CLEVELAND, Ohio — Anybody worried where the thump would come from in Cleveland’s lineup after the departure of Josh Naylor this offseason can rest assured: these Guardians can still hit the ball out of the park.
Cleveland is tied for second in the Cactus League with 28 home runs through its first 18 exhibition games. Milwaukee leads all the clubs playing spring games in Arizona with 30 home runs, while the Yankees top Grapefruit League teams in Florida with an MLB best 31.
Last year, Cleveland totaled 30 home runs in 31 spring games and ranked 17th overall in the majors.
Guardians hitters went deep four times in the club’s two split-squad games on Monday and were held without a home run Tuesday by the Dodgers. Cleveland’s offense has hit two home runs or more in eight of the club’s last 11 games since March 1.
Eight Guardians players have multiple home runs, including two each for Lane Thomas, Bo Naylor, Daniel Schneemann and Kyle Manzardo. Juan Brito, locked in a battle for the second base job, has only two hits in 21 at-bats, but both have gone for home runs.
Prospects Yordys Valdes, Jorge Burgos and Jose Devers also have two each.
Cleveland is 5-4-1 in Cactus League play when hitting multiple home runs in a game.
And there is no shortage of distance on some of these blasts. Guardians hitters are averaging 418 feet on their home runs according to Statcast. That ties Cincinnati for the major league lead in average home run distance this spring.
Gabriel Arias, Brito’s main competition at second, hit a solo home run against Diamondbacks righty Zac Gallen on Feb. 24 that registered an exit velocity of 116.0 mph per Statcast. That ranks as the hardest-hit home run by any player in the majors this spring.
**Next**
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**Wednesday:** Giants vs. LHP Joey Cantillo (1-1, 6.00) at Goodyear at 4:05 p.m. ET. WTAM/1100.
[**Guardians' 2025 spring training schedule**](https://www.cleveland.com/guardians/2024/08/guardians-announce-2025-spring-trainng-schedule-with-opener-set-for-feb-22-against-reds.html)
**Thursday:** Guardians vs. Rockies at Scottsdale at 4:05 p.m. ET. RHP Luis Ortiz (0-2, 14.14) vs. RHP Tanner Gordon (0-0, 0.00). CleGuardians.TV, WTAM/1100.
**Friday:** Seattle vs. Guardians at Goodyear at 4:05 p.m. ET. LHP Logan Allen (1-0, 0.84) vs. TBD (-,--). Also, Seattle vs. Guardians at Goodyear in Spring Breakout game at 8:05 p.m. ET. CleGuardians.TV, MLB audio.
**Saturday:** Guardians vs Royals at Surprise at 4:05 p.m. ET. WTAM/1100.