Guardians’ Parker Messick spent first month of 2026 establishing himself as an ace

Remember a month ago when Parker Messick was in a fight for the final spot in the Guardians’ big league rotation? 

That feels more like a year ago than a month ago thanks to a dominant April where Messick posted a stellar 1.73 ERA in 36 1/3 innings. Not only did Messick pitch better than his rookie status would indicate, but he did so in a commanding fashion. 

Now he’ll get his first chance to build upon that in May this weekend with a start against the surging Athletics and their sneaky powerful lineup. It’ll be a tall task, but he’s spent the first month of the season showing that no task is too much for him. 

Parker Messick had an April to remember for the Guardians 

Messick set the tone for his season in his first start of the year when he blanked the Dodgers’ All-Star lineup over six innings in a Guardians win. He threw all six of his pitches, got 10 whiffs and only needed 76 pitches to get through his six innings. 

“If you watched his debut [last season], that didn’t seem like a debut,” manager Stephen Vogt said after the game, per MLB.com’s Jacob Gervis. “This is who he is. He’s ready to pitch in the big leagues; he’s been ready to pitch in the big leagues. I’m excited to watch him all year.”

He may have well been speaking all of Cleveland when he said that. 

And Messick has answered that call with five fantastic starts since highlighted by his near no-hitter against the Orioles two weeks ago. 

While Messick’s start against the Dodgers was impressive given who it came against, his start against the Orioles was even more impressive considering it was almost the Guardians’ first no-hitter since Len Barker’s perfect game in 1981. 

Messick’s dominance stands up if you take a look under the hood as well, as he ranks in the 96th percentile in chase rate (37.5%) along with being in the 93rd percentile in barrel rate (2.3%) and the 90th percentile in average exit velocity (85.8%). 

He may not have an overpowering fastball (it averages a tick above 93 miles per hour), but he’s been able to keep hitters off balance by varying his arsenal and pounding the zone. His changeup is also emerging as one of the best wipeout pitches in the Guardians’ system, as 23 of his 38 strikeouts have come on the pitch. 

Coming into the season it looked like Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee would be the 1-2 punch at the top of the Guardians’ rotation. And while Bibee has started to pitch better, it’s becoming more and more clear that Messick is the team’s No. 2 behind Williams.

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