CLEVELAND, Ohio – At 3 1/2 games out of a wild card spot, the Guardians are defying expectations once again. And according to cleveland.com columnist Terry Pluto on the latest Terry’s Talkin’ podcast, part of the team’s resilience is coming from an unlikely source: players who overcame early-season struggles to become essential contributors.

Brayan Rocchio’s transformation stands as the perfect example. After a disastrous start that saw his batting average plummet to .170 and earned him a demotion to Triple-A Columbus, the young infielder has completely reinvented himself.

“To his credit, he went to the minors,” Pluto said. “Then he came back and they, they took shortstop away from him and put him at second. And you know what he did? He grew up and became a pro. He really did.”

That maturity has translated into impressive late-season production. When he was sent to AAA Columbus on May 7, he was batting .165 with an OPS (on-base + slugging percentage) of .433. Heading into Thursday night’s game against the Royals, he’s up to .241 for the season with a .645 OPS.

On Wednesday night, he was 2 for 3 in the 4-3 loss to the Royals.

Just as important, his defensive excellence at second base has been game-changing, including spectacular plays that helped preserve Gavin Williams’ recent no-hit bid into the eighth inning.

“I love a great defensive second baseman,” Pluto said. “What really helps you when you’re a shortstop playing second is your arm strength. And like if you watch there was a ball hit up the middle and it hit the mound, went high… He makes a diving play and then he gets up and just fires a rocket to first base.”

Similarly, Kyle Manzardo has emerged as a middle-of-the-order force after early-season defensive issues at first base had fans questioning whether he could handle the position.

“Since the All-Star break: Kyle Manzardo is batting over .280 and his OPS is over .900,” Pluto said.

Defensively, his fielding percentage is now .988, with his range factor improving dramatically from 5.63 last season to 7.89 this year — approaching Carlos Santana’s 8.15 mark during his time with the Guardians this season before his recent release.

Range factor is a fielder’s putouts plus his assists divided by his innings played.

“And the more he plays first, the better he’s doing,” Pluto said. “I’m not saying he’s going to be like Santana or anything, but remember, there were some disastrous games early on, and I think because he was just getting so few opportunities…

“Well, now he knows he’s going to play a lot of first, and I think he’s doing OK.”

Pluto said what’s particularly remarkable is that the Guardians have remained in contention despite enduring two brutal stretches this season—a 10-game losing streak and another where they lost 9 of 10 games.

As Pluto noted, “Usually if you have two streaks, one of a 10-game losing streak and another where you lose nine out of 10, that takes you out of the playoffs. You can’t basically lose 19 out of 20 in these quick stretches like that.”

Here’s the podcast for this week:

If you have a question or a topic you’d like to see included on the podcast, email it to sports@cleveland.com, and put “Terry’s Talkin’” in the subject line.

You can find previous podcasts below.

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