The 2026 MLB All-Star Game is scheduled for July 14 in Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The Cleveland Guardians will surely send a player or two to the Midsummer Classic.
Jose Ramirez is likely to miss it due to his broken hamate bone, but Cade Smith might very well make it, and so could Gavin Williams if he manages to impress in his next couple of outings. There’s a dark-horse candidate to attend the festivities as a player, though: Parker Messick.
Just a year ago, he was a minor-league arm looking to impress during his brief MLB stint in the summer, and he did so with a 2.72 ERA over 39.2 innings. Messick entered the spring with an outside chance to win a rotation spot and, against all odds, he beat Logan Allen and opened the 2026 campaign as the Guardians’ fifth starter.
Slowly, but surely, he started his march towards stardom. He went from a backend option in Cleveland to a frontline starter; some would even say that he’s now the Guardians’ ace.
Insider Zack Meisel, who covers the team for The Athletic, examined Messick’s case.
“Messick has been the club’s most reliable, effective starter this season, and that’s with a heater that averaged 93.7 mph — plus a lethal changeup and a slew of other offerings that he balances to keep hitters guessing. He didn’t learn he would be on the Opening Day roster until a few days before the Guardians left camp in Goodyear, Ariz., in late March. Now, he’s trending toward an All-Star Game nod,” Meisel wrote.
Messick’s success in 2026 comes in part from his increased velocity, as he is now used to live in the mid-to-high-90s, particularly in recent outings. Throwing harder also increases the effectiveness of his elite changeup and the rest of his secondary stuff, and he has shown excellent command, as well.
The overall package is a starting pitcher with a 2.70 ERA in 86.2 innings. At 2.2, he leads the Guardians in fWAR, and his 3.20 FIP indicates that his performance has been no fluke.
Only nine qualified pitchers in the entire league have a better ERA than Messick, and just three of them are in the American League: Cam Schlittler, Nick Martinez, and Drew Rasmussen.
Little did the Guardians know that they would develop an ace in the last year, and that it wouldn’t be Williams or Tanner Bibee. But here we are, and Messick is now the most reliable starter in their rotation and their best candidate to go to the Midsummer Classic.
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