Parker Messick’s Rookie Season Deserved More Recognition

The 2027 offseason has officially kicked off following the conclusion of the World Series and the end-of-year awards being handed out. While most truly only care about who gets named MVP in both leagues, we are still given a chance to appreciate those who were recognized for their seasons.

There will always be a situation where one fanbase believes their guys deserved the award over the other, and while Tigers’ shortstop, Kevin McGonigle, did put up a nice season for Detroit, it was the left-handed starter in Cleveland that deserved more consideration than what the voters showed.

Parker Messick was a true force for the Guardians this past season.

While he was able to get a small taste of the big leagues last season, he entered 2026 still within rookie eligibility, but showed the stuff of a 10-year veteran arm.

In his first full season, the first-time All-Star put up a 2.56 ERA across 186.1 innings, struck out 193 batters, and walked a mere 2.4 per nine innings, accumulating a 6.3 bWAR. The 186.1 innings he pitched this year were also a career high at every level he has pitched at up to this point.

Oh, and if you have been following my work throughout the year, you would have read my AL Cy Young race article that I wrote back in May, highlighting just how high I was on him then. Anyways, this is about Messick and just how underappreciated it looks as if he was by the BBWAA voters after they awarded McGonigle 28 of the 30 first-place votes when it was all said and done.

In terms of competitiveness, this was never even close when you look at the breakdown above of the votes. While it can be hard to compare across positions, when you factor in value and production, those who took the time to see how valuable Messick was to the Cleveland Guardians’ success would have found the race, at the very least, a nail-biter.

His 2026 Season

In this day and age, where so many different variables and statistics measure production, efficiency, and durability, it seems as if the voters felt short on this one. The 26-year-old, former 2022 second-round pick out of Florida State, showed sheer dominance on the mound this year.

Despite a strong showing in his seven appearances last year, Messick came into 2026 looking to be that much better of a pitcher, and the final advanced stats prove it.

I realize that he didn’t accumulate enough stats for him to qualify, but we’re comparing him against himself here. He showed last season that he was pitching up into the 90th+ percentile in many different categories. Not only was he able to keep those markers darn-near similar throughout a full season, but he was able to pick up where he was struggling before.

Outside of the breaking ball pitch value, Messick was glowing red across the board. That really shouldn’t weigh too heavily on the southpaw either, considering his best pitch is that devastating. This is a change-up that, per Baseball Savant’s Statcast data, was producing 14 inches of horizontal break and a tick under 36 inches of vertical drop.

His induced vertical break numbers generated 1.6 inches and 14.8 inches of arm-side run. That pitch alone accounted for 71 of his 193 total strikeouts and tied him for the second-most changeup strikeouts in Major League Baseball in 2026.

Messick’s able to be as successful as he is while primarily displaying a three-pitch arsenal build up of a four-seamer, changeup, and sinker. Where he is able to make his bread and butter is in the ability he has to execute pitches at any point in the count, specifically with his changeup and sinker.

While the two pitches look to be plotted in the same spot of the strike zone above, you need to take into account the deception caused by the change in speed and true movement pattern because of it. Given that he is not going to blow many fastballs by hitters, the ability to execute bodes well for his success going forward.

Where He Stacks Amongst His Teammates

When we compare his season to his teammates, there isn’t much of a competition. The youngster of the group outshone anyone else that Manager Stephen Vogt threw out there on a daily basis.

No, he wasn’t the team leader in wins, nor did he lead the staff in strikeouts, but he was, by far, the most valuable arm for a Cleveland team that was battling all year to make it to the postseason. Then, when they did make it into the playoffs, it was he and Gavin Williams who were trying to keep them afloat until their eventual elimination against the Rays in the Division Series.

Did the Voters Get it Right?

Despite what the final tally says, I do want to say that the overall point of this whole conversation is being overshadowed. The amount of young talent in today’s game is showing us just how well off the future of baseball is.

Kevin McGonigle was a big reason why the Tigers were able to stay even remotely close to .500 baseball. They were a team averaging less than 4.5 runs per game last year and were highly dependent on their pitching to try to keep them in games.

I believe that the biggest discrepancy in this award would be the positions each of them plays. Whether people want to believe it or agree with it, hitters are typically going to get a longer look in awards than a pitcher is, simply because of how much they are on the field.

Could that be the reason why McGonigle took it over Messick? It very well could be, but we likely won’t ever know.

Ultimately, what this calls for is a separate award for rookie pitchers and hitters. At the end of the day, I’m not calling for a recount or the removal of the award from McGonigle’s mantle. I would have just liked more consideration for Parker Messick to show in the voting than what was released by the BBWAA.