This story was excerpted from Tim Stebbins' Guardians Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
CLEVELAND -- Kyle Manzardo stepped up to hit in the 10th inning on Aug. 1, with the Guardians and Twins tied, 2-2. With runners on first and second and one out, he lined a 1-1 slider that Kody Funderburk hung over the plate to left-center field for a walk-off single.
“[I was] just looking for something over the plate and making sure I’m not chasing or expanding there,” Manzardo said that night. “Just trying to get a ball to the outfield.”
That moment was emblematic of the progression we have witnessed from Manzardo this season. The 25-year-old has been a steady slugger in the heart of Cleveland’s lineup, and he also has been emerging as one of the Guardians’ more complete hitters.
Using the All-Star break as a median, here is how Manzardo has fared this season.
1st half: 82 games, .217/.293/.442, 15 homers, 37 RBIs, 9.3 BB%, 25 K% 102 wRC+
2nd half (entering Tuesday): 24 games, .303/.409/.579, six homers, 18 RBIs, 12.9 BB%, 28 K%, 172 wRC+
“I think he's just starting to understand the Major League game and how guys are going to pitch him,” Guardians hitting coach Grant Fink said over the weekend. “Early on, he hit a bunch of home runs and he got to his slug and power early, and then realized that, ‘Not everyone's going to throw pitches I can hit homers on.’
“He's driving the ball to all parts of the field. He's taking his hits when he needs to with runners in scoring position. He's not trying to do too much. He's [driven in] a lot of runs with two outs recently by taking an opposite field single on a first or second pitch. He's just growing as a big leaguer and growing in what it means to be a top quality hitter in this game.”
Manzardo’s production has been key for Cleveland; entering Tuesday, the Guardians were 24-12 since July 7, and they were tied with the Red Sox for ninth in runs (138) since the break.
Given that Manzardo has hit cleanup in 63 of his 88 starts this season, he often has been the first line of protection behind José Ramírez. When the 25-year-old is producing the way he has been, it lengthens the Guardians’ lineup.
“I’m just being really intentional with my work before the game,” Manzardo said. “Just getting out there and trusting that what I'm doing is the right stuff. And then just hunting pitches over the plate, hitting them where [they’re] pitched, not trying to do too much with them. Staying in the middle of the field.”
That mentality is reflected in Manzardo’s underlying metrics.
- Manzardo’s chase rate in June was 36.3 percent (his career high for a single month), 23.9 in July and 25.4 in August.
- When Manzardo is getting his pitch, he is not missing it. Entering Tuesday, his second-half slugging percentage on pitches in the zone was .737, which ranked 12th in the Majors among 226 hitters with at least 50 plate appearances.
“I believe that a lot of slug just comes from discipline,” Manzardo said. “If you're taking pitches on the rails or pitches out of the zone, you're going to force the pitcher to really attack you sooner or later. The pitches that you’re going to be able to slug are the pitches right over the plate.
“Just putting myself in a count and a position to get those pitches and then making sure you’re not missing them when you get them.”
Manzardo has long been known for having good plate discipline, a good hit tool and a natural ability to drive the ball in the air, dating to when the Guardians acquired him from the Rays on July 31, 2023.
What we’ve continued to see recently gives Cleveland excitement for what it can mean in the long run.
“When we acquired him, we knew what his capabilities were,” Fink said. “I still think we're just scratching the surface of what he could be.”