It sure seems like the Cleveland Guardians already have their Ben Lively replacement

For a brief moment, it appeared that the Cleveland Guardians were going to have a tough time replacing Ben Lively. The Guardians announced on Friday that Lively would undergo Tommy John surgery, with a lengthy return timeline somewhere in the neighborhood of 12-16 months. This left a vacancy in Cleveland's starting rotation that was not going to be easy to replace. At least, that is what it seemed at the time, before Slade Cecconi made his Guardians debut.

Cecconi made his first start for Cleveland last weekend and was solid, allowing three runs on three hits in 5 innings with eight strikeouts against the Cincinnati Reds. Although the Guardians did not win this matchup, this was just a small preview of what Cecconi was capable of.

Taking the mound against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night, Cecconi dominated was dominant in his first AL Central action. With only one run allowed in 6 innings coming via a Spencer Torkelson home run, Cecconi shut down the Tigers for the most part. Detroit could only muster five hits against Cecconi while striking out six times and reaching first twice via base on balls. This was everything the Guardians could have asked of the thrust-into-action Cecconi and more.

What Cecconi was able to do at Comerica Park on Friday night was no small feat. The Tigers have been one of if not the best team in baseball up to this point, and shutting them down in this manner says a lot about how the 25-year-old performed in this start.

Cecconi has provided two things that most of the Guardians rotation has struggled with thus far. Length of outing is the first aspect that needs mentioning, as he has gone 5 and 6 innings through his first two starts in a Guardians uniform. It has been a struggle for a good portion of Cleveland's rotation to get into and through the 5th inning this season, so having someone come in and immediately do so was a very welcome development from Cecconi.

The other area that Cecconi has impressed in is striking out batters while limiting walks. Yes, it has only been two starts, but striking out 14 batters compared to walking just two is impressive. Cecconi has shown the ability to command his pitches and throw his pitches for strikes, all while pitching efficiently along the way. This is exactly what the Guardians need from Cecconi now that they will be without Lively for the forseeable future.

It is going to be tough for Cecconi to pitch at this level, and expecting him to do so may not be the best idea, but if he can at least provide something remotely close to what Lively would have over the rest of the season, it is going to make a huge difference to what this Guardians team can accomplish this season. The panic button can be put away at this time, as Cecconi is showing there is no reason to even entertain pressing it at this time.