The Cleveland Guardians turned a strong start to the season from Aaron Civale into their second-ranked prospect in Kyle Manzardo. The consensus is still out on who won this trade, but the Rays could easily look back on this deal with a lot of regret. There are a number of holes in Cleveland’s lineup heading into next season, but Manzardo could be the answer to a number of them. He showed a ton of potential in his month of Triple-A action with the Columbus Clippers and is taking over the Arizona Fall League with a number of monster homers along the way.
Is Manzardo already locked into a roster spot for 2024 Opening Day based on everything fans, the team, and the organization have seen from him? It’s not a silly question to ask.
In fact, I would say that Manzardo should already have his name written in pen on the lineup card against the Oakland Athletics on March 28, 2024. Everyone knows that the Guardians are desperate to add any sort of power to their lineup. They hit the fewest home runs in baseball for the second consecutive season which proved to be the downfall of their offense in 2023.
Manzardo fills that void and he’s showing that with his current streak down in the Arizona. He currently leads AFL with five home runs in 10 games which includes a homer that traveled an estimated 460 feet. He’s also slugging .738 with an OPS of 1.126 during this run. The Athletic’s Keith Law watched Manzardo down in Arizona and commented that he “showed good pitch recognition as well, getting hits on all pitch types … he’s going to be at least an above-average regular at first.”
Law is a renowned mind when it comes to analyzing prospects. The fact that he sets Manzardo’s floor as “above-average” should excite fans at what his ceiling could look like. Looking at how the roster is constructed as of October 2023, there’s no reason that Manzardo shouldn’t be starting on Opening Day. Cleveland needs to add pop and Manzardo brings it. The Guardians must find more offense and their second-ranked prospect has nothing left to prove in the Minors.