The Cleveland Guardians had several young players emerge throughout last season, and they needed every one of them to rally to make the playoffs. That was particularly noticeable on their pitching staff.
When manager Stephen Vogt decided to use a six-man starting rotation to deal with an arduous schedule, he obviously needed some reinforcements to make that plan work. Rookie left-hander Parker Messick was promoted from Triple-A and immediately showed he was up for the challenge.
The 25-year-old left-hander recently reflected on his rookie season and how playing with the Guardians’ older veterans expanded his knowledge of the game.
“It’s one of those things that no one can teach you about. That’s kind of why this program is pretty cool, because you get to learn all the things that I kind of learned on the fly. There’s an adjustment. You’re in there with older guys with kids. You’re used to playing with guys that are fresh out of college or high school working their way through their careers. That’s the beauty of the game: You get to play with so many different people and learn so many different things,” Messick said.
A second-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, Messick made a stellar MLB debut on Aug. 20, while the Guardians were in the process of reducing a standings deficit that was once as high as 15.5 games behind in the AL Central. After allowing one run with six strikeouts and just one walk against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he made six more starts and finished with a 3-1 record with a 2.72 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 39.2 innings, a stretch that ranked highly among American League pitchers.
The Guardians still trailed by as many as 11 games in September, which is when Messick was at his best. He won consecutive starts by allowing just one run over six innings in each game, helping Cleveland make history by overcoming the largest deficit to ever win an MLB division. Though he wasn’t on the roster for the AL Wild Card series, which it lost to the Detroit Tigers, he likely would have made his postseason debut had the Guardians advanced.
Now, he will enter spring training with a very good chance to remain in a rotation led by Gavin Williams and including Tanner Bibee, Slade Cecconi and Logan Allen. In addition, Messick could have a new mindset as one of several Guardians players who got engaged this offseason.
The future is looking bright for Messick, and the Guardians should be confident that he can carry his strong showing from last season into this year’s campaign.
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