Slade

Cecconi

Cecconi struck out four and allowed one walk. He surrendered only three hits, but one of them was a gargantuan homer to Rangers offensive catalyst Wyatt Langford. He averaged a robust 95.3 mph on his four-seam fastball, which is up a tick from last year’s results, and he coaxed an impressive nine swinging strikes to finish with a solid 29 percent CSW. The 26-year-old won’t generate a ton of buzz fantasy-wise this spring but he’s the type of late-round pitcher that tends to exceed the market’s expectations.

Cecconi sat in the mid-90’s consistently with his four-seam fastball and required just 30 pitches (20 strikes) to spin a pair of frames. The 26-year-old righty doesn’t offer the strikeout upside to envision a massive fantasy breakthrough, but he should benefit from pitching in the AL Central and represents a decent back-end rotation stabilizer in drafts this spring.

Cecconi struck out three batters in the abbreviated outing while issuing one base on balls. He kept the Tigers off the board through the first two innings but allowed back-to-back one-out singles to Parker Meadows and Gleyber Torres in the third inning before turning the ball over to the bullpen — and Meadows ultimately scored against the Guardians’ bullpen. The 26-year-old hurler got six whiffs on 47 pitches on the day, posting a CSW of 30 percent. He should have the inside track at a spot in the Guardians’ rotation to open the 2026 campaign.

This always seemed like a logical option once Gavin Williams was announced as the Game 1 starter. Joey Cantillo should be able to provide bulk innings out of the bullpen for this series.

Cecconi was done in by a bad first inning here. He walked the first batter of the game before a single, double, and two-out, three-run home run. Those would wind up being the only four runs he’d give up, but the damage was done. The 27 pitches he threw in that frame made it difficult for him to pitch deeply in this game and he wasn’t particularly sharp after that either, missing badly with too many of his breaking balls. It was not a great finale after working his way to being a trusted starter in the Guardians’ rotation over the course of the season.

Cecconi’s velocity has been trending up recently, and he averaged 95.2 mph with his fastball and 78.3 mph with his curve today. It’s just the second time he’s averaged 95 mph with the heater this year, and it was easily a new high for the curve, which has averaged 75.3 mph on the season. He’s allowed a total of two runs and six hits over 20 2/3 innings in his last three starts, lowering his ERA from 4.78 to 4.15. In the process, he’s gone from being an adequate stopgap to someone who probably belongs in the Guardians’ 2026 rotation plans. He’ll finish the regular season next week against Texas.

A solo homer from Chase Meidroth was one of the three hits he allowed. Cecconi was roughed up by the Red Sox in his first start this month, but he’s pitched well in four of five outings. Unfortunately, that’s produced just one win for him, and his latest no-decision keeps him 6-6 with a 4.39 ERA. He’ll face the Twins next.

Michael Massey delivered a clean single to start the eighth, only to be immediately erased on a double play afterwards. The shutout was spoiled in the ninth by Zak Kent. It’s the second time in his career that Cecconi has completed eight innings, though he gave up six runs to the Athletics the first time on July 18. He struck out just three and gave up 10 hard-hit balls tonight, so it wasn’t the kind of dominant performance the line suggests. It was pretty much the opposite of last week, when he fanned eight in 5 1/3 innings against the Red Sox but gave up 11 hits and seven runs anyway. Cecconi is now 6-6 with a 4.45 ERA. He’s due to face the White Sox next.

Quite the odd outing. Cecconi fanned eight and walked none, but he gave up 11 hits, two of them homers. He had 15 whiffs while throwing just 82 pitches, but 14 of the 18 balls in play against were hit hard, including the four hardest-hit balls of the game. Cecconi’s ERA is up to 4.78, and he hasn’t won since July 18. He might soon find himself replaced in the rotation by John Means, but as is, he’s due to start Monday against the Royals.

Cecconi showed a little more velocity than usual today, averaging 94.9 mph with his fastball and topping out at 97.5 mph, but he still wound up with just six missed swings and a 25% CSW. Since improving to 5-4 with a 3.84 ERA on July 18, he’s 0-2 with a 5.35 ERA in his last seven starts. It’s possible he’ll finish the season in the pen if the rehabbing John Means is added to the rotation next month.