Parker Messick just proved he's the crown jewel of the Guardians' pitching factory

While Parker Messick entered this season with some buzz around him after his brief big league cameo last year, his spot on the Guardians’ roster this season wasn’t a guarantee. 

In fact, he was likely ticketed to start his season at Triple-A until he got a roster spot when Logan Allen struggled in his final outing of the spring. 

He’s not going to have to worry about being on a roster bubble again any time soon. 

On Sunday, Messick added yet another strong start to his ledger with six strong innings against the Royals to lower his season ERA to 2.46 across 161 dazzling innings.

But that start went well beyond his season stats, as it marked the 10th straight start where he’s allowed two runs or fewer. That’s the second-longest streak in the Guardians’ illustrious history, trailing only Gaylord Perry’s run of 11 straight in 1974. 

Parker Messick's ascent could lead to him winning Rookie of the Year

Messick’s ascent has been one of the best stories with the Guardians over the past 12 months. 

While he pitched in the Futures Game last year, he was never one of the top prospects in the Guardians’ system. His debut last August seemed more like the start of a trial evaluation period than a shot in the arm for a struggling Guardians team.

It ended up being that shot in the arm, however, as Messick had a 2.72 ERA in 39 2/3 innings last year as the Guardians made their run toward the American League Central crown. 

And he’s been even better this year thanks to an even more dangerous arsenal led by an electric fastball and wipeout changeup. 

When Messick made his debut against the Diamondbacks last August, he was pounding the zone with 93 miles per hour fastballs. On Sunday, that fastball sat at nearly 95 miles per hour, which is a part of his season-long velocity uptick. 

The Guardians have spent a better part of the past decade crafting unheralded pitchers into aces, but Messick may be the best of the bunch. 

He may not have the track record that Shane Bieber ended up having or the kind of prospect pedigree that Tanner Bibee had prior to his promotion, but Messick has turned into the perfect canvas for the team’s pitching lab to paint on. 

Messick’s uptick in velocity helped power a season that could end with him holding some kind of postseason hardware after already earning an All-Star nod. 

Along with leading all rookies in ERA and innings pitched, his 161 strikeouts are second to the Mets’ Nolan McLean, and his 43 walks is the fourth-lowest total among rookie pitchers with 100+ innings. 

Those stats have helped him build a solid Cy Young case, though he’d likely Dylan Cease and/or Cam Schlittler to stumble down the stretch for him to have a legitimate shot to win. 

But regardless of what awards Messick does or doesn’t win, he’s turned into the Guardians’ ace. That’s a win in itself.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow