Future looks bright for Guardians rookie left-hander Parker Messick

CLEVELAND — There's no telling what the future holds for Parker Messick but it sure looks bright for the rookie left-hander, who has six wins, a 2.07 ERA and 63 strikeouts over the first 11 starts of his career. The only pitchers with better numbers through their first 11 games were Pittsburgh's Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes (six wins, 1.90 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 2024), former Yankees ace and two-time All-Star Masahiro Tanaka (eight wins, 2.06 and 88 strikeouts in 2014) and former ERA leader and two-time All-Star for the Pirates' Cy Blanton (seven wins, a 1.21 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 1934-35). On Thursday night, Messick came within three outs of Cleveland's first no-hitter in 45 years. "He just keeps working. Parker's tenacious. He's dedicated to his craft and wants to get better every time out," manager Stephen Vogt said. "I'm sure he's going to come in (Friday) and nitpick every single pitch he threw tonight with (pitching coach) Carl (Willis) and the pitching team, because that's who he is. It definitely wasn't good enough for Parker, and that's what's gonna keep him going." Much like former Cleveland pitcher Trevor Bauer, Messick throws an inordinate amount of pitches, six or seven, according to catcher Austin Hedges. But arguably the most effective is a change-up that has stymied hitters even when they know it is coming. "They swung and missed at a handful that I know they were looking for," Hedges said of Orioles hitters Thursday. "It's just that the bottom falls out of it, especially when you set it up with other pitches, the heaters and the curveballs and the cutters. You have to take an outlier swing at it. You could tell they were trying to. It's just that good of a pitch." Messick doesn't mess around when he's on the mound, either. He has a quick delivery and attacks the strike zone, two aspects that have benefitted him early in his career. "His pace is one of his strengths. Sometimes we've gotta slow him down a little bit. He works so fast, but I love it," Hedges said. "He gets the ball, he gets on the rubber, he's ready to go, ready to compete. He doesn't take a pitch off, and it's very rare for a young pitcher like him." "He pushes the tempo. He dictates how quick that game is gonna go," Vogt said. "He attacks the strike zone, works quick. We talk about it I feel like every five days." Messick isn't going at it alone. He's in an organization that has developed countless top-shelf starting pitchers, and has a veteran catcher in Hedges to guide him along the way. "Every single game from start to finish has been amazing," said Messick, who is 3-0 with a 1.05 ERA in four starts this year. "I've done my best to sing (Hedges') praises after every one of my starts, because game plans, the way he watches the game, all I have to do is go out there and execute. He takes the pressure off of me. "I don't think I've shaken him (off) in however many starts we've had, thrown every pitch he's called, and I just trust that he has the experience back there and he knows what he's looking at. He knows the scouting report, and it's worked so far, so I don't think I'll be changing that." After Leody Taveras shot a grounder into right field for a single on Messick's first pitch of the ninth inning Thursday, Hedges appeared as deflated as the pitcher. Vogt, a former catcher, understood. "Well, 11 years ago, I called the wrong pitch in a perfect game (for Oakland's Sonny Gray in 2015), so it sticks with you forever," he said. "There's two options that you're thinking of every pitch when you're calling a game, and sometimes it's 90 percent, 10 percent, sometimes it's 50-50. And when you call the pitch, when that hit's given up, you will remember that moment for the rest of your life. You'll remember the 30 seconds leading up to putting the fingers down or pressing the button now. "I hate to say it this way, but as a catcher, you want it more for your boy than he probably wants it for himself. And you feel the responsibility when the hit's given up and Austin will be thinking about that pitch for a very long time, whether it was the right pitch and it just happened, or you're going to think about that for a very, very long time." Ironically enough, it was Amherst graduate and Rangers draft pick (17th round in 2011) Ryan Rua who got the first hit off Gray with a leadoff single in the eighth. LEFT OF CENTER Vogt has been pleased with Steven Kwan's transition to center field. "It's not easy. The ball comes off at a different angle, you're covering more ground," Vogt said. "Now you have to go further to your right, left, you have to go back more than you do playing left. And he's worked tremendously hard with (outfield coach) JT (Maguire) since we had this conversation in spring training and JT does a phenomenal job with positioning to help him get to those spots. It seems like it's been pretty seamless. I feel like, especially since the regular season started, Kwany's been phenomenal out there. "He wants to help us win and he knows that right now he's got to play a lot of center field to help us win. That could change over the course of the year, we don't know. But it's also trying to find days for him to go to left to get a little break for his legs and play his natural position." Kwan had made 10 starts in center and four in left through Thursday. ROUNDIN' THIRD Kwan's average stood at only .253 through Thursday, but he's made his hits count, batting an American League-leading .563 (9-for-16) with runners in scoring position. … Cleveland entered Friday 7-0 in games Hedges has started. … Guardians pitchers limited 1-6 batters to a .183 average through Thursday, accounting for the lowest mark in the majors, but 7-9 hitters were batting .288. ... 2016 World Series hero Rajai Davis threw out a ceremonial first pitch. Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter @CAwesomeheimer.