A star is born: Rookie's strong first start gives Guardians glimmer of hope

Messick shook off early jitters — he walked designated hitter Ketel Marte on six pitches and threw a wild pitch within his first two batters — with five consecutive scoreless innings and was in line to pick up the win before Lourdes Gurriel's home run off reliever Cade Smith in the bottom on the ninth.

Per MLB.com, Messick, a 2022 second-round pick from Florida State, is No. 12 in the Guardians' farm system rankings. He began 2025 in Triple-A, where he recorded a 3.47 ERA with 119 strikeouts and 42 walks in 98.2 innings over 20 starts for the Columbus Clippers.

Against the Diamondbacks, Messick showed promising off-speed stuff, striking Gurriel out in the bottom of the third with an 84 mph changeup.

One inning later, he closed out the fourth with an 86 mph changeup, striking out first baseman Tyler Locklear.

His fastball hovered in the low-to-mid 90s, but he made up for a lack of overwhelming velocity with sharp accuracy, with his first big league strikeout coming on an expertly placed four-seamer on the inside corner of the strike zone.

The Guardians were involved in several trade rumors at this year's deadline on July 31 but didn't move any of their top players. Instead, closer Emmanuel Close and starter Luis Ortiz were suspended indefinitely by MLB in July as part of a gambling investigation.

After last season's run to the ALCS, Cleveland has underwhelmed in 2025, entering Wednesday with a 14.1 percent chance of reaching the postseason, per Baseball Reference.

The Guardians were 54-54 on Aug. 1 but won seven of their first eight this month, raising hopes of a late-season surge. The team's 3-6 record over its last nine has tempered those thoughts.

With postseason prospects dimming, Cleveland might not have much to play for the next month-and-a-half before the playoffs begin. But if Messick's debut is an accurate look into his future, the Guardians shouldn't have to wait long to once again play meaningful October baseball.