Guardians notes: Jose Ramirez positioned to make run at first stolen base crown

CLEVELAND — Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez is within reach of a milestone he's never accomplished: Leading the American League in stolen bases. New York Yankees outfielder Jose Caballero is currently the league leader with 35 stolen bases, followed by Ramirez and Tampa Bay outfielder Chandler Simpson with 32. If Ramirez were able to win the stolen base crown, it wouldn't be a shock to Guardians associate manager Craig Albernaz. "He blows me away every night," Albernaz said. "It's just he does something every day that just wows you, whether it be an at-bat, defense, base running or leading the group on the field. To me, in my opinion, he's the best baseball player in the game all around. He can impact a game on every aspect, and it's rare to see that nowadays." Ramirez, a seven-time All-Star, came into Sunday fourth in runs in the AL (70), fifth in batting average (.300), sixth in on-base percentage (.375), sixth in total bases (212), fourth in slugging percentage (.526), fourth in OPS (.901) and fourth in hits (121). He's doing it at age 32. "He still has plenty of years left the way he takes care of his body, and the thing that gets lost is he plays hard all the time," Albernaz said. "So, his body is used to that. Jose plays hard all the time, so his body's aware of that. So, moving forward, he's going to keep on doing what he's doing. So, it's not going to surprise me when he wins the stolen base title." Albernaz said not only is Ramirez skilled, but he also prepares for the opposing pitches. Before games, he huddles with first-base coach Sandy Alomar and goes over tendencies of pitchers and catchers. "He's as prepared as anyone to go into the game," he said. "It's not just pure skill." Jose's corner After he's been in the field or after he bats, Ramirez retreats to his corner of the dugout. A lot of baseball strategy is discussed there, with him looking at his iPad with younger players such as Brayan Rocchio, Gabriel Arias, Angel Martinez and many others. "Yeah, he has his corner down the end of the dugout," Albernaz said. "He has a congregation and he holds court. That's awesome because no matter what we do as a staff, the players still have to play." Ramirez is not a vocal leader. He leads by example. "Everyone should follow that and they do," Albernaz said. "He's just a great mentor for everyone." Master at the top Left fielder Steven Kwan leads the majors with 117 hits out of the leadoff spot, well ahead of Miami's Xavier Edwards' 110. Kwan also has 25 leadoff hits in the first inning, first in the AL and third in the majors. He trails only Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor's 26 and the Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani's 27. Since the start of 2022, Kwan's 555 hits in the leadoff spot leads all major league hitters, 70 ahead of Tampa Bay's Yandy Diaz's 485. And then there were two … The Guardians had the luxury of having three catchers on the roster last year. David Fry's Tommy John surgery eliminated him from catching this season. He's back on the roster, but only as a designated hitter. That leaves the catching duties split between starter Bo Naylor and backup Austin Hedges. Albernaz said the Guardians get input from the catchers to see whether they need a day off. Several other factors contribute to the decision, such as the weather, medical staff and travel days. "Bo's taking the lion's share of the reps, so we always keep in touch with him how he's feeling," he said. Having Fry available to catch would be beneficial, Albernaz said, so the Guardians could "stagger" the playing time of the three catchers. He said catching is such a grind, especially mentally. "You have to be locked in on every pitch," Albernaz said. "It's a mental toll as well as a physical toll." Fry is not expected to throw at all this season. However, his throwing program is progressing. "He's throwing the ball really well right now," he said. "He's throwing out to 90 feet. His arm stroke is really clean right now. Him and Sandy are doing great work as far as his arm's stroke, getting that back to where it should be." Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com.