Steven Kwan didn't feel like he belonged. He was out of place. He thought he wasn't on the same level.

As a freshman at Oregon State, Kwan's introduction to college baseball didn't exactly go to plan. In fact, it almost immediately unraveled on him. And a current Guardians starting pitcher, who was on the opposing team at the time, was a factor.

"My freshman year at Oregon State I was terrible. Probably the worst ballplayer on the field at that point," Kwan said Sunday, one day after learning he'd make the Guardians' opening day major league roster. "Not good mentally, not good physically. It was funny: I remember my first college game, we were in Surprise [Arizona] for a tournament and we played Ball State.

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"The starting pitcher was Zach Plesac, and that last name just [got in my head] completely. Obviously I know his uncle and all that and he's got major league ties. I crumbled there. I struck out twice, missed a sign, didn't get a bunt down, missed a ball in the outfield. Just was not ready."

Almost instantly, Kwan had to go back to the drawing board and overhaul his game. If he was going to make it, a lot of what he was doing would need to be thrown out or altered.

"I knew right there that something had to change, what I was doing at that time wasn't going to cut it," Kwan said. "I sat out for a two-month span, didn't start for a little bit. That was a time when I had to dig deep and really figure out what's going to work, what's not, put away the ego, put away the pride and start back from square one."

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Kwan has received some positive feedback from Guardians manager Terry Francona this spring for his "old school" style of hitting. Kwan has solid contact skills at the plate and doesn't swing and miss at the same rate of many hitters in today's game.

That swing structure was born that day in Surprise.

"It was two-fold. It was on the physical side and on the mental side," Kwan said of how he got over the hump. "The physical side, I had to completely restructure my swing. Day One of college they told me that swing wasn't going to work, so I went into the lab with Tyler Graham, our player development guy at the time.

"We worked on that, but the big thing was the mental game. I just did not believe in myself. I was unbelievably insecure. I had huge impostor syndrome. I just didn't think I belonged there at all. We had all these high recruits, and I didn't feel like I belonged. It was talking to a sports psychologist, diving into the mental game of meditation, visualization, affirmations, all those kind of things."

All of it led to this weekend, when Kwan received the good news that he will break camp with the Guardians instead of being sent to Triple-A to begin the 2022 season. He will be a major leaguer. And he belongs.

When Francona told him the good news — President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff were also in the room — it was set up, at first, as if they'd be delivering difficult news.

"Yeah. Super un-fun for me to start," Kwan joked. "He started off saying, 'Hey, we're sorry we took so long to make a decision, but we appreciate you doing it.' Just having that really somber mood. He's like, 'We know you worked so hard, but we're sorry it took so long, we had to come to this decision.'

"And I'm like, 'I'm getting cut, that sucks.' Kind of just preparing myself for it, but then he kind of took it a whole 180 on that and told me I made the team. So that was just a roller coaster of emotions, but that was pretty fun."

Kwan's first call was to his mom, because he knows his dad often doesn't hear his ringtone.

"I knew he'd be next to mom, so I called mom. Dad was right next to her," Kwan said. "They were in the car. Right when I told them my mom screamed very deafeningly. It was a really cool experience. I was glad I was able to share it with them."

A spot on the roster opened when it was clear Josh Naylor would need to start the season on the injured list as he rehabs from ankle surgery. Teams can have 28-man rosters through May 1, when they'll need to be trimmed to 26 players. Kwan earned the chance to fill Naylor's roster spot.

He'll likely open the season splitting time in the corner outfield positions with Bradley Zimmer, Oscar Mercado and potentially Amed Rosario.

From a disaster on Day One at Oregon State to sitting in Francona's office learning he'd soon be a big leaguer, Kwan's baseball journey has been, just like the conversation when he was told the good news, a roller coaster.

Opening Day on Thursday in Kansas City, and whenever he goes on to make his major league debut, will be the next major steps.

Bryan Lavastida makes Guardians roster as backup catcher

When catcher Bryan Lavastida, who was recently told he'd made the major league club as the backup catcher, told his parents the good news, he received the opposite reaction as Kwan with his mom. After all, there are different ways to express elation, and none of them are wrong.

"My parents. As soon as I walked out of there I made sure they were both on speaker," Lavastida said of his first call after getting the news. "As soon as I told them, it went silent for a bit and I could tell that they were tearing up. It was just surreal. I'm the first baseball player in my family. We never even thought that there was a chance at the big leagues when I was a kid. Baseball was more like a side, part time, you know?

"But it was just a surreal feeling for them to tear up and be as excited as I am."

Lavastida, who will serve as the backup catcher until Luke Maile can return from the injured list, actually first found out via clubhouse manager Tony Amato, who told him to pick out a number (he picked 10). Lavastida asked him, "Is this real?"

And once he spoke with Francona, all of the trials and tribulations of getting to this point came rushing back.

"I think about, instantly, all the struggling times I had and little me being frustrated and thinking that the world is over after a bad situation," Lavastida said. "I think back to that time, like high school days. And I think back and it's like, it's OK. I had to go through the ups and downs to make me the man and the player that I am today.

"That's instantly what I think of. If I could go back and and just tell myself, 'Hey, it's going to be OK. You're going to be on a big-league roster one day,' it would all be easy. But that takes away the whole fun of it."

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

Opening Day

Guardians at Royals

Time: 4:10 p.m. Thursday

TV: Bally Sports Great Lakes

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians' Steven Kwan battled self-doubts to earn spot in majors