Guards' No. 12 prospect Messick completes his rise to Majors

Parker Messick put himself on the map for a big league callup this season through his strong performance with Triple-A Columbus. Now, the 24-year-old lefty will receive his first shot on the big league stage.

The Guardians will promote Messick (their No. 12 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline) from Columbus on Wednesday to start Cleveland’s series finale against the D-backs at Chase Field. He will take the rotation turn that the Guardians opened by optioning Joey Cantillo to Columbus on Sunday.

“Excited for him,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said in Phoenix before Tuesday’s game. “Never seen him pitch before, so it’ll be exciting to watch.”

Messick has enjoyed a steady rise through the Guardians’ farm system since they selected him in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Florida State University. He made his pro debut in 2023, and this season marked his first at the Triple-A level.

In 98 2/3 innings over 20 starts with Columbus, he recorded a 3.47 ERA with 119 strikeouts and 42 walks. He also represented the Guardians at the All-Star Futures Game last month.

“Parker has been a fun one to watch, not just this year but the last couple of years,” Guardians vice president of player development Stephen Osterer said on Sunday. “It's been arrow up for last two, for sure, but probably even just since he started.

“He came in with the ability to execute his stuff, a really good changeup, a good fastball, but needed to add some velocity. He's done that on an upward arrow for two years now. Heading into Spring Training, we saw a lot of the things that we knew would carry over into the Triple-A environment. He's answered the call from that standpoint so far this year.”

Messick, who will start vs. the D-backs on five days’ rest, features a four-seamer, changeup, slider, curveball and sinker. According to MLB Pipeline's scouting report, his "great equalizer is his tumbling low-80s changeup, which elicits plenty of chase and swings and misses, along with well-above-average grades from some evaluators. It helps him miss bats with his low-90s fastball, which also benefits from a flat approach angle and good carry up in the zone."

Among his pitches tracked by Statcast this season, Messick's fastball has averaged 92.6 mph, and his changeup (his second-most used offering) had a stellar 45.6 whiff rate.

Osterer credited Messick for the strides he has made, from adjusting to the more advanced hitters in Triple-A and its ABS challenge system, and learning how to best deploy each of his pitches.

“Parker is an incredibly diligent worker,” Osterer said. “He's a smart kid, and he works toward the things that he needs to. It’s been over a few years that we've seen him continue to grow and get better. To me, it's just continuing on that path upward.”

In his last outing in Triple-A, on Aug. 14 at Toledo, Messick allowed four runs on nine hits in six innings while walking two and fanning five on 87 pitches. He sparkled in his Aug. 8 outing, when he struck out nine and walked none in 6 2/3 innings, again on 87 pitches.

“You’re being talked about as a prospect and somebody who can help and then you hit all those checkpoints and you’re having a good year in Triple-A,” Vogt said. “We’re all excited for Parker and his family, and it will be a fun day tomorrow.”

Freelance writer Steve Stockmar contributed to this report from Phoenix.