Dream Guardians rotation to harness momentum from last year’s strong finish

LHP Joey Cantillo

The Guardians could go a lot of different ways with this spot in the rotation. They could try to woo Max Scherzer in on a one-year contract, or roll the dice on an unheralded option like Pittsburgh’s Johan Oviedo, but we think the best order of business would be to roll it back with a familiar face in Cantillo. 

After opening the year in the bullpen, Cantillo spent part of the summer at Triple-A before returning to the rotation and finishing the season on a tear. 

Cantillo re-joined the Guardians’ rotation at the beginning of September as the Guardians shifted to a six-man rotation and ended up posting a 1.55 ERA with 29 strikeouts in five starts — stats that led to him being named the AL Rookie of the Month for September. 

At this point, it would be unfair to deny Cantillo a chance to build on that by starting 2026 in the big league rotation. 

Cantillo ended up finishing the year in the 80th percentile in whiff rate and the 79th percentile in strikeout rate, so it’s clear he can get hitters out despite having a fastball that averages just 91.7 mph. 

Although there aren't any surprises in this projected rotation, it speaks to the success of the established players in Cleveland's rotation. While there's always a chance the Guardians could dip into that talent pool in a trade, this hypothetical rotation would rank as one of the best in baseball.