Jim Ingraham: A look at plenty of Guardians numbers worth celebrating

OK, it's time for some fun with numbers. As you may have noticed by their record, place in the standings and the fact that their manager is a strong candidate to become the fourth Cleveland manager in 11 years to win American League Manager of the Year, the Guardians are putting up some excellent numbers so far this season. How excellent? Glad you asked. What follows are the best stats and the worst stats for all the Guardians' players so far this season. Says who? Says your friendly typist. Enjoy (all stats are at the start of play Friday): HITTERS Bo Naylor — Best stat: He's thrown out 29% of attempted base stealers. The league average is 23%. Worst stat: .177 batting average. Josh Naylor — Best stat: 15 home runs. Worst stat: .240 batting average, down 68 points from last year. Andres Gimenez — Best stat: His batting average with runners in scoring position is .442. Worst stat: 11 walks, fewest among the everyday players. Brayan Rocchio — Best stat: He has ine doubles, tied for third on the team. Worst stat: .207 batting average. Jose Ramirez — Best stat: He leads the American League with 56 RBIs. Worst stat: He has drawn only two walks at home. (Jose loves that inviting right-field wall!). Steven Kwan — Best stat: .353 batting average. Worst stat: He's missed 24 games due to injury. Tyler Freeman — Best stat: 11 doubles, second only to Ramirez. Worst stat: .216 batting average. Will Brennan — Best stat: He has five home runs, fourth among the regulars. Worst stat: .194 batting average at home. David Fry — Best stat: .353 batting average, 1.092 OPS, hitting .419 vs. left-handers and .371 on the road. Worst stat: He has been hit by pitches six times, third on the team. Gabriel Arias — Best stat: .324 batting average vs. left-handed pitchers. Worst stat: three walks in 112 plate appearances. Estevan Florial — Best stat: 11 of his 17 have gone for extra bases. Worst stat: .173 batting average and 41 strikeouts in 107 at-bats. Austin Hedges — Best stat: He has seven RBIs on only six hits. Worst stat: 20 strikeouts and only two walks. Jonathan Rodriguez — Best stat: He has three RBIs on only three hits. Worst stat: .158 batting average, seven strikeouts and three walks in six games. PITCHERS Logan Allen — Best stat: He is the staff leader in wins with a record of 6-3. Worst stat: He has the highest ERA on the staff at 5.83. Tanner Bibee — Best stat: He is the staff leader with 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings and 62 strikeouts overall. Worst stat: He's hit three hit batters and has thrown two wild pitches. Triston McKenzie — Best stat: 7.1 hits per nine innings, best among starters. Worst stat: 5.3 walks per nine innings, highest among starters. Carlos Carrasco — Best stat: .239 opponents batting average on the road. Worst stat: The on-base percentage by opposing batters is .420 when Cleveland is at home. Ben Lively — Best stat: 2.80 ERA, the best of all the starters. Worst stat: He is tied for the most balks on the staff with one. Emmanuel Clase — Best stats: 0.33 ERA, 17 saves and zero home runs allowed. Worst stat: He has no worst stat, but if you insist, he has no complete games. Hunter Gaddis — Best stat: 1.71 ERA with only four walks in 26 innings and 0.3 home runs allowed per nine innings. In other words, he has no worst stat. Nick Sandlin — Best stat: He has the best won-loss record on the staff: 4-0. Worst stat: He is averaging 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings. In other words, he has no worst stat. Tim Herrin — Best stat: a record of 2-0, a 1.14 ERA and no home runs allowed in 23 innings. In other words, he has no worst stat. Scott Barlow — Best stat: 12 strikeouts per nine innings. Worst stat: 4.24 ERA. Cade Smith — Best stat: 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings with a 1.82 ERA and 0.932 WHIP. In other words, he has no worst stat. Pedro Avila — Best stat: 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings. Worst stat: He has given up three home runs in 19 innings. Xzavion Curry — Best stat: He has eight strikeouts, three walks in 12 innings. Worst stat: 5.68 ERA. Eli Morgan — Best stat: 1.64 ERA. Worst stat: He's given up five walks in 11 innings. So there's the profile for a team that, at the start of play Friday night, was in first place in its division and had scored more runs than any team in the American League. A team that, at the start of play this season, had exactly nobody thinking that it would be a contender. A team that, at the start of play Friday night, according to Baseball-reference.com, had an 85.1% chance of reaching the postseason. A team that began the season with a rookie manager, a modest payroll, less than a handful of acknowledged stars but with no interest at all of being told it couldn't do what it's been doing since the start of the season. Win. Contact Jim Ingraham at jingraham4@gmail.com.