Coach's son Manzardo headlines strong Guardians AFL contingent

In the last 49 seasons, two Washington State position players have earned first-team All-America recognition: John Olerud in 1988 and Kyle Manzardo in 2021.

Though Olerud was one of the greatest two-way players in NCAA history and Manzardo is strictly a hitter, there are a lot of similarities. Both are products of the Pacific Northwest and lefty-swinging first basemen with hit-over-power profiles. Olerud won an American League batting title and collected 2,239 hits during 17 years in the big leagues, and Manzardo has the approach, stroke and natural hitting ability to succeed at that level as well.

Emulating Olerud would be a dream come true for Manzardo, who’s currently working on his game in the Arizona Fall League.

“I've had the pleasure of meeting him briefly at Washington State, alumni events and stuff like that,” Manzardo said. “Obviously he’s a legend, somebody to look up to. You can admire all of the great things that he's done and the adversity he obviously overcame early in his life and career. Just somebody to admire who played at the same college as me, same position. He’s somebody I look up to a good deal.”

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Manzardo has a long track record of success at the plate, which can be attributed to the fact that he’s been hitting as long as he can remember. His father, Paul, played collegiately at Ferris State (Mich.) and coached at the American Legion, high school and college levels. He coached Kyle at Lake City High in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and worked with him long before that.

“I was hitting wiffle balls in the backyard,” Manzardo said of his introduction to hitting at a young age. “He just kind of flipped them up and I tried to hit it over our fence in our backyard and stuff like that. I’ve pretty much been playing in some capacity as long as I remember.

“He still throws BP to me in the offseason. He’s still the guy that I spend my offseasons with at home in a baseball capacity. He throws me BP, hits me grounders, all that stuff -- my whole life.”

A second-round pick by the Rays in 2021, Manzardo dominated in his first full pro season. He slashed .327/.426/.617 with 22 homers in 93 games between High-A and Double-A, ranking second in the Minors in OPS, third in slugging and eighth in average and on-base percentage.

Manzardo’s second full season was more tumultuous. He hit well in the first two months at Triple-A in Durham before slumping in June, while hurting his left shoulder when a runner fell on him during a pickoff play in early July. While he was on the injured list, Tampa Bay traded him to Cleveland for Aaron Civale on July 31.

Manzardo was rehabbing in Florida, his possessions were in North Carolina and suddenly he had to move across the country to the Guardians’ training base in Arizona. He wound up missing a total of six weeks with his shoulder injury and finished the season hitting .242/.343/.475 with 17 homers in 94 Triple-A games.

Now he’s with the Peoria Javelinas and part of the AFL’s most formidable lineup. While he’s trying to make up for lost at-bats, he’s sticking with his philosophy of not trying to do too much at the plate. He has gone 8-for-30 (.267) with five walks in his first seven games in Arizona and has homered in each of his last three contests, including a 460-foot blast Wednesday night.

“The idea is to keep it as simple as possible,” Manzardo said. “It’s pretty much all about trying to put myself in position to be on time to as many pitches as possible, as often as possible. Not necessarily about trying to hit the ball as hard as I possibly can, but hit the ball pretty hard a lot.”

Guardians hitters in the Fall League

Chase DeLauter, OF (No. 4/MLB No. 85): A 2022 first-round pick from James Madison, DeLauter offers an uncommon combination of size (6-foot-4, 235 pounds), athleticism and plate discipline. Surgery on his left foot sidelined him for the first two months of the season, but he displayed solid or better tools across the board and slashed .366/.403/.549 with four homers in 42 games at High-A once he returned.

Christian Cairo, 3B/2B: The son of 17-year big leaguer Miguel Cairo, Christian was a fourth-round pick out of a Florida high school in 2019. He’s a solid defender with a high baseball IQ who slashed .239/.376/.351 with 10 steals in 61 games in High-A.

Guardians pitchers in the Fall League

Ross Carver, RHP: Acquired from the D-backs for Carlos Vargas in November 2022, Carver logged a 6.57 ERA with 88 strikeouts in 75 1/3 innings during his first season after changing organizations. He’s a four-pitch starter with a low-90s sinker and a 79-81 mph curveball.

Bradley Hanner, RHP: After Cleveland plucked Hanner from the Twins in the Minor League phase of the Rule 5 Draft last December, he fashioned a 2.78 ERA with eight saves, a .207 opponents' average against and 70 strikeouts in 64 2/3 Double-A innings. He operates with a low-90s fastball and a low-80s slider.

Jake Miller, RHP: A 20th-round pick form San Diego in 2021, Miller had Tommy John surgery and worked just 20 innings in his return this year. He features good feel for pitching, a low-90s fastball that plays better than its velocity and a plus changeup.

Erik Sabrowski, LHP: Taken from the Padres in the Minor League portion of the 2021 Rule 5 Draft, Sabrowski works with a 91-94 mph fastball, an 86-88 mph slider/cutter and a 77-79 mph curveball. He complied a 2.49 ERA, a .176 opponents' average against and 28 strikeouts in 21 2/3 Double-A innings.

Ryan Webb, LHP: Though he had Tommy John surgery in 2021, the Guardians still drafted Webb in the fourth round out of Georgia. Featuring a low-90s fastball and a pair of solid breaking pitches, he posted a 3.29 ERA with 83 strikeouts in 82 innings at High-A.