CLEVELAND — The Guardians were eager to welcome Steven Kwan back to the top of the lineup as he returned from the injured list Friday night.

But coming off an absence of multiple weeks, it often takes some time to get back into the groove of things, particularly with a hitter's swing. Kwan just sort of skipped over that part, and some teammates have jokingly begun to wonder if he's actually human.

Kwan missed roughly three and a half weeks with a hamstring injury before being activated before Friday night's game against the Washington Nationals. He was, of course, instantly placed atop the lineup in his regular spot as the leadoff hitter, but a team can only wait to see how a returning player responds in their first game back from the injured list.

Kwan delivered in the Guardians' 7-1 win. Then he delivered again. And again, and again, and again.

Kwan ended the night with three singles, an RBI, two runs scored and a walk. He reached base four times and late in the game made a nice catch while on a dead sprint in deep left field, robbing the Nationals of an extra-base hit.

It's like he never left.

"Dude's a robot," Tanner Bibee, Friday's starting pitcher, said with a laugh. "I was literally saying that in the training room. The guy's missed three to four weeks and he just comes in and he is, like, hit, hit, hit. It's, like, OK whatever, we get it, we get it."

Guardians center fielder Tyler Freeman took a slightly different route to describe Kwan's return, but it still wasn't human.

"He's an animal," Freeman said. "I mean, he could take as much time off as he wants, he's going to wake up and get three hits a game. Just his presence in the clubhouse and stuff, it was just different type of energy back."

Steven Kwan building 2024 All-Star case atop Guardians lineup

Around the stint on the IL, Kwan is hitting .365 with a .420 on-base percentage this season (entering Saturday). Ever since he broke into the majors with a historically hot stretch to begin the 2022 season, he's had the reputation of being one of the most difficult outs in baseball — or, as he once put it, one of the most "annoying" hitters to deal with in the league.

Kwan wasn't too pleased with his 2023 season. He was productive, but his numbers were down nearly across the board in his sophomore year in the majors. He spoke, near the end of last season, about the lessons he hoped to carry into 2024, namely a renewed focus on the little, daily things that go into hitting.

He's been on fire ever since, and he's acted as one of the best leadoff hitters in the game this season.

"I mean, it's unbelievable," said manager Stephen Vogt. "A lot of times you see guys maybe start a little slow, but for him he was just so excited to play today. He just had a smile on his face, just a huge jolt for us. And did what he's been doing all year."

Kwan's return to the lineup benefits the Guardians in a couple different ways. It, of course, allows Vogt to write Kwan's name in the leadoff spot every night, adding one of the better options in baseball for that role. But it also offers Vogt some added flexibility with the No. 2 spot.

Freeman was filling in for Kwan as the leadoff hitter. With Kwan back, Freeman and Andres Gimenez can both slide into the No. 2 spot depending on the handedness of that night's opposing pitcher. Vogt has made it clear the Guardians want to construct the lineup to beat that day's starting pitcher over finding familiarity for hitters remaining locked into their spots every day regardless of the opponent.

There is, of course, a balance to all that, but Vogt has wanted as much flexibility as possible. It's certainly been working, as the Guardians have maintained a first-place standing in the American League Central even with Kwan sidelined for most of May.

Kwan atop the order, when healthy, is one of the only constants. And with him hitting just about everything in sight, there's a reason the crowd ovation upon his return was up a few octaves compared to normal.

"That was really cool," Kwan said of the response at Progressive Field Friday night. "Yeah, usually before the game starts, I kind of give a wave to the outfield, just hopefully so they don't say any mean things to me. But today was a really nice, warm reception, good Friday night crowd. That was really special."

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Threads at @ByRyanLewis.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Guardians Steven Kwan injury return All-Star case continues