Guardians Baseball Insider

Photo credit: David Monseur/Accent Images/Courtesy Akron RubberDucks

Tough sledding for the Clippers in 2022. Despite finishing with an 87-63 record, they finished six games out a playoff spot to Nashville. That’s a pretty impressive feat considering how many players that started in Columbus in 2022 ended up in Cleveland and even some that came up to Columbus as reinforcements or replacements.

Richie Palacios, Bryan Rocchio, Bo Naylor and Jhonkensy Noel all had strong final weeks, as did Jose Tena, who had a strong Triple-A debut. Logan Allen also finished the season on a strong suit as well, which was much needed for him. Naylor had two homers, including his 20th and 21st homer of the year, giving him a 20/20 season, and five RBI in his second last game before his move up to Cleveland. Tena was 5-12 with a homer and Allen’s final start was five innings strong with an unearned run , six strikeouts and just two walks.

Final results

9/26: W, 17-1 vs Indianapolis
9/27: W, 7-1 vs. Indianapolis
9/28: W, 11-3 vs. Indianapolis

Player of the Year

C Bo Naylor: .257/.366/.514 – 15 HR, 9 SB, 47 RBI

This was a hard call. Naylor was 22, and had a fantastic Triple-A numbers, especially for that age. Will Brennan had an incredible season between Double-A and Triple-A as well, and Will Benson also had a massive season. But Naylor between two levels was 20/20 for the whole season. He made it to Triple-A and never slowed down, eventually forcing his way to Cleveland at the end of the season.

Pitcher of the Year

RHP Peyton Battenfield: 153.1IP, 3.63 ERA, 109K/57BB, 1.27 WHIP, .240 AVG

It was a difficult choice for pitcher of the year, but not for the same reason as a hitter. Columbus had a lot of players going up and down as far as pitchers go, and Battenfield got a brief change in Toronto as a COVID replacement, but never got in the game. The numbers weren’t as sexy this year for Battenfield, but he was rock solid most of the year with a hiccup here and there. He threw a ton of innings for the Clippers in a season of a lot of changeover on the roster.