Three years ago, Steven Kwan was a minor leaguer hoping to one day get a shot at the majors.

Today, the left-fielder for the Cleveland Guardians is entrenched as one of the rising young stars in the game.

Kwan entered Tuesday’s game at Houston ranked third in the American League in hitting (.339). He leads the league in hits (40) and runs scored (25) and ranks fourth in MLB in fewest strikeouts per at-bat (8.9 percent), with only 11 K’s in 124 plate appearances. The Guardians’ lead-off hitter was on a five-game hitting streak, had an earlier one of seven games and had gone hitless in only five of 27 games.

“It’s definitely a good start,” Kwan told me Monday from his hotel room in Houston. “I am hitting a lot of balls hard, but I think I have also gotten pretty lucky with a lot of balls in the right places. It’s a long season. We will see how it plays out.”

Even better, the Guardians went into Tuesday play at 19-9, the best record in the AL despite losing two of three to the Braves in Atlanta. That after a disappointing 76-86 record and missing the playoffs in 2023.

“It has been going well,” Kwan said. “We have had some culture shifts with our team, some offensive changes, too. It is early, but we have been rolling. It is hard not to be optimistic.”

Cleveland made the former Oregon State centerfielder a fifth-round pick in the 2018 draft, but there were those who wondered if the 5-9, 170-pound Fremont, Calif., native had the size or physical skills to get to the big leagues. He took only 2 1/2 seasons and 217 games in the minors to prove doubters wrong, earning a roster spot with the Guardians in 2022.

Kwan opened his rookie campaign with a Moby Dick-sized splash. He got a hit in each of his first five games, including a 5-for-5 performance — the sixth player to have a five-hit game in his first three MLB contests. He became the first player — not just rookie — since at least 1901 to reach base safely 18 times in the first five games of his career. At that point, he was 10 for 15 (.667), with a .789 on-base percentage, and the first AL Player of the Week that season.

What’s more, Kwan didn’t swing and miss at a pitch until his sixth game. He saw 116 pitches before his first swing and miss — and actually, it was a foul tip, which if caught by the catcher is considered a whiff. It was the longest such streak among players beginning their careers since 2000. Kwan had 39 straight swings without a miss to start his career.

Kwan would go on to have a banner rookie campaign, hitting .298 with a .373 on-base percentage and 25 doubles, seven triples, six home runs and 89 runs scored. He was third in balloting for AL Rookie of the Year (Seattle outfielder Julio Rodriguez was the winner, with Baltimore catcher Adley Rutschman second) and won a Gold Glove award for his play in the outfield. The Guardians finished the regular season 92-70, then beat Tampa Bay in an AL Wild Card series before losing in five games to the New York Yankees in the ALCS. Kwan hit .300 in seven playoff games.

Though Kwan’s batting average dipped to .268 in 2023, he still had a fine season, scoring 93 runs with 36 doubles, five homers and a .340 on-base percentage. And he won a second straight Gold Glove for his play in left field, becoming only the fifth player in MLB history to win that defensive award in his first two seasons. The others, according to the Elias Sports Bureau: Catchers Johnny Bench (Cincinnati) and Charles Johnson (Florida) outfielder Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle) and third baseman Nolan Arenado (Colorado).

“It has been affirmation that I can focus on my defense and still contribute to my team,” Kwan said. “I was a center fielder through college, and making the transition to left field was a little scary, though it was about being in the lineup any way I can. Working with the coaches and staff and getting to where I can win a Gold Glove two years in a row is super affirming.”

The season was a come-down for the Guardians, though, as they finished 76-86 and failed to make the postseason.

“It was a multitude of things,” Kwan said. “We lost a couple of key players and the culture wasn’t the same. We were really young and probably didn’t understand the work it takes to be consistent every season. After ’22, we thought it was just going to roll over to ’23. We didn’t feel that urge or drive to get better. We got a little too relaxed.

“For myself, it felt like that (what happened in 2022) was the just way it was going to be. It doesn’t work that way. The big leagues is very good baseball. You have to have that drive every single day. We just weren’t as hungry as we were going into ’22.”

Kwan said the Cleveland players were better connected during the last offseason.

“We were all unhappy with the way things had gone (in 2023),” he said. “For me, it made me go into last offseason with a different kind of fire, a different kind of motivation. We did a better job keeping track of each other, making sure we all got good work in, making sure the chemistry was right. Now it feels like it did in ’22. (Catcher) Austin Hedges has been a big team leader in that aspect. He isn’t afraid to say what’s on his mind. We rely on him a lot.”

For the second straight offseason, Kwan made his home in Chicago with girlfriend Samantha May, whose family is from the Windy City.

“Exploring the city for the first time, I find I love the people, and love the food especially,” he said with a laugh. “The city has pseudo-coastal energy. It’s fun living there. It feels fast but clean at the same time. It’s a great city (in which) to live.”

Kwan said Chicago’s cold winters haven’t impaired his preparation for an upcoming season.

“There are a lot of indoor facilities and batting cages,” he said. “You find your places.”

But in 2022, with the Guardians’ postseason run, Kwan’s offseason work for 2023 was delayed.

“It was my first chance to look behind me, take a deep breath and enjoy what I accomplished,” he said. “I took a bunch of trips, had some fun, and before I knew it, it was December going into January. Usually I have started my offseason in late October and November. It was nice to take a break, but I started too late.

“This last offseason, I got back to what I would normally do — take two weeks off and slowly build into it. My body thanked me for that, and mentally, I’m in a good spot. I don’t feel like I am behind the eight-ball like I did a year ago. It was about starting earlier and being more consistent with my routine.”

Cleveland’s veteran manager, Terry Francona, retired after last season. In his place is Stephen Vogt, who retired after the 2022 season following an 11-year big-league career as a catcher, much of it with Oakland. Vogt spent the 2023 campaign as bullpen coach of the Mariners.

“It has been really fun to play for him,” Kwan said. “Growing out of the Bay Area, I was a Giants fan, but you heard Stephen Vogt’s name in everything baseball and Oakland. I was a fan of his before he became my manager.

“He has a tremendous feel for the game. The biggest thing I appreciate is he is not a micro-manager. He lets us do our job, doesn’t try to put his fingers in everything. He allows us to play baseball.”

Under Vogt, Cleveland got out of the gates 16-6, the franchise’s best 22-game start since 1966. Vogt gave credit to Kwan for being a big part of it.

“What Kwannie means to the top of this lineup and to the team in general, you can’t say enough about,” he told reporters last week.

The average age of Cleveland’s roster is 27.2, lowest in the MLB. Star third baseman Jose Ramirez is 31, but the rest of the starters are between 23 and 28.

“We are the youngest team in baseball, and it shows in a good way,” said Kwan, 26. “A lot of us came through the minor leagues together or have played only a couple of big-league seasons. We feel like we are just playing a game right now. We feel comfortable with each other. We are rooting for each other. All of that meshes together really well.”

In this era of long-ball, the Guardians get it done a different way. In 2022, they hit 127 home runs, second-fewest in the AL ahead of only Detroit (110). Last season, they hit the fewest (124). This season, they have swatted the fourth-fewest in the league — 26 in 28 games. Baltimore is the leader with 45.

“We have tried to focus on just playing good baseball, with good pitching and defense, moving runners up, running the bases hard, getting runs when we can,” Kwan said. “That has always been our M.O. But I think home runs will come. Our slugging will work its way up. I think we have a winning formula moving forward.”

Rutschman entered Tuesday play hitting .316, tied for sixth in the AL, meaning Oregon State teammates occupied two top-10 spots in the league’s batting race. Kwan said he has not spoken with Rutschman since the offseason.

“I try not to until our teams are playing each other,” Kwan said. “Then I will shoot a text and maybe we will grab a breakfast together. I try to make it a point to leave the (ex-OSU) guys — Trevor (Larnach, with Minnesota), Nick (Madrigal, with the Chicago Cubs)  — alone during the season. I will end up seeing them at some point. It is especially important with Adley, with so many people pulling him in different directions. I don’t want to put any more strains on him.”

Has Kwan followed his alma mater’s current season?

“Oh yeah,” he said. “I follow Beaver baseball and watch the highlights. Looks like they are rolling pretty good. It is exciting to see them play well. It’s funny. We played contact small-ball kind of stuff when I was there. Now they are blasting homers like (Goss Stadium) is a small ballpark, and it’s not.

“I’m old school. I think pitching and defense wins championships. But you can win either way. Hopefully, they have a lot more baseball ahead of them.”

I asked Kwan if he is concerned with the future of Beaver baseball with the destruction of the Pac-12 and the independent schedule they will play in 2025 and ’26.

“I have thought about that,” he said. “I find it hard to believe that with all that (Pat) Casey and (Mitch) Canham have done to build up the program, a different dynamic is going to destroy that. With the legacy that has been built, I find it hard to believe that aspiring young baseball players wouldn’t want to come to Corvallis to continue perfecting their craft.”

Rutschman made his first All-Star Game last season in Seattle. What would it mean to Kwan to make it this season in Arlington, Texas?

“It would be awesome,” Kwan said. “Especially with the year I had last year and taking this offseason a little more seriously, it would be super-affirming to be on the same platform as a lot of the greats I look up to.”

For now, Kwan is concerned about staying healthy and helping the Guardians reach their ultimate goal in the early fall.

“There is no reason we wouldn’t able to win the World Series,” he said. “We have played good games against the Yankees and Braves. We dropped both of those series, but came out of them feeling good and knowing we can more than hold our own there. No reason we shouldn’t be optimistic about what is ahead.”

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