The Cleveland Guardians offense has been much better than anticipated.
Guards’ hitters had a .695 OPS last year.
This season, they are up to a .713 mark which represents improvement.
That, combined with the excellent pitching performances, depth, good baserunning, some smart decisions by manager Stephen Vogt, and notable hustle, has the team at the top of the AL Central division with a 19-9 record.
The lineup, however, still stands to improve and the best thing is that Cleveland might have some internal solutions.
One of them is Kyle Manzardo.
The first baseman is showing in Triple-A that he is ready for a new challenge, and an MLB writer is certainly calling for his call-up.
“Kyle Manzardo turns 24 in July (he’s not that young), is raking in Triple-A, and would bat in the the middle of the Guards’ lineup today. It’s time,” Travis Sawchik tweeted.
Kyle Manzardo turns 24 in July (he's not that young), is raking in Triple-A, and would bat in the the middle of the Guards' lineup today. It's time.
— Travis Sawchik (@Travis_Sawchik) April 29, 2024
If you put it that way, the Guardians have every reason to bring him up.
They are probably just waiting as long as they can to gain an additional year of team control later down the road, but the decision to call him up should be made in a matter of days, not weeks or months.
Manzardo is having an amazing season in Triple-A, where he has six home runs in 24 games and is slashing a cool .299/.381/.575.
He has almost as many walks (14) as strikeouts (19), and his OPS stands at an impressive .956.
After struggling with the Tampa Bay Rays’ Triple-A affiliate last year, Manzardo was excellent with the Guards at the same level in 2023 and is proving that, well, he doesn’t have anything left to prove in Columbus.
He would be a nice piece for the Guards’ lineup and would be a notable run-producer in the middle of it.
Will we see Manzardo up within the next month?
Chances are we will.
NEXT: Tyler Freeman Leads Guardians In Elite Stat
