Parker Messick named Guardians minor league player of the year by Baseball America

What a year it’s been for Parker Messick. After putting together a dominant showing at Triple-A this year, he earned his first major league call-up in August, and has helped push the Guardians back into the postseason race with strong start after strong start. 

And although he has a chance to become a household name this October should the Guardians crash the party, his performance prior to making it to Progressive Field has earned him a noteworthy accolade from Baseball America. 

Parker Messick’s minor league performance this season was tops among Guardians prospects 

On Monday, Baseball America announced their list of the top prospects on every major league team, with Messick earning the nod for the Guardians. 

Prior to being promoted, Messick posted a 3.47 ERA with 119 strikeouts in 98 2/3 innings with Triple-A Columbus, which helped him earn a nod to this year’s Futures Game.  

He’s carried that over to time with the Guardians, as he’s posted a 2.08 ERA in 34 2/3 innings this year. He’s gone at least five innings and allowed two runs or less in five of his six starts. 

“He was awesome owning his development path, tapping into our coaches and group at Triple-A,” Guardians assistant general manager James Harris told BA’s Jim Ingraham. “That has continued into the big leagues with pitching coach Carl Willis and his team. We have confidence that Parker is going to do everything to maximize his potential and also be ready and prepared to compete.”

And it’s not like Messick’s joined a team that’s just playing out the string. His first start came in Arizona as the Guardians were just starting their ascent to the postseason picture (the Guardians lost his debut thanks to a bullpen meltdown) and he’s just gotten better since. 

Messick’s ascent is a tangible example of the Guardians’ pitching factory. Messick was never a top-10 prospect for the Guardians, but he just kept climbing the ranks after they selected him in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft. 

He made it to Double-A Akron by the end of last year, and just continued to dazzle this year despite facing much better competition at Triple-A. 

He’s also been a huge beneficiary of the Guardians’ decision to go to a six-man rotation. They’ve been able to pick their spots with him — they pushed him back to last weekend’s series against the Twins as opposed to having him face Detroit on the road — and have helped limit the amount of workload on his arm. 

That said, he’ll get his biggest test this week when he faces off against the Tigers in Thursday’s series finale. He’ll either take the hill look to secure a series win (or sweep) for the Guardians, or he’ll be their last line of defense against a season-ending sweep.

Messick may not have the pedigree of some of the bigger pitching prospects in the game, but he’s spent this year showing that he belongs. His recognition from Baseball America is another example of that.