Kyle Manzardo Finding Swing At Triple-A, Cleveland Guardians News
Kyle Manzardo entered the season as the Cleveland Guardians' second-ranked prospect (MLB Pipeline), and fans eagerly awaited his inevitable call-up. That finally came at the end of May as Manzardo was set to make his big league debut.
His first stretch in the majors didn’t go according to plan, as Manzardo put up a .207/.241/.329 slash line through his first 30 games (82-bats). The advanced stats didn’t help Manzardo’s case either, with his xBA sitting at .179.
One of his biggest issues in this first stint was his swing-and-miss rate, as his major league strikeout rate was 26.6 percent.
Stephen Vogt said the organization wanted him to get consistent playing time at Triple-A to help Manzardo get back in a rhythm and groove at the plate. That’s precisely what’s happening, as Manzardo has been swinging a hot bat ever since he was optioned to the minors.
He’s currently on an eight-game hitting streak and has a .290/.421/.613 slash line with an OPS of 1.034 over the last nine games. The power is especially something to take notice of. Manzardo has hit three home runs during this stint, including homers in back-to-back plate appearances on Friday night.
Back-to-back AB's for Manzardo!#Guardians 23yr old (1B) prospect Kyle Manzardo with his 2nd HR of the game for Columbus! This time a 404 foot opposite field 2-run shot in the 3rd inning that came off the bat at 102.0 mph! He now has 3 HR's over his last 3 games and 12 on the… pic.twitter.com/nXSIUFb2yQ
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) June 29, 2024
Vogt also said, “We know [Manzardo is] going to help us in the future.” Perhaps that time may be coming soon. The Guardians’ offense has stalled out over the last few games in Kansas City, and they’re looking for a hot bat to inject some energy into the lineup.
If Manzardo keeps swinging the bat like this, then the Guardians will need to take advantage of his hitting streak and get back to the big leagues.
TOMMY WILD