Guardians' Steven Kwan Omitted From MLB Network's Top 10 Left Fielders List

Originally posted on FanNation Cleveland Baseball Insider
By Tommy Wild | Last updated 1/24/24

MLB Network has been going through and ranking their top 10 players by position group as we inch closer to Spring Training. To say these lists have been controversial would probably be an understatement at this point.

They released their top left fielders on Wednesday night and it's ... something.

Their top 10 left fielders are:

Yordan Alvarez - HOU
Brandom Nimmo - NYM
Nolan Jones - COL
Bryan Reynolds - PIT
Chas McCormick HOU
Randy Arozarena - TBR
Lars Nootbaar - STL
Christian Yelich - MIL
Matt Wallner - MIN
Kyle Schwarber - PHL

Completely omitting any bias towards the Cleveland Guardians, this ranking is questionable at best. First, there are two members of the Astros listed in the same position group which raises some inquiries as to what the criteria for this was. Alvarez is one of the best players in baseball, but he played 40 games in left field in 2023.

Speaking of players who have barely played the position. Minnesota's Matt Walner has only played left field 43 games in his Big League career and is listed as a right fielder on MLB.com. Then there is Schwarber who only played 57 games there last season.

Nolan Jones is a former Guardian and most fans would probably wish him nothing but the best. But ranking him above Arozarena and Yelich is a pretty bold take to make.

Okay, now we can talk about Steven Kwan not being listed here.

Kwan has won two consecutive Gold Glove Awards out in left field. There's a serious argument that he's the best defensive player at the position which should put him on this list alone.

That's not even mentioning the impact that Kwan has on offense. Through his first two seasons in the Major Leagues, Kwan has a .282/.356./384 slash line with an OPS+ of 111. Overall, Kwan played more games (152) in left field in 2023 than Jones, Alvarez, and Wallner (143) combined.

For what it's worth, Kwan was ranked 10 by the fan vote MLB Network did earlier in the day.

This article first appeared on FanNation Cleveland Baseball Insider and was syndicated with permission.

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