Guardians vs. Reds Tuesday MLB odds, props: Cleveland's red-hot Steven Kwan now among AL Rookie of Year leaders, heavy favorite for another hit in matinee

When the 2022 MLB regular season opened last Thursday, Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan was largely an afterthought on the American League Rookie of the Year odds at Caesars Sportsbook, priced +5000. The 24-year-old then went absolutely bananas at the plate with the Guardians splitting an opening four-game set in Kansas City, and Kwan is now a +600 third-favorite for AL ROY. He's also -190 for at least one hit in a matinee at Cincinnati today (4:10 ET first pitch). 

It's not like Kwan was considered some mega-prospect – MLB.com ranked him as only No. 15 in the Guardians organization with an overall grade of 45 on a scale of 20-80. His hit grade was 60. Kwan was a fifth-round pick in the 2018 draft by Cleveland out of Oregon State. Last year, he slashed.328/.407/.527 with 12 homers in 77 games between Double-A and Triple-A, prompting the Guardians to place him on their 40-man roster, and he made the 2022 Opening Day roster with a good spring.

Thus far, Kwan is hitting an absurd .692 with an OBP of .789 and an OPS of 1.789 – he's a contact hitter with five walks and yet to strike out – in fact, he hasn't swung and missed at a pitch yet and hasn't struck out in a game since Sept. 26, 2021, with Triple-A Columbus, including Cactus League play -- but doesn't have a ton of power with no homers. On Sunday in Kansas City, he was 5-for-5 with four runs scored, the sixth player since at least 1901 to have a five-hit game within his first three major league games.

He followed that up by going 1-for-3 with two walks and his first three RBIs Monday and is the first player since at least 1901 to reach base safely 15 times in his first four games. No other player in the live-ball era -- which dates back to 1920 -- had reached base more than 13 times in their first four career games. Kwan has been worth 0.7 fWAR so far, best in the majors.

Kwan now trails only Kansas City's Bobby Witt Jr. (+300) and Seattle's Julio Rodriguez (+400), both highly touted prospects, for AL Rookie of the Year. That Kwan doesn't get a hit today is +155. At Over/Under 0.5 runs, the Under is a -170 favorite. He is also set at 1.5 total bases, with the Under a -190 favorite. Of Kwan's nine hits, two are doubles and one is a triple. A player can only add to his total bases total through a hit. The SportsLine Projection Model forecasts Kwan with 0.79 hits, 0.47 runs and 1.32 total bases. 

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