Everyone who remained optimistic about Cleveland Guardians pitcher Slade Cecconi may be getting rewarded for their belief in the right-hander. After a disappointing start to the 2026 season, Cecconi is starting to show the form that earned him a spot in the starting rotation.
Cecconi opened the season with an 0-4 record and a 6.23 ERA. To make matters worse, Cleveland did not win any of his first six starts.
However, Cecconi has now won two in a row, including an 8-5 win against the Kansas City Royals on Thursday. He gave up two runs over 5.1 innings, allowing six hits and three walks with three strikeouts.
Afterward, Cecconi told MLB.com that his best weapon, his curveball, is back, and that is making all the difference.
“I felt like the curveball was back to where it needed to be,” Cecconi said. “That was a pretty quick and easy fix. We went back to a grip that allowed me to get more depth on the baseball. We made some adjustments we thought would work and they worked well today.”
Cecconi earned his first win of the season last Saturday, although he gave up five runs and 10 hits in 5.1 innings against the Athletics. Fortunately, his teammates were able to take advantage of the offense-friendly conditions in Sacramento to emerge with a 14-6 victory.
After coming out of Cleveland’s six-man spring training competition with one of the five spots in the starting rotation, Cecconi’s season started poorly when he allowed six runs to the Seattle Mariners. Almost right away, there were concerns about his curveball, which is the pitch he counts on to make everything work.
He bounced back from that by holding the Chicago Cubs scoreless over six innings, but after giving up five runs to the Atlanta Braves and seven runs to the Houston Astros, his ERA climbed over 6.00. It is still at 6.15 for the season, but at least the overall outcomes have been different.
Until recently, the Guardians were rarely getting wins unless Gavin Williams or Parker Messick was their starting pitcher. Now, only Tanner Bibee has a winless record as the team remains hovering around .500 with a 20-19 mark that is good enough for first place in the AL Central.
If Cecconi can continue this recent turnaround, he would provide necessary, valuable starts for the Guardians going forward.
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