Luis Ortiz flops in Cleveland Guardians regular season debut

It feels pretty safe to say that if given the opportunity, Luis Ortiz would take a mulligan on his regular season debut for the Cleveland Guardians. Ortiz struggled against the Padres on Monday, and was no match for San Diego's lineup.

In just 4.2 innings pitched, Ortiz allowed seven runs on nine hits and four walks while only striking out two Padres batters. It is nearly impossible for a pitcher to overcome allowing 13 baserunners, and Monday night was no exception. Ortiz has to be significantly better than this, as he is expected to be a prominent member of Cleveland's rotation in not only this season but the future as well.

Some may feel compelled to say it is only one start and not to worry about Ortiz's performance. However, those who believe that would be sadly mistaken. Ortiz was a complete disaster in spring training, pitching to a 10.13 ERA and 1.982 WHIP in 18.2 innings across six starts. A high volume of free passes and a lack of strikeouts were also a problem for Ortiz in spring, barely striking out more than he walked (15-14). And while what happens in Cactus League play more often than not needs to be evaluated in a certain manner, Ortiz's past suggests it should be judged a little more critically than usual.

Prior to his "breakout" season in 2024, Ortiz was a somewhat forgettable member of the Pirates' pitching staff. Ortiz posted a 4.73 ERA and 1.607 WHIP in 102.2 innings pitched while averaging 9.4 hits and 5.1 walks per nine innings. This is not dissimilar to his spring training averages of 11.1 H/9 and 6.8 BB/9, indicating that this may be a more accurate picture of who Ortiz is as a pitcher rather than the 3.32 ERA and 1.113 WHIP with 7.2 H/9 and 2.8 BB/9 posted last season.

The reason to be concerned here is that Ortiz managed to post those numbers in 2024 despite having a low strikeout rate (19.2%) and ground ball rate (39.7%). Pitchers can experience sustained success without one or the other, but doing so while lacking both is incredibly difficult to do, and is usually an unattainable for those trying to do it. It must be considered that there is a chance that Ortiz's ERA and WHIP from last season are an anomaly, with a ton of good luck coming his way to make up for his lack of strikeouts and ground balls.

Yes, it is just one start, and there are 158 games remaining on the schedule for the Guardians. With that being said, Ortiz was supposed to represent a solution to last season's problems in their starting rotation rather than be a continuation of them. Should his struggles continue, the Guardians would have a major problem on their hands. Hopefully, Ortiz can turn things around and start putting together better performances moving forward, making this a non-issue. While it is not yet time to hit the panic button, it must be acknowledged that the button exists and can be pressed at any time if Ortiz does not improve on the mound.