Stephen Vogt Doesn’t Hold Back His Thoughts About Parker Messick

Parker Messick continued his summer of dominance on Saturday with a 12-strikeout gem against the Detroit Tigers, but it wasn’t enough as the offense laid an egg and led the Guardians to a 6-0 loss. The loss dropped the Guardians into a tie with the Toronto Blue Jays for the third Wild Card spot in the AL and now Sunday’s finale with the Tigers becomes even more important.

Messick gave up three runs over six innings in the loss and the 12 strikeouts were a career high. Even though Cleveland didn’t come out on top in this one, the loss didn’t deter manager Stephen Vogt from raving about his young lefty after the game.

Mason Horodyski of WEWS shared a clip from Vogt’s postgame presser in which Cleveland’s manager stressed that not only is Messick in the Rookie of the Year conversation, but he pushed the narrative that he should be in the Cy Young conversation as well.

“Parker’s in the Rookie of the Year conversation, and he should be in the Cy Young, too,” said Vogt.

"Parker's in the Rookie of the Year [conversation], and he should be in the Cy Young, too"

Ahead of today's meeting between the two odds-on favorites for the American League Rookie of the Year, #Guardians Stephen Vogt with high praise for Parker Messick#GuardsBall @WEWS pic.twitter.com/oThvxBxbYL

— Mason Horodyski (@MasonHorodyski) September 5, 2026

Messick has far surpassed expectations this season. He was a solid prospect and projected to be a potential No. 2 or 3 starter for this team, but he is truly pushing for Cy Young votes even though he won’t win due to how great Cam Schlittler and Dylan Cease have been.

Messick turning into a potential ace completely changes the trajectory for this franchise. He and Gavin Williams, who will take the mound on Sunday and hopefully get some more run support, represent the new foundation of this rotation and can guide this team on a deep playoff run if it can find a way to get there.

The young lefty is closing in on Kevin McGonigle for the Rookie of the Year award, but maybe Vogt is right and we should be thinking higher. If Schlittler and Cease don’t keep their current pace throughout September, Messick might have an outside shot to chase them down.