Guardians Pitcher Named As Potential Breakout Candidate In 2026

It took almost the entirety of spring training for the Cleveland Guardians to decide on the final spots in their starting rotation to begin the season. With six pitchers competing for five jobs, it was wise to give each of them as many chances as possible to prove their worth, and to be patient when coming to a conclusion.

Those chances may have worked against one pitcher in particular, as Logan Allen closed his spring with a disastrous performance and was optioned to Triple-A. That left space for Joey Cantillo, who didn’t have a very good spring, either.

However, Cantillo showed enough in his transition to starter last season to keep his job, and bigger things may be ahead this year, as Bleacher Report has named him a potential breakout candidate in 2026.

“Joey Cantillo bounced between Triple-A, the big league bullpen, and the starting rotation for much of the 2025 season, but he hit his stride down the stretch for a Cleveland team battling for a postseason spot. Over his final seven outings, he logged a 1.59 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and 36 strikeouts in 39.2 innings, stabilizing the back of a rotation that had been shaky behind Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee for much of the year. He is capable of providing some much-needed stability to the No. 3 starter role in the Cleveland rotation, with the added upside of elite stretches like he had last September,” Joel Reuter wrote.

With no minor league options remaining, Cantillo was likely going to make the team, even if it was as a reliever. That may have caused him to approach spring training without the urgency some of the other starting contenders, such as Allen and Parker Messick, may have needed.

However, Cantillo’s job in the rotation may have passed him by after a rough start to the spring. He still holds a 7.20 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP based on 12 earned runs and 17 hits allowed in 15.0 innings. However, that is much better than Allen, who has an 18.00 ERA after giving up 12 runs in 2.1 innings in his most recent outing.

Cantillo began last season as a reliever before he was sent down to stretch out to become a starter. After his return in July, he made 13 starts and posted a 2.96 ERA, which was much better than the 3.81 ERA he had in 21 relief appearances. He had a 4-3 individual record, but the Guardians were 8-5 in the games he started, which helped them rally to another AL Central title.

Now, entering his third MLB season, Cantillo will rejoin a similarly young rotation led by Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, and Slade Cecconi, with Messick winning the final spot over Allen.