Cade Smith’s All-Star Game performance confirms he’s Guardians’ (and MLB’s)  nastiest pitcher

Bryce Harper has seen a lot in his MLB career. From his nine All-Star nods to his two MVP wins and World Series run in 2022, Harper’s experienced pretty much everything there is to experience on a baseball diamond. 

But that doesn’t mean he’s figured everything out. 

We got an example of that in Tuesday’s All-Star Game when he stepped to the plate with a microphone on against Guardians closer Cade Smith. 

And what followed was a five-pitch masterpiece that ended with Harper apologizing to Joe Davis and John Smoltz after he swung wildly at a splitter in the dirt. 

While every Guardians fan is intimately familiar with Smith’s dominant arsenal, Harper’s uncompetitive at-bat added an extra layer to it given he was miced up (and is one of the best hitters on the planet).  

Cade Smith made Bryce Harper look foolish in the All-Star Game

Smith entered the game in the sixth inning with the American League leading 3-0, and he made sure that lead stuck thanks to a dominant outing. He opened the inning by getting William Contreras to fly out before striking out Harper on a slider and Corbin Carroll on a fastball. 

Smith’s done nothing but dominate since he entered MLB in 2024, but his performance over the past 12 months has been incredibly impressive. He went from working as a set up man to becoming the team’s closer after Emmanuel Clase went on the restricted list. 

He settled in last year after a rough start to his tenure as closer, and has been even better this season (2.84 ERA, 28 saves). 

He’s struck out nearly 35% of the batters he’s faced this season, and hitters have managed a batting average of just .128 against his splitter. 

That splitter did its job against Harper, who was looking to author a signature moment in an All-Star Game in his home ballpark. 

He opened the at-bat with two fastballs before turning to that splitter for a ball in the dirt that Harper spit on. He then hit the bottom of the zone with a fastball that Harper challenged before getting him out with that splitter he swung and missed at. 

Although the Guardians’ bullpen has been a bit in flux this season, Smith has rebounded from his early-season struggles to become one of the best closers in baseball. 

His recent dominance has been even better considering it’s come at a time when Hunter Gaddis has also settled into his set up role after struggling earlier this year while Franco Aleman and Colin Holderman have climbed the trust tree behind him. 

The Guardians are always going to be a team constructed around dominant pitching, and Smith evolving into one of the best relievers in baseball has saved the Guardians in a variety of ways. Not only does his dominance help the Guardians win close games, but it’s also helped them navigate the loss of Clase. 

While all of Clevleand knew about his dominance, Harper’s strikeout raised his status even more. 

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