Kyle Manzardo begins with relaxed hands positioned on his shoulder and uses a toe tap for timing. His smooth swing, which offers exceptional plate coverage, keeps his bat in the zone for a long time, allowing him to consistently barrel up pitches. The combination of quick bat speed and prolonged time in the hitting zone enables Manzardo to make contact with a variety of pitches, reflected in his 79% contact rate in 2023.
As a left-handed batter, he demonstrates impressive power to the pull side and has focused on hitting the ball authoritatively to all fields as he climbed the ranks. This focus on maximizing power led to a 2 mph increase in average exit velocity, along with similar gains in his 90th percentile exit velocity, which reached 104.5 mph.
Though some unfortunate batted-ball luck and a tendency to elevate (he had the lowest ground-ball rate among all qualified Triple-A hitters in 2023) impacted his batting average, he adjusted and found better balance as the season went on.
His exceptional hitting instincts, strong approach, and above-average raw power provide Manzardo with a secure floor as one of the most reliable bats in the Minor Leagues. Even with 20-25 home run power, he projects as an above-average regular. With his growing impact, there's optimism that he could reach closer to 30 home runs at his peak.
