Parker Messick’s rise to become one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball has been so unexpected that people are trying to explain how it happened. The left-hander’s style is so unusual that it is hard to find an apt comparison.
Based on his statistics alone, there aren’t many pitchers in the same class as Messick, who emerged as a legitimate AL Cy Young Award contender in his first full season. In fact, he may only compare to another young hurler with an unorthodox motion.
Former player and current MLB Network analyst Mark DeRosa recently compared Messick to All-Star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is a right-hander.
“We’ve flipped Yamamoto around. What makes Yamamoto so effective? Where’s the arm angle? Where’s Parker Messick’s arm angle? Very similar. His fastball plays like Yamamoto’s. Very similar. There’s a little deception in there. Low release height. He’s down low, but he’s still getting on top of it. There’s gotta be something to it. You can’t just throw 95 mph four-seamers to great big league hitters, and then take it consistently,” DeRosa said.
“His fastball plays like Yamamoto's… very similar.”
DeRo sees similarities between Parker Messick and what would be a left-handed version of Yoshinobu Yamamoto 🤏 https://t.co/v4djgv0P9K pic.twitter.com/dq1l0MPY4O
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) September 27, 2026
Messick is 6 feet tall, weighs 200 pounds, and is a product of the American game. Yamamoto is 5-foot-10, weighs 176 pounds, and was trained in Japan.
Messick’s release height from the left side is 5.42 feet, with an arm angle of 41.8 degrees. Yamamoto has a 5.40 release height from the right side, with an arm angle of 40.4 degrees.
They are two of only four MLB pitchers who have a release height of 5.5 feet or lower and an arm angle of 40 degrees or higher. That group includes Griffin Jax of the Tampa Bay Rays and Jared Jones of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are both right-handed.
Messick is the only lefty in that group, which makes his success even more special. After making his MLB debut during the pennant race last season, the 25-year-old started 32 games this year, posting a 15-10 record with a 2.56 ERA that ranked sixth in the majors. His 186.1 innings pitched ranked seventh, and with 149 hits and 49 walks allowed, his 1.06 WHIP was eighth. His 193 strikeouts ranked 15th and are the second-most ever by a Cleveland rookie.
Those numbers have made Messick a real contender for AL Rookie of the Year, and he could be one of the finalists for the Cy Young Award, which Yamamoto was in the NL last season on his way to winning World Series MVP.
NEXT: Parker Messick Joins Exclusive Guardians Rookie Company
