It’s been a strong start to his professional career for Bowling Green Hot Rods first baseman Kyle Manzardo.

Less than a year after being drafted in the second round by the Tampa Bay Rays, Manzardo has climbed to High A and brings an offensive prowess that has anchored the middle of the Bowling Green lineup.

Heading into Tuesday’s series opener at Greenville, Manzardo is hitting .306 with a .989 OPS. Manzardo has a team-leading nine homers despite missing nearly a month with a hamstring injury along with eight doubles and 26 RBIs.

“It’s probably been the craziest year of my life,” Manzardo said. “I’m just kind of moving all over the place. I grew up in north Idaho, went to school about an hour and a half away, so I’ve kind of always been near my family, friends from high school and stuff. Getting thrown all the way to Florida – completely different climate, just a completely different place. Now I am here in Bowling Green, so it’s been crazy. It flies by because it really doesn’t feel like a year ago since I was drafted.”

Manzardo said not being close to his home in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, has been one of his biggest adjustments. Manzardo learned the game from his father, Paul, who was head coach at Northern Idaho for four seasons before the program was cut in 2002.

He said his dad is a baseball junkie who taught him the importance of preparation, especially in an area like Idaho.

“You only really get like four good months of baseball outside up there, but he had me in indoor batting cages and gymnasiums and stuff hitting ground balls,” Manzardo said. “Throwing in the gyms and hitting in these old batting cages because obviously you can’t really go outside for much of the year.”

Manzardo said a smaller window of playing outdoors helped his focus and helped boost his appreciation of the game.

“I think it 100% contributed in some way to my development as a hitter especially,” Manzardo said. “When a lot of kids are outside fielding ground balls, running bases and running around, I was just hitting in the cages because that was all we had. It was all we could really get done most of the time.”

Manzardo had success at the high school level, hitting .594 his senior season, but it took a bit of good fortune to get an offer from Washington State. Then-coach Marty Lees was attending a high school summer baseball game to watch his son but was impressed with Manzardo after watching him play.

“He pretty much offered me on the spot after the game,” Manzardo said. “I took my visit and that was all she wrote.”

Manzardo said getting the chance to play at Washington State was probably the most important milestone in his baseball career.

“Getting any recognition from bigger colleges was probably the hardest thing I’ve had to do baseball-wise,” Manzardo said. “Once I got to that big Power 5 school I had the platform to get some attention. It was difficult for me. I was pretty gangly. At the time I was a third baseman, just as slow as I am now – probably slower. It was difficult for me to get seen.”

Manzardo said his dad helped build his swing, but Brian Green – who was named Washington State’s head coach in 2019 – really helped with his approach and the mental side of the game.

“It’s just little things – picking up patterns, classifying pitchers,” Manzardo said. “Just kind of understanding the pitcher’s side a little bit so you can know what to expect facing him as a hitter.”

Manzardo had a breakout season for Washington State in 2021, hitting .365 with 11 homers and 60 RBIs. He was a Collegiate Baseball first-team All-American selection, the first from Washington State since Aaron Sele in 1990 and the first position player since John Olerud in 1988.

“That’s definitely my highest compliment – at least that means to me personally,” Manzardo said. “To be able to put together a body of work that is even mentionable with those names – I’d say more so Sele. John Olerud is kind of in a league of his own. He might be one of the greater college players of all time.”

As draft day approached last July, Manzardo said he was hearing early to middle third round, maybe fourth round. The Rays took him with the final pick in the second round, making Manzardo Washington State’s highest pick since Scott Hatteberg in 1991.

“There was like a clump of seven or eight teams at the end of the second round and into those comp picks that were all kind of gaining interest leading up to the draft,” Manzardo said. “My name just kept getting pushed up, up and up. It was fantastic (when I was drafted). I don’t even know how to describe it.”

Manzardo continued to have success with the Rays’ rookie level team in the Florida Coast League, hitting .349 with a 1.045 OPS in 13 games.

“There was a lot more velo (in the FCL),” Manzardo said. “It’s really rare to find a strictly finesse pitcher. You’d face a good amount in college, kind of a match-up guy – a soft lefty or a right-hander that was going to nail down the corners or flick off-speed stuff out of the zone and try to get you to chase. In the FCL especially, they are coming at you with their best fastball.”

In spring training, the Rays informed Manzardo he would be making the jump to High A, starting the season in Bowling Green.

“I was super excited about it,” Manzardo said. “I had heard in spring training that this was a great place to hit and it really is. I was especially happy about that. Obviously, to skip Low A is definitely really encouraging for myself.”

Manzardo had 16 at-bats before being sidelined for about a month with a hamstring injury. Since his return, he’s hit all nine of his homers, including a two-run homer Sunday playing in front of family and friends.

Bowling Green manager Jeff Smith said Manzardo’s consistency at the plate has been fun to watch.

“He missed a significant amount of time,” Smith said. “He missed a month and he is putting up these kinds of numbers with almost 100 at-bats less than other people.

“I think the thing with Kyle – any time you can see young hitters that have advanced strike zone knowledge and his barrel stays in the zone a long time, it gives you a chance to succeed every at-bat. That’s all you can ask and that is going to benefit him moving forward.”

As the one-year anniversary of being drafted approaches, Manzardo said he hopes to continue his success – and continue to find consistency at the plate.

“I’m just trying to show up every day, be the same person and help my team win games,” Manzardo said. “Just be consistent, show up, keep getting my work in and get better every day. Keep getting after it.

“I try to stay grounded for sure. It’s baseball. It will punch you in the face, so I try my best to keep everything chill.”{&end}