You’ve never seen a breakout season quite like this one

David Fry came out of nowhere. Now he’s playing everywhere.

You might not have heard of the Guardians utilityman before this spring, but Fry has made a name for himself with a dominant 2024. Not only has the 28-year-old bounced around the diamond -- spending time at catcher, first base, third base, left and right field -- but he’s been one of MLB’s very best hitters while doing so.

Of the 260 hitters with 150 or more plate appearances in 2024, Fry’s .983 OPS entering Tuesday ranked sixth -- just behind Shohei Ohtani (.988) and ahead of hitters like Kyle Tucker, Gunnar Henderson and Bobby Witt Jr.

It’s been quite the emergence for a seventh-round Draft pick back in 2018 who came to Cleveland as a player to be named later and didn’t even make his Major League debut until 2023, at age 27. And it appears to be for real.

“What David is doing right now isn't a fluke,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said recently. “This guy can play baseball.”

In an age where it seems like every surprise team is fueled by an unexpected breakout star, Fry has been that and more for the American League Central-leading Guardians.

From his standout hitting to his rare versatility, here’s what’s behind Fry’s incredible start to 2024 and how he’s made a major impact on his first-place club.

A winding path to Cleveland

Who would have expected this kind of production from Fry? Well, perhaps his teammates and coaches at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, La. As a senior in 2018, the native Texan became the sixth All-American at a program that has produced seven Major Leaguers, including Hall of Fame pitcher Lee Smith. He posted a .327/.440/.604 slash line for the Demons -- surprisingly similar to his 2024 Major League slash line of .314/.440/.543.

Of course, it’s one thing to produce in the Southland Conference and another to hit in the Majors. Fry wasn’t selected until the 215th overall pick of the 2018 Draft, receiving a $10,000 signing bonus (a typical amount for a college senior). He climbed the ranks of Milwaukee’s Minor League system, starting in Rookie ball and reaching Triple-A in 2021 at age 25. In 94 games between Double-A and Triple-A that season, Fry hit .255 with 12 homers and a .797 OPS.

But Fry -- not once ranked among Milwaukee’s Top 30 Prospects -- never played for the Brewers. He became another PTBNL who has found success in the Majors, being sent to the Guardians in March 2022 to complete a November 2021 deal for reliever J.C. Mejía. (Mejía is currently serving a 162-game suspension after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.)

Fry made his MLB debut on May 1, 2023, playing 57 games last season and making appearances at a variety of positions -- 28 at catcher, 19 at first base, one at third base, two in left field, seven in right field and two at designated hitter. He even made his way onto the mound, pitching a scoreless inning June 30 and tossing the final four innings on Sept. 4.

Fry finished his rookie season with four homers, a .734 OPS and an above-average 103 OPS+. It was a strong start to his career -- but it was just the beginning.

Dedication on defense

Even after his solid 2023, Fry still found himself in a fight to crack the Guardians’ roster out of Spring Training this season. But a .295/.380/.523 slash line with a pair of homers in 16 Cactus League games earned Fry a spot with the Major League club to start the year. Aiming to take Vogt’s advice and focus on catching first, Fry had made strides defensively behind the plate, but he found himself all over the field.

In his first six games, he made three appearances at catcher, two at first base, one at third base and one in left field. With everyday left fielder Steven Kwan back from the IL, Fry started in right field on June 11 and 12.

Vogt -- a catcher who made 94 career appearances at first base and 28 in the outfield -- knows that kind of flexibility isn’t easy, even when players like Fry and utility infielder Gabriel Arias make it look that way.

"It's really hard and it takes a lot of work,” the Guardians skipper said. “It takes a lot of dedication by them, the coaching staff, the medical staff, because any time you're changing positions, your body is doing different things than it's used to. You're seeing the ball off the bat from different angles, different things, so it's incredible. They're just really good athletes and very talented baseball players."

Fry continues to pop up all over the diamond in 2024: He’s played 19 games at catcher, nine at first base, three at third base, 16 in left field, three in right and 10 at DH. (That includes eight games in which he played multiple defensive positions.)

Fry is likely to become the first player to record 15 appearances at catcher, at first base and in the outfield in the same season since … his own manager Vogt, back in 2014. (Only one man has played in 15 games behind the plate, at first, in left AND in right: Mickey Tettleton in 1993.)

Vogt noted that players manning multiple positions has become a growing trend -- Fry is just the latest example.

“You want as much defensive versatility as you can so that you can create more opportunities to impact the team,” he said.

‘Coming up huge’ at the plate

On a per-plate-appearance basis, it’s hard to imagine anyone impacting their team offensively as much as Fry has in 2024.

Fry’s bat took off from the start of the year, as he went 3-for-4 with a double in his very first game and cracked a three-run homer on April 6 in a 3-1 win over the Twins. His OPS never dipped below .861 at the end of any game, and in mid-May, Fry absolutely caught fire.

From May 17 to June 1 -- a span of 12 games -- Fry went 16-for-35 (.457) with five homers and a 1.519 OPS. The Guardians went 10-2 in those contests.

Fry certainly has power (his .434 expected slugging percentage is above average) but his patience might be his best virtue at the plate. His 14.9% walk rate ranks in the 98th percentile in MLB, and it’s driven by a 21.7% chase rate (87th percentile). There’s no real hole in his swing, either: Fry is the only player with a batting run value of +5 or higher in all four attack zones. He’s hitting .286 or better against all three pitch types: fastballs, breaking pitches and offspeed stuff.

What’s helped Fry make the leap? He mostly credits the extra experience and the confidence he’s gotten from knowing he belongs in the Majors, but Vogt and Cleveland’s coaches have helped, too.

“Our staff's done an unbelievable job helping me out with all the different positions and staying ready for at-bats,” Fry said recently. “Can’t give them enough credit."

Playing a big role

In 2024, Fry is tied for sixth in MLB in overall run value with Tucker, teammate José Ramírez and the Phillies’ Alec Bohm. No matter how you slice it, he’s been one of the best hitters in the Majors. Listed at designated hitter on the 2024 MLB All-Star Ballot, Fry has an under-the-radar case to make the Midsummer Classic, although he’ll be competing with Yordan Alvarez, Brent Rooker, Giancarlo Stanton and others at his position.

“He's been coming up huge for us,” Vogt said.

It’s hard to say for sure if Fry’s ridiculous production can be sustained. Everyone cools off at some point, and Fry is probably due to: the 54-point difference between his wOBA and expected wOBA (tied for the ninth-biggest such gap in MLB) points at some regression down the line. But even Fry’s .369 xwOBA puts him in the 88th percentile -- a sign his underlying talent is for real.

That would be great news for the Guardians, who held a five-game lead over the Royals in the AL Central entering Tuesday’s action. With 1.8 Baseball-Reference WAR in 2024, Fry is tied with closer Emmanuel Clase for third on the Guardians, behind only Kwan (2.7 bWAR) and Ramírez (2.4)

Ramírez, Vogt noted, is a prime example of a star with positional versatility. He played shortstop, second base and even left field quite a bit before settling at the hot corner.

“Now, he's one of the best third basemen in baseball,” Vogt said. “You don't know where your opportunity is going to present itself to solidify yourself as a big leaguer and also help us win.”

That’s certainly been the case for Fry, whose opportunities have popped up pretty much everywhere in 2024. He’s certainly made the most of them and then some, and he credited his manager for that.

“Luckily Vogter has been fighting for me and getting me in the lineup,” Fry said. “That's all I can say. He's been awesome.”

MLB.com's Mandy Bell contributed to this report.