The Rangers ranked as the American League's hitting leader Steven Kwan on the injured list this afternoon. Tests revealed that the left-handed striker had a “severe” strain on his left hamstring, tweets Zack Meisel of the Athletic. Kwan is expected to be sidelined for about a month.
Things are tough when Kwan starts the season with a bang. The left-handed hitter has turned in a .353/.407/.496 line over 145 plate appearances. Kwan walked as often as he landed strikes (11 times apiece). It looked like a huge comeback after he had a .268/.340/.370 major league average in his second major league campaign. Paired with his left field defense, Kwan has been one of the most valuable players in the sport for six weeks.
The silver lining is that Cleveland has a top machine going into the lineup. The guards raised high hopes Kyle Manzardo as a parallel move for Kwan's IL placement. Manzardo should get everyday runs at designated hitter after hitting .303/.375/.642 to start the season at Triple-A Columbus. Estevan Florial, who was Cleveland's primary DH, should see most of the left field duties in Kwan's absence. That was set up by Stephen Vogt tonight in a 2-1 win over the Tigers. (Manzardo had three major league at-bats.)
Cleveland's injury outfield is not perfect at the major league level. High hopes Chase DeLauter was diagnosed with a broken fifth metatarsal in his left foot, the team announced over the weekend (link via Mandy Bell of MLB.com). The 22-year-old woman will see a specialist to assess her treatment options.
Unfortunately this is no stranger to DeLauter, who was picked 16th overall by the scouts two years ago. That required surgery and kept him out of his season debut until early June. DeLauter tore through High-A upon his return, hitting .366/.403/.549 in 42 games. He earned a late season in Double-A and was widely considered a Top 50 minor league talent entering this year.
DeLauter continued to rake in Spring Training, connecting on four homers while hitting .520 in 13 exhibition games. That didn't continue in his first few weeks at Double-A Akron, as he went .197/.296/.295 in starts over 71 plate appearances. That's a small sample in the cold early season, so it may not have been too much of a concern for the organization. The chances of someone else being injury-free – especially with a second leg injury – are very worrying, although it remains to be seen whether he will be able to salvage it without surgery this time around.
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