Manuel
Guarate

Uncommitted. 6-foot-3, 215 pounds. What I saw on the Duluth Wildcats roster was extremely exciting, and if they’d had a luckier draw in the playoffs they could’ve really made it to the Sweet 16. While they do lose their best arm on the mound, nearly everyone is coming back to keep the nucleus together. Thankfully they have a big time bat in Guarate, who will still be an underclassman in 2024. When researching the team before their Mill Creek series, Manny’s numbers stood out. A .432 OBP in his 1st year of HS baseball? Now that's impressive. It told me his hitting intangibles (pitch recognition, plate discipline, approach) were very advanced for his age. When I saw him in person with my own eyes, the big OBP number made complete sense. In his first 4 PA’s, he worked 2 BB and had a barrel to LF that absolutely jumped off the bat. When you combine his near XL frame, advanced hitting intangibles, and high level swing mechanics (for his age), this is a very good recipe for success. Although raw as a catcher, he has plenty of time to make his overall game more complete. The most exciting part about him is he’s going to get a lot stronger, and the raw power potential could truly end up plus. When evaluating his swing mechanics, it’s easy to see this is a player who spends alot of time working on his craft in the cages. While I’ve only seen 5-6 AB’s on him, this will be a priority follow for the rest of the year and beyond!