Steven Kwan sits against left-hander on Friday

Kwan also drew a walk, so it was a six-reach day for the 28-year-old leadoff hitter. All five hits were singles, not that anyone is complaining. The power hasn’t been there all year for Kwan, but the five knocks up his average to .274 with a .378 on-base percentage.

Kwan ignited a three-run rally in the first inning with a leadoff walk. He then came around to score the game’s first run on an RBI single off the bat of Jose Ramirez. The 28-year-old outfielder then drove in a run of his own with a two-out RBI single in the sixth that increased the Guardians’ advantage to 4-2. For the season, he’s now slashing .265/.372/.327 with just two homers, 24 RBI and nine stolen bases across 486 plate appearances.

Fry hit six homers in his eight games with Columbus, so whether Rhys Hoskins is actually hurt or not, bringing Fry back to the majors seemed like a good idea. Alas, he’s not starting against the left-handed Matt Wilkinson tonight, for some reason.

Kwan is hitting .385/.472/.462 since the All-Star break. There’s probably some luck involved there, but it’s evening out all of the misfortune he had in the first half. His bat speed has diminished and he’s probably not going to resume hitting a couple of homers per month, but he’s back to making the most of his skill set.

After popping up a bunt last night, Kwan will get a breather against Mets RHP Nolan McLean. Angel Martínez will man left field. Kwan’s modest power has all but disappeared this year as he’s got just one homer in 430 plate appearances, but he’s still carrying a .362 on-base percentage.

Fry heads back to the minors after hitting .182/.304/.336 with six homers and 13 RBI across 168 plate appearances in a reserve role this season. The fact that he’s no longer catching extinguishes his only real path to fantasy relevance at this stage of his career.

Kwan led off the game with a double over Rays’ right fielder Ryan Vilade, but he never advanced past second base. That would end up being the Guardians’ only hit and best scoring chance in the entire ballgame. For the season, the 28-year-old outfielder is slashing .248/.351/.308 with just one homer, 18 RBI and seven stolen bases in 392 plate appearances.

Over his last 25 games, Kwan is hitting .329/.417/.425 with 10 runs scored and three steals. The power was never really something you were banking on from him, but his run totals should increase now that he has retaken his spot at the top of the order. If you need batting average and runs in your fantasy legaue, Kwan is back on the radar.

Kwan is almost certainly past his peak as a player, but his expected stats have gotten better as the season has gone alone; they were terrible in April, but not nearly as bad in May and June and they’ve continued to trend up in July. The Guardians are still batting him ninth for now, which subtracts from his already limited fantasy ceiling, but there’s a decent chance that he’ll return to the leadoff spot and perform as an adequate fourth or fifth outfielder in mixed leagues the rest of the way.

Bazzana has been removed from Cleveland’s leadoff spot after hitting .198/.280/.362 with four homers and four steals over his last 30 games. The 23-year-old rookie has been struggling recently, hitting just .238 (5-for-30) over his last seven games. It’ll be David Fry getting a look atop the lineup against Twins rookie lefty Connor Prielipp in this one. It could be a one-game decision, but fantasy managers should prepare for Bazzana to hit lower in the Guardians lineup against lefty starters moving forward.