Cleveland Guardians calling up top prospect; what to know about Kyle Manzardo

The Cleveland Guardians are making the call.

The top team in the AL Central with a 22-12 record at the time of writing, the Guardians will call up top prospect Kyle Manzardo to replace injured outfielder Steven Kwan, who was placed on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring strain. Manzardo is set to DH and bat seventh in the lineup in his MLB debut.

A power-hitting first baseman who hits from the left side, Manzardo has earned praise across MLB for his potential to impact lineups with his bat.

A 23-year-old prospect, Manzardo started the 2024 season in the Guardians organization at Triple-A Columbus.

Here's what Guardians fans should know about the slugger as he preps for his first reps at the major league level.

Guardians acquired Kyle Manzardo in a trade from the Tampa Bay Rays

A former second-round pick out of Washington State University, Manzardo was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2021 MLB June amateur draft.

Cleveland acquired Manzardo in a trade that sent right-handed pitcher Aaron Civale to Tampa Bay.

Civale has struggled on the mound to start the 2024 season, pitching to a 6.14 ERA across seven starts, surrendering seven home runs in 36.2 innings pitched.

What are Kyle Manzardo's stats?

The Guardians didn't want to rush Manzardo to the majors, keeping him in the minor leagues to start the 2024 campaign. But Manzardo was making a strong case to get the callup to the majors even before Kwan's injury made a roster move a necessity.

The lefty slugger has slashed .303/.375/.642 with a 1.017 OPS across 29 games with the Triple-A affiliate Columbus Clippers to start 2024.

He’s smacked 10 doubles, launched nine homers and collected 20 RBI while drawing 15 walks across 128 plate appearances.

In his last 14 games alone, Manzardo hit eight of his nine total homers and drove in 14 runs.

In four minor league seasons at various levels of competition, Manzardo has hit exactly 50 homers.

During his three college seasons at Washington State, Manzardo batted .336 with 16 homers and 105 RBI.

Where does Guardians' Kyle Manzardo rank among MLB prospects?

Manzardo is among the Guardians' top prospects. MLB.com's ranking of Cleveland prospects puts Manzardo at No. 2 in the organization behind only outfielder Chase DeLauter.

CBS Sports ranked Manzardo as the No. 45 prospect in all of baseball, calling him a "polished first baseman without elite strength."

Where is Guardians' prospect Kyle Manzardo from?

Manzardo was born and raised in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

He attended Lake City High School where he was a dual-sport athlete in baseball and basketball.