Parker Messick’s rookie season is officially in the books, and it ends with his name among the best pitchers in the American League. The Baseball Writers’ Association of America announced the Cy Young Award results on Wednesday night, and the Cleveland Guardians left hander finished third. New York’s Cam Schlittler won the award unanimously, collecting all 30 first-place votes, and Toronto’s Dylan Cease finished second. For a pitcher in his first full big league season, landing that high in the voting is almost unheard of. The Guardians celebrated the result with a simple message on social media.
“Pretty, pretty special season,” Cleveland Guardians wrote.
Parker Messick finishes third in the American League Cy Young Award voting as a rookie.
Pretty, pretty special season.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/fsAUEBPfNj
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) November 12, 2026
Messick finished with 84 points, receiving seven second-place votes, 12 third-place votes, nine fourth-place votes and two fifth-place votes. Cease totaled 110 points, and Tampa Bay’s Drew Rasmussen came in fourth with 72. Cade Smith also showed up on the ballot, picking up two fifth-place votes, a rare honor for a reliever.
It is hard to argue with Messick’s placement. He went 12-9 with a 2.56 ERA over 32 starts, striking out 193 batters in 186 1/3 innings. He made the All-Star team, led all AL rookies in wins and strikeouts and posted a 3.98 strikeout to walk ratio that trailed only Hall of Famer Don Sutton among rookies who threw at least 180 innings. Only Herb Score struck out more batters as a rookie in Cleveland history.
His finish also puts him in rare company. Messick is just the sixth rookie in MLB history to finish in the top three of Cy Young voting. The others are Mark Fidrych in 1976, Fernando Valenzuela in 1981, Dwight Gooden in 1984, José Fernández in 2013 and Paul Skenes in 2024. He is the first American League rookie to do it since Fidrych fifty years ago.
There is one twist. All five of those pitchers also won Rookie of the Year. Messick finished second in that race on Monday, behind Detroit’s Kevin McGonigle, receiving two first-place votes and 122 points. That leaves Cleveland’s Rookie of the Year drought intact, but it does not take anything away from what he accomplished.
The finish also pays off for the organization. Because Messick spent a full season in the majors as a former top prospect and finished in the top three of the Cy Young voting, Cleveland earns an extra pick after the first round of the 2027 draft through the Prospect Promotion Incentive.
At 25, Messick is just getting started. He and Gavin Williams give Cleveland one of the best young duos at the top of any rotation in baseball, and both are under team control for years. Messick did not take home a trophy this week, but he finished his rookie season as one of the three best pitchers in the American League.
NEXT: Cade Smith's Remarkable Season Just Got Even Better
