Parker Messick

Messick's dominance at Double-A last season oversells his pure stuff, but he's a crafty southpaw with a deep repertoire and good enough command to start. The 6-foot, 225-pound lefty was his normal solid self at High-A (20.1 K-BB%, 3.57 ERA, 1.28 WHIP), but he took things up a notch at Double-A, logging a 2.06 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 24.3 K-BB% over 65.2 innings. Messick logged over 120 innings for the second year in a row, building up to a career-best 133.2 frames while splitting the year evenly between High-A and Double-A. His low-90s fastball (touches 96 mph) has good movement, which allows the pitch to play up in the zone, and his low-80s changeup is a borderline plus offering. He also mixes in a cutter, slider and curveball, none of which are above-average, but they're good enough offerings to keep hitters off balance. The Guardians have no shortage of rotation options in the upper levels of the minors, and Messick isn't on the 40-man roster yet, but he could still pitch his way to the show in the second half of 2025. Read Past Outlooks