Guardians have put Joey Cantillo in a tough position this season

It has not been an easy go of things for Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Joey Cantillo. The 24-year-old left-hander has been called upon four times this season, with the results being less than ideal. While it is easy to simply state that he is not good enough, the fact of the matter is that making any sort of accurate evaluation of his abilities based on his numbers in 2024 is pretty much impossible.

In his four major league starts this season, Cantillo has faced the Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, Minnesota Twins, and New York Yankees, pretty much the exact opposite of being eased into the pitching rotation. In those starts, Cantillo has allowed 16 runs on 21 hits in 17 innings while striking out 14 and walking nine.

These performances are not exactly what the Guardians were hoping for, but at the same time, it is not exactly like Cantillo was being given any favors here. Facing three of the best teams in baseball and a Twins team that was temporarily surging at the time is not setting him up for success. In fact, the complete opposite could even be argued. Being tasked with starting against four opponents with an average run differential of 96.3 is not what anyone would call easy and is something that needs to be taken into account when evaluating his performance in the majors this season.

Now, some will argue that part of being a major league pitcher is having to face lineups that are tough, and that is more than fair. But there is also the part where they get to face a team that is not one of the best in the sport or a divisional opponent having a brief moment of playing above their skill level. Once Cantillo faces some teams that do not fit this description, then, and only then, can an accurate judgment of his abilities be made. But for now, attempting to do so will only result in an inaccurate perception of his skill level as a pitcher, and any takeaways from that process can be promptly thrown in the garbage.