Guardians’ Parker Messick must win AL Rookie of the Year. He should also be an AL Cy Young finalist

The Cleveland Guardians have endured an up and down season. They are still in the American League postseason conversation, as winning the American League Central remains realistic while the ball club is currently in the AL Wild Card picture. Starting pitcher Parker Messick has somewhat quietly emerged as not just a star rookie, but one of the best pitchers in baseball.

Messick perfectly displayed how he’s become a true ace during Cleveland’s Sunday’s 11-1 win against the Kansas City Royals. Cleveland entered its series against the Royals on a seven-game winning streak on Friday. However, the ball club dropped the first two games of the series. The Guardians needed a win on Sunday.

While Messick clearly received no shortage of run support, the southpaw also turned in a stellar performance. He turned in six innings of one-run baseball while striking out five hitters. Aces are the guys who either end losing streaks or stop them from happening in the first place, and Messick helped the Guards avoid a three-game sweep at home on Sunday.

It should be noted that Messick has not often received much run support this season. Sunday’s game was a nice change in that department. The reality of the situation is that all Messick needed was two runs of support in the contest — but he won’t complain about 11 runs.

It seems as if the narrative in the American League is still that either the Detroit Tigers’ Kevin McGonigle or the Chicago White Sox’s Munetaka Murakami will win the AL Rookie of the Year Award. Messick is consistently mentioned right behind those guys, but he deserves far more respect in the conversation.

Parker Messick deserves to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award in 2026.

Why Guardians’ Parker Messick deserves the 2026 AL Rookie of the Year Award

McGonigle and Murakami have both enjoyed strong seasons, especially considering the fact that they are rookies. McGonigle is currently hitting .276 to go along with a .795 OPS and 14 home runs. Meanwhile, Murakami is hitting just .218 but he has an .854 OPS and 29 home runs.

Neither player will seriously be considered for the AL MVP. They could receive some votes, but they are not true candidates for that award. The AL Rookie of the Year is realistic for both, but they are not having incredibly memorable seasons compared to other superstars in the sport.

Messick, however, is having a legitimate Cy Young-caliber campaign.

The left-hander holds a 2.46 ERA across 27 starts to go along with 161 strikeouts. He likely won’t win the Cy Young in the AL given the presences of the New York Yankees’ Cam Schlittler and Toronto Blue Jays’ Dylan Cease, but Messick deserves to be a finalist.

The Guardians southpaw is currently third in the AL in ERA, fourth in innings pitched, eighth in strikeouts, fourth in WHIP and fourth in opponents batting average. At the very least, Messick should be third in AL Cy Young voting if the season ended today, and one could argue he could be second.

Comparing a hitter’s season to a pitcher’s season can present challenges. McGonigle and Murakami have played well, but Messick is having a true Cy Young-caliber season. There is still plenty of baseball left to be played and it will be intriguing to see how Messick holds up over the final month of the ’26 campaign as a rookie.

With all of that being said, Parker Messick should win the AL Rookie of the Year Award this season.

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