Slade Cecconi Looks Ready To Take A Step Forward

The best way for a player to develop confidence is to go out on the field and perform. It not only helps the individual, but it also lets the team know that he can be counted on when called upon.

The Cleveland Guardians are in the process of building that trust with their relatively inexperienced starting pitchers. Though there are six of them competing for a spot in the rotation, none of them has been on the job for an extended period of time.

Slade Cecconi is one of those pitchers. The 26-year-old is coming off his first season as a full-time starter, but even that was delayed by an oblique strain he suffered during last spring training, which was his first with Cleveland after arriving in an offseason trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

He returned from the injury in May and made 23 starts, and this spring training, pitching coach Carl Willis has seen a confident reset from Cecconi as he looks to become a mainstay on Cleveland’s staff.

“I think Slade came to us feeling like he wasn’t in the place he knew he could be,” Willis said. “This year coming in, it’s maintenance and maybe some little tweaks. But he doesn’t have it hanging over his head that he is trying to find out ‘What’s the basis of my delivery, and who am I as a pitcher?’”

In two seasons with Arizona, Cecconi spent some time in the bullpen, with 10 relief appearances to go along with 17 starts. With Cleveland, he was used solely as a starter and pitched to mixed results, posting a 7-7 record and a 4.30 ERA.

There were some notable highs, such as a near no-hitter against the Kansas City Royals during the pennant race, and some regrettable lows, such as a seven-run, 11-hit outing against the Boston Red Sox earlier in September.

He struggled a bit in his latest spring outing, giving up two runs on three hits (one home run) in 2.1 innings against the Texas Rangers, though he did strike out four. He is likely to slot in as the No. 3 or No. 4 starter in manager Stephen Vogt’s rotation, behind ace Gavin Williams and alongside Logan Allen and Tanner Bibee.

However, he could also be surpassed by Joey Cantillo or Parker Messick, so Cecconi will need to be fully on top of his game by the time spring training ends.