Cleveland Guardians Roster
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Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase picked up his eighth save of the year after firing a perfect ninth inning during Thursday's 6-4 win over the Boston Red Sox. Clase entered the game with the top of the Red Sox order due up, but quickly sat them down after 12 pitches. The 26-year-old is enjoying a phenomenal start to the season, as evidenced by his 0.69 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 14/1 K/BB. Clase struggled a bit last season, but he is back to being one of the top closers in baseball. Fantasy managers can expect him to finish the year near the top of the saves leaderboard.
Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez was 3-for-4 with a grand slam, stolen base and two runs scored during Thursday's 6-4 win over the Boston Red Sox. Ramirez smoked a ball to right field in the second inning after battling through a 10-pitch at-bat against Chase Anderson. The five-time All Star is now slashing .260/.271/.471 with five homers, 23 RBI, three stolen bases and 18 runs scored. He has had a more aggressive approach at the plate this season which has resulted in only two walks through 24 games. Despite the lower than normal OBP, Ramirez seems to be recovering nicely from a slower start to the year and remains one of the best third-base options in fantasy.
Cleveland Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams (elbow) felt the same right-elbow discomfort after his latest start in Arizona as he did this spring. He will receive an injection and will be shut down for seven days as a result. The Guardians are hoping Williams can then resume throwing and won't be set back too far. It's obviously bad news, and there remains no timetable for a potential return for the 24-year-old. Williams started last year at Double-A Akron before making it all the way to Cleveland's starting rotation in his rookie campaign, where he impressed by going 3-5 with a 3.29 ERA (4.05 FIP) and 1.26 WHIP with 37 walks and 81 strikeouts in 82 innings over 16 starts. It's becoming more of an uphill battle for Williams to return to the Guardians in the first half of 2024.
Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Ben Lively put together a strong outing against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday. It was his second outing of the season and both have come against the Red Sox. On Tuesday, Lively tossed 6 1/3 innings and allowed five hits, one run, zero walks and struck out seven on the evening. The 32-year-old has now allowed just three runs with 14 strikeouts and one walk over 11 1/3 innings. The Guardians always seem to have a pitcher factory churning and Lively could be the latest diamond in the rough for the franchise. It is still very early and both his starts have come against a injury plagued Red Sox lineup, but if Lively can toss another gem against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, he will be worth rostering in most formats.
Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase picked up his seventh save of the season in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Red Sox. Clase came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning up by three and shut things down by striking out the side. The 26-year-old has looked more like his old self this season, converting all but two save opportunities with a 0.75 ERA, a 9.75 K/9 rate, and a 0.75 BB/9 rate. Clase was still a high-end fantasy option in 2023 with slightly less impressive numbers overall, so he can be even more valuable if he reverts to how he performed early in his career.