Kyle Manzardo can be the impact bat the Cleveland Guardians need

The second half of the season is about to begin, and the Cleveland Guardians are looking to carry over their success from before the All-Star Break. Cleveland currently owns the American League's best record (58-37) and is 4.5 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central. If the Guardians are going to continue holding the top spot in the division and go on a deep playoff run, they will need meaningful contributions from Kyle Manzardo in order to do so.

It should be pointed out that the Guardians have experienced most of their success without Manzardo this season, but that does not mean they are better off without him. Yes, Manzardo being down in Triple-A currently has freed up the designated hitter spot in the lineup from being occupied by either him or Josh Naylor, allowing manager Stephen Vogt to rotate players in and out of that position.

Even though giving a player a day off his feet while keeping his bat in the lineup does have its benefits, Cleveland could use another everyday player in their lineup that will remove a regular positional timeshare from the equation. While this flexibility has resulted in a few players getting an opportunity on a regular basis, they would probably be better off seeing their playing time decrease as they are best suited to be part-time players. Bringing Manzardo back into the fold would get the playing time distribution back to where it should be.

Manzardo is proving he deserves a second stint in the majors this season

The Guardians called up Manzardo earlier this season to plenty of excitement. Unfortunately, big-league pitching proved to be a bit too much for Manzardo. Struggling with a .207/.241/.329 slash line with 23 strikeouts and three walks in 87 plate appearances (26.4%), Manzardo was not quite ready to be in the majors and needed a trip back down to Columbus to work on his approach.

Since being optioned to Triple-A, Manzardo has 18 hits in 81 plate appearances, with four homers, four doubles, and 13 walks. Manzardo's strikeout frequency has also dropped to nearly half of his total in a near-identical amount of plate appearances (12). Seeing the strikeout-to-walk ratio getting back close to even rather than the almost 8-1 ratio is very encouraging and should bode well for his next call-up.

Yes, there is a difference between Triple-A and major-league pitching, but seeing Manzardo being able to correct the issues he was experiencing shows that he is capable of making adjustments when needed. Manzardo has shown improved plate discipline in his 19 games with the Clippers while nearly half of his hits have been of the extra-base variety. These results provide a more accurate picture of who Manzardo is as a hitter than the 30-game sample size with the Guardians.

The adjustments that Manzardo has been able to make have resulted in him performing at the level he is expected to. Manzardo's eventual return to the Guardians has a chance to be much more productive than his first go around and could very well end up being the big-time bat in the lineup that Cleveland needs for an extended postseason run.