After improving his swing speed, Steven Kwan is poised for a comprehensive breakout in hitting this new season.

In last Sunday's game against the San Diego Padres, Steven Kwan seized Michael King's changeup in the first inning, driving the ball into the gap between left and center field. This line drive (with an exit velocity of 99.2 mph) landed and rolled past center fielder Bryce Johnson, resulting in a triple.

“This is a fantastic sign for us,” said Cleveland Guardians assistant hitting coach Dan Puente. “He hadn't hit the ball to that area for some time; most of his previous extra-base hits were pulled.”

This demonstrates the effectiveness of Puente and Kwan's offseason training together, focusing on increasing the swing speed of this Guardians outfielder. Or, as Kwan put it, “regaining the feel.” Kwan recorded one hit in three at-bats in today's game where the Guardians lost 4-5 to the San Francisco Giants.

Kwan's offensive performance in the 2025 season was not ideal; his speed slowed down after an awkward slide in late May caused issues with his right wrist. He received a cortisone injection during the All-Star week, and his wrist felt 100% recovered, but as the season progressed, his production declined, and he struggled to regain his swing feel. Over 156 games, his slash line was .272/.330/.374, with an OPS of .704 and an OPS+ of 96, both career lows.

“I lost the guiding star or compass to lead myself back,” Kwan said. “I was somewhat naive before, thinking ‘Oh, I understand my swing, I know how to regain my form’… I didn't understand my swing deeply enough.”

This spring training, Kwan's wrist condition is good, and his swing feel has returned. However, he didn't settle for just these improvements. This winter, he and Puente undertook a training program to enhance swing speed; last season, his swing speed ranked better than only 1% of league players.

This training program included: swinging a heavy bat until the body adapted, then switching to a light bat, and finally returning to a regular bat. The underlying principle is straightforward: after raising the baseline swing speed, even if the player doesn't make an optimal swing, the ball is more likely to get through the infield or land in the outfield.

“He already excels in many aspects,” Puente said. “He makes a lot of contact, with a very, very low swing-and-miss rate. He is among the elite in that regard. So how do we maximize his strengths while improving his relatively weaker areas?”

For a hitter like Kwan, a higher baseline swing speed is crucial. As Puente noted, Kwan's contact rate ranked second highest in MLB in the 2025 season, behind only Luis Arraez. Kwan stated that his peak swing speed this winter was slightly higher than before the 2024 season. In that season, Kwan approached a .400 batting average in the first half and finished with a .292/.368/.425 slash line over 122 games.

“We stumbled upon this,” Kwan said. “During offseasons when I performed well, I'd think, ‘Okay, I had a good year, maintain it, stay steady,’ but the next year I struggled more than expected. Conversely, if I wasn't satisfied with the previous year's performance, I'd think, ‘Okay, we need to build on this, we need to improve,’ and those offseasons turned out very effective.”

This winter clearly falls into the latter category. Kwan blasted two home runs in Tuesday's 6-2 win over the Royals; this spring training, he has 7 hits in 24 at-bats with an OPS of 1.060. Cactus League spring training stats don't predict regular season performance, but we know Kwan's capabilities. Considering his efforts this winter, it sparks curiosity about what his regular season will look like.

“Kwan works extremely hard,” Puente said. “He trains incredibly diligently and is super smart. He always collaborates with us, striving to be the best version of himself.”