Kyle Thomas Manzardo...Attended Lake City High School, graduating in 2018...Selected out of Washington State University...Hit .365/.437/.640 (72-for-197) with 11 home runs and 60 RBI in 47 games (46 starts) as a junior...Named First Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, the first Cougar selected as a First Team All-American since Aaron Sele in 1990 and the first position player since John Olerud in 1988...Favorite teams growing up were the Mariners and Tigers...Miguel Cabrera and David Wright were his favorite hitters...Enjoys fishing and video games...Has been a regular participant in the Guardians Chess Club and participated in numerous charitable autograph signings and meet and greets in 2025.
2025
Established new career highs across the board in his first full season in the Majors....Finished second on the club in RBI, homers, extra-base hits (48) and go-ahead RBI (20)...His 21 homers in the cleanup spot were second-most in the AL to Riley Greene's 25, while his 55 RBI were third-most...Enjoyed a career-long 10-game hit streak from July 21-Aug. 1...His four RBI on Opening Day (March 27 at KC) tied the club record and were the most since Leon Wagner in 1964 (three times)…Third player in MLB history and first since Don Baylor (BAL 1973) to collect a double, triple and home run on Opening Day (first Cleveland batter)...Third player in club history with four or more extra-base hits and six or more RBI through the first three team games (M. Ramirez 1998; A. Belle '95)...Batted .382 (13-for-34) vs. KC with three doubles, three home runs and 11 RBI (second-most RBI vs. the Royals in '25)...Positional: 68 GS at designated hitter, 56 G/53 GS at first base (-7 DRS at 1B)...After hitting .217 in the first half, batted .256 (52-for-203) after the break with eight doubles, 12 home runs and 33 RBI in 60 games (.811 OPS)...Had the fifth-lowest ground ball percentage in MLB (30.3)...First walk-off hit/home run on April 28 vs. Minnesota (off Louis Varland)...His at-bats-per-home-run ratio of 17.4 AB/HR was 13th-best in the American League...Enjoyed second and third career two-homer games (last Aug. 10 at CWS; five HR vs. CWS were second-most in MLB vs. Sox)...Batted .373 (25-for-67) on the first pitch with 10 extra-base hits, seven home runs and 18 RBI (tied for 10th AL in 0-0 HR)...Felt the effects of the long season late in the year, batting .143 (7-for-last-49) with one home run and three RBI over his last 14 games, Sept. 18 through the end of the postseason (.421 OPS).
2024
Entered the season as Cleveland’s No. 2 overall prospect, splitting time between AAA Columbus and Cleveland...In 53 Major League games, he amassed a .234 (34-for-145) batting average with 12 2B, five HR, 15 RBI and a .703 OPS… Made his Major League debut on May 6 after hitting .303 (33-for-109) with nine homers and a 1.017 OPS through his first 29 games in Columbus…Recorded his first career hit on May 8 vs. DET (off Jason Foley)...Posted a .207 (17-for-82) average in 30 games for the Guardians before being optioned to AAA on June 18...Was later recalled on Sept. 1 and stayed with Cleveland for the remainder of the season...Slashed .246/.411/.492 with 10 2B, 11 HR, 29 RBI and a .903 OPS in 54-G with AAA Columbus after being optioned on June 18...Led Int'l League with 46 walks during that stretch...After being recalled on Sept. 1, began his second stint in the Majors with a two-homer performance vs. Pittsburgh, including his first Major League homer in the fourth inning of the contest (both off Mitch Keller)...Became the 10th hitter in CLE history to hit their first two home runs in same game, first since Ernie Clement on Aug. 13, 2021 at Detroit...From Sept 1-the end of the regular season, Manzardo recorded a .270 (17-for-63) batting average with five home runs, eight RBI and an .873 OPS...His .873 OPS in September was the second-best mark on the club over that stretch, behind only José Ramírez (.947)...Manzardo hit nine doubles from May 18-June 9, tied for the most two-baggers in MLB over that period with HOU’s Yordan Alvarez...With nine doubles in his first 24 career games, Manzardo joined Oscar González (10 2B - 2022) and Carlos Santana (10 2B - 2010) as the only Cleveland hitters with nine-or-more 2B in their first 24 career games in the Expansion Era (1961-)...Doubled in five-straight games from May 18-24 during that stretch...At 23.311 years old, became the second-youngest Clevelander to double in five consecutive contests, with Hal Trosky (21 years old, six straight; May 20-26, 1934) being the only younger player to accomplish the feat...Enjoyed a promising Postseason campaign, hitting .316 (6-for-19) with one double, one home run and two RBI...Recorded his first career Postseason home run with a go-ahead homer in the third inning of ALCS Game 3.
2023
Enters 2024 as the second-ranked prospect in the system (MLB.com) following his 2023 trade deadline acquisition from the Tampa Bay Rays...At the time of the trade he was ranked as the No. 2 first baseman, the No. 37 overall MLB prospect and the #4 Rays prospect, all per MLB Pipeline...Began the year at AAA Durham and had a solid first month, hitting .288 (21-for-73) in April with five HR, 12 RBIs (.920 OPS) in 21 games...Left shoulder troubles surfaced in June, batting just .182 (18-for-99) from June 1-July 6 and was eventually placed on the IL after the July 8 Futures Game in Seattle (did not play)…Transferred to the AAA Columbus IL following the July 31 trade, beginning a rehab assignment in Goodyear, Ariz., on Aug. 18 and was activated onto the Columbus roster on Aug. 23...Over his last 12 games for the Clippers after Sept. 6 he batted .256 (11-for-43) with six HR, 12 RBIs and 10 runs scored, homering in three straight games from Sept. 19-21 (4 HR total)…Had a nine-game stretch, Sept. 8-21, where he recorded six homers (8 XBH, 12 RBI)...Was T1st in the IL in Sept. HR (6) and second in XBH (13)...Slashed .281/.378/.545/.923 vs. RHP and .161/.269/.330/.599 off LHP at AAA...Continued hot September into the Arizona Fall League, batting .272 (25-for-92) with seven 2B, six HR & 19 RBIs in 22 games (19 RS, .905 OPS)...Finished T-3rd in 2B, HR and total bases (52), 2nd in XBH (13) and T-6th in runs and was named to the Rising Stars AFL contest...HR in three straight games, Oct. 9-11, and had a six-game stretch, Oct. 9-17, where he slugged five HR in six games.
2022
Named Minor League Player of the Year by the Rays Baseball Operations department, batting .327/.426/.617 (106-for-324) with 26 2B, 22 HR, 81 RBI and 59 BB in 93 games between Class-A Bowling Green and Double-A Montgomery… named to the South Atlantic League postseason All-Star Team…led Rays Minor Leaguers in avg., on-base pct., slugging pct. and OPS (1.043)…tied for third in homers, ranked fourth in RBI, fifth in extra-base hits (49) and sixth in walks…named the Rays Minor League Hitter of the Month for Aug., batting .375 (27-for-72) with seven 2B, five HR and 24 RBI in 23 games… ranked by Baseball America as the No. 5 prospect in the Rays system following the season…the publication also tabbed him the Best Batting Prospect in the SAL in its Best Tools survey.
