‘He’s a throwback’: Guardians prospect Kyle Manzardo of CdA showed power potential to former WSU coach Brian Green early on

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Wichita State baseball coach Brian Green says he has a pair of left-handed hitters in his program right now who are physically gifted, but need a touch of refinement when it comes to their swing mechanics and approach.

Fortunately, Green has seen the blueprint for developing those raw tools into an All-America hitter.

Green coached Guardians No. 2 prospect Kyle Manzardo for two years when both were at Washington State in 2020-21. During his sophomore and junior seasons for the Cougars, Manzardo grew into an All-American and was eventually selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the second round of the 2021 Major League Baseball draft with the 63rd overall pick. After reaching Triple-A in the Rays farm system last season, Manzardo was traded to Cleveland in late July for veteran pitcher Aaron Civale.

More recently, Manzardo tore up the Arizona Fall League for the Peoria Javelinas, ranking in the top 10 in home runs (6) and slugging percentage (.565) while also among the league leaders in RBI (19) and OPS (.905).

Manzardo’s trajectory has him on a path toward making an impact for the Guardians in 2024, but the 23-year-old told cleveland.com recently that he’s concentrating right now on getting better every day so that he can make a good impression once spring training arrives.

“I’m just going to keep worrying about trying to hit the ball hard,” Manzardo said. “Obviously the more you can hit the ball hard, the more runs the team’s going to score. So, I’m just helping out wherever I can whenever it’s that time.”

Manzardo credits his father, Paul, first and foremost, as well as Green for being a tremendous help from an approach standpoint at the plate. His power outburst through the first month of the AFL came after deciding to focus this offseason on hitting against left-handed pitching.

“Just kind of using this time right now to try some different things out approach-wise to see if I can generate a little bit more success in that area,” Manzardo said. “But I feel great. I feel the same way against lefties right now. Just continuing to get better there.”

Manzardo’s success has come as no surprise to Green, who has his Wichita State players watch video of Manzardo’s sophomore and junior seasons because they are trying to mirror the same kind of movements the lefty utilized, with a simple, limited stride, and some toe rhythm.

“Kyle’s approach is really simple, but you have to be really strong to hit like that,” Green said. “He’s a throwback, that’s for sure.”

Hailing from Coeur d’Alene, Mazardo would often show up to Cougars practices in a flannel and beanie looking like he had just come off a fishing trip, Green said. But once the 6-foot-1, 205-pound son of a high school baseball coach got to work between the lines, he was all about winning.

“His identity was entirely about just being a great competitive baseball player and that’s just what he was about,” Green said, “He wanted to be viewed as tough, and there was a lot of maturity. I mean, he’s one of those slam dunk guys who’s going to play in the big leagues just on his personality really. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about.”

When Green arrived at Washington State during Manzardo’s sophomore year, the young first baseman was not a very good defender. But with hard work and a commitment to the weight room, Green said Manzardo was able to fashion himself into a solid option on the infield.

“That was fun to watch develop,” Green said. “He just kept working really, really hard on defense. Really got after his feet.”

Green recalled an at-bat against Dixie State University during Manzardo’s sophomore year when he realized the power phase of Manzardo’s game was developing.

“We had changed a little bit of his stride technique really just to simplify things, just doing what he is doing now, just going to the toe and being really simple.”

Green said Manzardo drilled a foul ball off a left-handed pitcher to his pull side, and on the next pitch he drove a breaking ball foul to the opposite field. Both fouls came off the bat in excess of 100 mph.

“The very next pitch, I don’t know if the guy went back-to-back breaking ball, but (Manzardo) hammered one to left-center for a double, and I just went, ‘Yeah, that guy’s a dude.’ ”

Manzardo’s swing tightened up as he continued to play for Green, which the coach credits to Manzardo’s meticulous drill work. Recently, Manzardo launched a 460-foot home run during an AFL game.

“He continues to get stronger and his swing is so tight and compact and here comes the power,” Green said. “You could just see it coming. He’s continuing to just hit the way he hits, but he’s letting his strength take over. So now 395 is 440.”

Green said what made Manzardo fun to coach was his competitiveness and the fact that he likes to work at and discuss hitting as a craft.

“He loves the game, loves talking about it,” Green said.

Green said Manzardo practices every day like a coach’s son.

“He’s humble,” Green said. “He knows that every day someone can take your job and he puts the work in with the drills and he’s very, very mechanical when it’s time to be mechanical. Then when it’s time to compete, he does that.”