The Arizona Diamondbacks selected pitcher Slade Cecconi at No. 33 overall in the 2020 MLB Draft and gave him a $2.4 million signing bonus. A few years later, he was the primary piece the Cleveland Guardians got in return for top slugger Josh Naylor.
If you think that Cecconi isn’t talented or respected around the majors, think again. Yes, his 4.92 career ERA in MLB might suggest otherwise, but he is still young at 27 and is pitching the best ball of his life at the moment. The future might still be bright for him, and we do know that the present is.
With a rather mediocre ERA in 2026, you would have to zoom in to understand why Cecconi is actually one of the most valuable assets on the Guardians’ pitching staff after turning his season around.
“The Guardians acquired Slade Cecconi from Arizona in the deal for Naylor before the 2025 season. Cecconi had a few rough starts early in the season. But in his last nine outings, he has a 2.26 ERA. For the year, he has a 3-6 record and a 4.48 ERA,” Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com wrote.
Through his first seven starts of the year, the right-hander had a woeful 6.56 ERA. He looked like a lost cause, and fans were starting to turn against him.
Then Cecconi and the pitching coaches realized that his sweeper wasn’t really a good pitch for him. So, they ditched it, and he started throwing his cutter more often, including several variations of it.
The results are evident. Cecconi is currently looking like a solid, reliable mid-rotation starter. He is making near the MLB minimum and has four more seasons to go before reaching free agency, making him a highly valuable asset in the payroll and on the field.
Losing Naylor certainly hurt, because his potent bat could have certainly helped a stagnant offense the past two seasons. However, getting a solid, cheap, and controllable starter plus a high draft pick was a worthwhile tradeoff.
Cecconi might not be exciting as a pitcher, and he might not be an ace, but he is a perfectly solid arm with some upside and a phenomenal work ethic, plus an uncanny drive to improve.
NEXT: Analyst Believes Potential MLB Change Would Massively Affect Guardians
