Young Guardians Player Could Be Primed For Big Season

The Cleveland Guardians’ offense was a big reason why they fell short in the postseason again on the heels of a second consecutive AL Central crown.

Aside from Jose Ramirez and the first half of Steven Kwan’s season, there was very little to get excited about at the plate in 2025. However, there was one other bat that broke out a bit and could be primed for a big follow-up campaign in 2026.

Kyle Manzardo split time between first base and designated hitter during what was a breakout campaign for the 25-year-old. During a recent article for Cleveland.com, Paul Hoynes shared some insight into how Manzardo is looking, and manager Stephen Vogt raved about how he is checking all the boxes so far.

“His swing is looking great. The ball is jumping off his bat. Even his miss-hits off the machines or live BP, the ball is jumping. We’re really proud of Kyle. He transformed his body. It’s fun to watch,” Stephen Vogt said when asked about Kyle Manzardo.

Manzardo came out of nowhere to wallop 27 homers last season in 470 at-bats to immediately make himself a vital part of this lineup. At such a young age, there’s no reason to believe he can’t go up another level.

Only 5 players under 25 posted an ISO over .220 in 2025:

Corbin Carroll
Junior Caminero
Riley Greene
Pete Crow-Armstrong
Kyle Manzardo

Get on the Manzardo bandwagon before it’s too late!
pic.twitter.com/ZTBC9ygwe2

— Andrew DeCeglie (@Andrew_FBB) February 5, 2026

He only hit .234 and he struggled mightily with a .671 OPS against lefties, so there is plenty of room for improvement. If he can bump up the numbers against southpaws just a bit, he can move further away from being a platoon player and potentially even turn into a sneaky All-Star candidate.

Many fans were dying for the team to bring in a big bat or two in free agency, just like they were last offseason. It was clear throughout the 2025 season that this lineup didn’t have enough thump to it, but Manzardo’s emergence helped immensely.

It would be a huge boost to this team if he has another level to his game. With how well Vogt spoke about him, it just might be possible.