Guardians’ Parker Messick Finalist for Two Major MLB Awards

Parker Messick took the mound on March 30 for his first start of the season against the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cleveland Guardians pitcher threw six scoreless innings and struck out five hitters without issuing a walk.

That first start of the season for Messick was just a glimpse of what was to come for the first-year pitcher.

Now, the Guardians starter has been named a finalist for a pair of major MLB awards: the Cy Young and the Rookie of the Year Award.

Messick is well deserving of being named a finalist for each of these awards, and his stats speak for themselves.

The other pitchers up for the Cy Young Award are Toronto Blue Jays’ Dylan Cease and New York Yankees’ Cam Schlittler. In terms of Rookie of the Year, Messick is up against Detroit Tigers' Kevin McGonigle and Boston Red Sox's Payton Tolle.

Messick being a contender for each of these awards was something manager Stephen Vogt campaigned for in August; now it's coming to fruition. 

Looking a little closer at Rookie of the Year, it’s difficult to fully compare Messick to one of his finalist counterparts because he and Tolle are pitchers, and McGonigle is a position player. Some would even say the difference in position makes them two completely different sports.

That said, what we do know is that Messick was by far and away the best rookie pitcher in the American League. Choose just about any stat, and the Guardians starter is at the top of it.

Messick finished the season with a 2.56 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and 193 strikeouts, each of which was the best among American League-qualified rookies.

In terms of what that means for the Cy Young race, those stats ended up being third, fourth, and eighth among American League pitchers.

Whether Messick wins one, both, or none of these awards, being named a finalist for Cy Young and Rookie of the Year in his first year exceeds all expectations the 24-year-old had coming into the season.

The left-hander wasn’t guaranteed a spot in Cleveland’s Opening Day rotation, but Messick forced his way onto the Guardians’ roster with a standout spring training, coming off a strong September in 2025.

The rookie proved to the front office that he was one of their top five starting pitchers and took the opportunity and ran with it.

It's difficult to top a year such as the one Messick just put together, but it’s clear that the Guardians have one of the best pitchers in baseball, and will for years to come.