Kyle Manzardo has taken the Cleveland Guardians organization by storm after being the only return for Aaron Civale from the Tampa Bay Rays at last year's trade deadline. He's currently the organization's second-ranked prospect (per MLB Pipeline) and has shown a ton of potential as a hitter which is something that this team desperately needs.
There are still some areas of growth for the 23-year-old and President of Baseball Operations, Chris Antonetti, has a simple message for Manzardo in terms of development. That's to "continue to grow and get better."
"He finished the season really strong in the Arizona Fall League," said Atonetti. He hasn't had a ton of at-bats throughout his minor league career so, he'll continue to benefit from every at-bat he gets."
There is one area where Manzardo can improve and is already making strides against left-handed pitching. Antonetti said this is "one of the things he has had intermediate success with in the past, but know that's something he's targeting to improve upon."
So, what do the numbers look like against lefties?
Manzardo had an OBP of just .169 in 112 at-bats against lefties in 2023. During the 2022 season in which he split time between the single-a and double-a affiliates, his OBP was .319 in 184 at-bats. Anontetti's evaluation of him having sporadic success is correct. Being consistent against both types of pitchers will be crucial for long-term success.
Manzardo isn't currently on Cleveland's 40-man roster. However, he will be at the organization's big league spring training as a non-roster invite. Stephen Vogt said that he's excited to watch him play this spring" and the rest of Guards Nation couldn't agree more.
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