Cleveland Guardians first baseman Kyle Manzardo quickly became a fan favorite last year upon arriving to the team in the Aaron Civale trade.
He became part of the future, part of the hope for a better tomorrow.
That “tomorrow” became “today” in 2024: Manzardo was called up and he has been up for a few weeks now.
The beginning wasn’t easy, and he is still slashing a disappointing – in a vacuum – .236/.276/.382 with an 88 wRC+.
However, he is slowly getting up to speed, getting to know pitchers and their tendencies, and completing more competitive at-bats.
The contact has also been much better in recent games.
He still hasn’t homered, but is now hitting the ball with authority.
“Want to know why #Guardians fans were eager to see Kyle Manzardo? Since May 20th, he leads the team in Exit Velocity at 93.3 mph and Barrel % at 17.6%. He has a .943 OPS (Jose and Fry have a 1.5 OPS). The Guardians are 7-1 in that time,” Bryan Shaw, the co-host of MLB GuardCast, tweeted.
Want to know why #Guardians fans were eager to see Kyle Manzardo?
Since May 20th, he leads the team in
Exit Velocity at 93.3 mph and Barrel % at 17.6%
He has a .943 OPS (Jose and Fry have a 1.5 OPS)
The Guardians are 7-1 in that time pic.twitter.com/fGCh4mpbDs
— Bryan Shaw (@WxShaw) May 29, 2024
As long as Manzardo is barreling the ball at the rate he has since May 20, the extra-base hits will start coming.
It’s probably not a coincidence that his torrid stretch matches the Guardians’ 7-1 record in the last eight games.
Manzardo is a solid hitter with a lot of untapped potential.
Once he gets more comfortable with MLB pitching, only good things can happen.
In fact, it’s already happening: he is slowly becoming a solution as opposed to a problem, and is in for a really nice summer if he keeps this up.
NEXT: David Fry Continues His Impressive Hot Streak
