocchio
- Additional thoughts: Hear more of what Jay had to say about the 2024 Guardians in this past Monday's edition of "The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show":
Betsy Kling
- Final record: 82-80, 2nd in AL Central
- Playoffs?: No
- Team MVP: Steven Kwan
- Breakout star: Tyler Freeman
- Additional thoughts: "New manager, new ballgame for Cleveland fans."
Nick Camino
- Final record: 84-78, 2nd in AL Central
- Playoffs?: Lose in AL Wild Card Series
- Team MVP: José Ramírez
- Breakout star: Bo Naylor
- Additional thoughts: "Baseball is all about pitching, pitching, pitching. The Guardians have plenty of it. They'll win more games than they lose and should be in the postseason conversation (keyword being 'should').
Stephanie Haney
- Final record: 90-72, 1st in AL Central - "They will win the division by a landslide!"
- Playoffs?: "I've said it before and I’ll say it again: With our AL Central win we sail comfortably into the playoffs, and staying true to my prediction from last year, I say this is the year we return to the World Series. We're gonna get there. I won't jinx us by saying how it goes once we get there though… 😊"
- Team MVP: José Ramírez - "A major consideration I took into account here is how he signed a long-term deal with us two years ago, to stay in The Land that he loves. We love to see it, and I think he's going to bring a lot of wins home for us."
- Breakout star: Manager Stephen Vogt - "He’s got big shoes to fill, and I think he's really gonna hit a home run for us this season!"
- Additional thoughts: "Opening Day right after the solar eclipse? It's setting us up for a magical season. I love everything about it. Let's get ready for some fireworks!"
Dave 'Dino' DeNatale
- Final record: 80-82, 2nd in AL Central
- Playoffs?: No
- Team MVP: Josh Naylor
- Breakout star: Kyle Manzardo
- Additional thoughts: "Welcome to the first year of 'Life without Tito.' I like everything I've seen and heard from new skipper Stephen Vogt, but his effervescent personality and attitude may not translate to wins right away. The Guardians have plenty of quality starting pitching which will keep them in most games, but I'm just not sold that they can win enough close ones with an iffy bullpen and light-hitting offense to get back to the postseason."
Mike Polk Jr.
- Final record: 84-78, 2nd in AL Central
- Playoffs?: No
- Team MVP: José Ramírez
- Breakout star: Tyler Freeman
Tyler Carey
- Final record: 82-80, 2nd in AL Central
- Playoffs?: No
- Team MVP: José Ramírez
- Breakout star: Kyle Manzardo
- Additional thoughts: "There's a lot of intriguing young talent on this team, but just too many 'ifs' to have faith in them being a true contender. It's still true anyone can win this division, and I have a feeling a few guys will bounce back after a rough year of regression in 2023. Still, the Guardians have a lot of work to do to regain trust after so many missteps, both on the field and in the front office."
Russ Mitchell
- Final record: 82-80
Chris Beeble
- Final record: 84-78, 2nd in AL Central
- Playoffs?: No
- Team MVP: José Ramírez
- Breakout star: Tyler Freeman
- Additional thoughts: "Bold prediction: Steven Kwan finishes top five in MLB in hits.
"The Guardians feel like one of the swingiest teams in the league as far as their potential win total goes. The following feels very important for the Guardians to compete for a playoff spot:- Avoid the big injury (or two) in the rotation.
- Emmanuel Clase bounces back and Scott Barlow is reliable in his eighth-inning role.
- Kwan and Andrés Giménez look more like their 2022 selves.
- José is a top five MVP candidate.
- Josh Naylor stays healthy/plays more than 122 games for the first time in his career and produces similarly to his 2023 numbers.
- Two or three of any of the following unproven players have a breakout year: Bo Naylor, Tyler Freeman, Estevan Florial, Will Brennan, Brayan Rocchio, Kyle Manzardo, Chase DeLauter (long shot, but I'm dreaming big), George Valera.
"Aside from Josh Naylor's health, these are all scenarios that have played out in real life. Needing any one or two of those to happen is not a huge ask given the talent of those players, but to happen all at once? That might be too much to ask and unrealistic to expect.
"Everything on that list goes right? We could be looking at a 90-win team. If many on that list don't work out the way we hope? A sub-80-win team with multiple big names with expiring contracts on their way to other teams at the trade deadline. It's all on the table."
Carl Bachtel
- Final record: 72-90, 4th in AL Central
- Playoffs?: No
- Team MVP: José Ramírez
- Breakout star: Estevan Florial
- Additional thoughts: "I have no idea what is going to happen this year, but I get the feeling it ain't going to be pretty..."
Anna Meyer
- Final record: 76-86, 3rd in AL Central
- Playoffs?: No
- Team MVP: José Ramírez
- Breakout star: Bo Naylor
Brian Crane
- Final record: 79-83, 3rd in AL Central
- Playoffs?: No
- Team MVP: José Ramírez
- Breakout star: Brayan Rocchio
- Additional thoughts: "Myles Straw will be called up by June following an injury to a key starter."
David Kinder
- Final record: 80-82, 3rd in AL Central
- Playoffs?: No - "They'll fall short in the wild-card race in the last week of the year."
- Team MVP: José Ramírez - "He will hit over. 300 and hit a career-high amount of home runs."
- Breakout star: Tanner Bibee - "He broke out last year, but I think he will be in a for a great year this year and emerge as one of the AL's best young pitchers — north of 15 wins and a sub-3 ERA."
- Additional thoughts: "This is the year the Guardians end baseball's longest drought! No, not the World Series drought — the no-hitter drought! In fact, a Guardians player will throw a perfect game this year, the first since 1981! My guess is Triston McKenzie does it in May."
Shawn Dunagan
- Final record: 82-80, 2nd in AL Central
- Playoffs?: No
- Team MVP: José Ramírez
- Breakout star: Tyler Freeman
- Additional thoughts: "I think a no-hitter will be thrown by a Guardians pitcher and Shane Bieber will be a finalist for the Cy Young Award. I also believe Steven Kwan will hit more than 10 home runs."
Jennifer Lehmann
- Final record: 87-75, 2nd in AL Central
- Playoffs?: Lose in AL Wild Card Series
- Team MVP: José Ramírez
- Breakout star: Andrés Giménez
- Additional thoughts: "I think it's going to come down to a game between first and second in the division, and hopefully they will surprise me and win it."