The Cleveland Guardians have a lot of exciting arms, but Joey Cantillo is drawing the interest of a former MLB GM.
The Cleveland Guardians have a ton of exciting and promsining pthcers return for the 2026 season.
Gavin Williams will try to build off a breakout campaign. Tanner Bibee is looking to start the year just as strong as he ended. Parker Messick has a chance to continue impressing after an incrediblef or sting in the Majors.
One pitcher who may be flying under the radar in all of this is Joey Cantillo, but one former MLB executive wants to make sure that the Guardian left-hander is getting the respect he deserves.
Steve Phillips recently appeared on MLB Network Radio and discussed which pitcher could be a breakout candidate in 2026, similar to Jacob Misiorowski, Trey Yesavage, and Cam Schlittle, who made an impact for their respective teams last season.
The name that came to the one-time general manager’s mind was Cleveland’s Cantillo.
“The guy I like is Joey Cantillo for the Cleveland Guardians. I really like him,” Phillips said.
”I liked him a couple of years ago, and they brought him in relief a little bit. He got an opportunity [to start] last year. He's an intriguing guy for me that I think - he strikes out more than innings pitched. I'm encouraged to see what he can do this year.”
Jul 27, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Joey Cantillo (54) delivers a pitch against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn ImagesPhillips is excited and encouraged to see what Cantillo can do in 2026, and so are the Guardians, for a very good reason.
Cantillo started in the bullpen last year, but found himself in the rotation by the end of the season. In September, the left-hander made five starts and logged a 1.55 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP.
Going off of Phillips’ comments about Cantillo’s strikeouts, he logged a strikeout rate of 26.9 percent and a whiff rate of 29.7 percent in his 34 appearances a year ago.
There’s a very good chance that Cantillo turns into one of baseball’s breakout pitchers, but he’ll be fighting for innings right out of the gate. The Guardians ended last season with a six-man rotation, and that’ll need to be shortened before Opening Day.
The first step to establishing himself as one of baseball’s top young arms, as Phillips forsees is by winning a spot in the rotation during spring training.
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