Joey Cantillo Is Set Up for Big Year With Guardians

Joey Cantillo has always had the potential to be an impact arm in the Cleveland Guardians' starting rotation. 

However, he’s struggled with consistency throughout the first part of his career. Not just consistency on the mound, but consistency in a role. In his 43 career appearances, Catnillo has made 21 starts, with the 22 other appearances coming out of the bullpen.

With all of the adversity and shortcomings Cantillo has faced so far in his career, he is in a position to truly break out and set up for a big year in 2026, and you only need to look at his strong finish for evidence that a breakthrough year is on the horizon.

Before the All-Star Break, Cantillo owned a 4.17 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP, with most of his appearances coming out of the bullpen. Even though he was filling up the zone, Cantillo struggled immensely with giving up the long ball, which caused other issues to creep in, too.

Cantillo was optioned three times throughout the season, but Stephen Vogt made it clear the organization had a plan and goals for him to work through in the minor leagues. When Cantillo was called back up on September 3, he was finally able to put everything together.

During the final month of the season (five starts), Cantillo put together easily his best stretch at the big-league level. He logged a 1.55 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, a strikeout rate of 25 percent, and a walk rate of 5.4 percent.

Cantillo’s best outing of that stretch came against the Kansas City Royals, where he pitched 8.0 innings of four-hit baseball and struck out five batters. 

Something looked different in Cantillo's overall mindset in these starts; he was simply throwing the ball harder and with more conviction. Even though the left-hander’s season fastball velocity was only 91.7 mph, he was reaching 93 mph on a consistent basis over the last month.

Cantillo’s strong finish even earned him the American League Rookie Pitcher of the Month for September.

The Guardians will have some serious competition in the back of the rotation to see who earns the final few spots heading into Opening Day. 

Even though Cantillo’s career numbers don’t compare to some of his fellow pitchers, his strong finish should put him in the thick of the rotation race, and the Guardias should be eager to see the type of pitcher he is heading into spring training.