The Guardians have a pretty enviable problem on their hands entering the American League Division Series: two starters, Parker Messick and Gavin Williams, both look like real answers for Game 1.
That’s the decision Cleveland is staring at now, and nobody around the club seems eager to pretend it’s obvious. After the Guardians wrapped up their third straight AL Central title, Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast host Joe Noga went straight to the heart of it.
“That question is who starts games one and two of the American League Division Series?” he said.
“I think it pretty safe to say it’s some combination of Parker Messick and Gavin Williams, but who gets the ball in game one?”
Even Paul Hoynes, one of the veteran voices on the beat, couldn’t force a clean pick. “I’m flipping a coin on this one,” Hoynes admitted.
“I don’t know which way they go. I think probably they’re leaning toward Williams, but I’m not sure.”
Williams has the obvious edge in one category: he’s already been there. He finished the regular season with 14 wins, and Hoynes pointed to that October background as a real factor.
“You maybe go with Gavin Williams experience,” Hoynes said. “He’s been through this before.
The postseason is not new to him.”
There’s also the reality of how he closed the season. Williams had a rough start against Kansas City late in the regular season, and whether that outing sticks in the minds of the decision-makers is still an open question.
Messick, though, has built a rookie season that demands attention. He made 32 starts, won 12 games and finished with an ERA under two.
The number that really makes the season pop is the strikeout total. Hoynes called it “most strikeouts by a rookie since, since Herb Score in 1955.
I mean, you say Herb Score in Cleveland, you’re saying something and you do something that puts your name in the same sentence as his, that’s an accomplishment.”
There’s also a matchup case for the left-hander. Noga said Messick’s numbers against both possible ALDS opponents - Houston and Chicago - “stack up as good as anybody’s” in the playoff field. Depending on which team survives the Wild Card round, that left-handed look could matter in Cleveland’s planning.
The schedule helps make the choice less severe, too. With off days built into the five-game series, the Guardians can get both Messick and Williams into the rotation more than once if they need to.
That’s part of why Hoynes doesn’t see this as a decision with a bad outcome. “I don’t think you can do make a wrong move here,” he said.
Noga sounded similarly comfortable with either option, even if he thinks the organization may still lean toward Williams. But Messick’s own attitude might be the cleanest argument for him.
Noga said the rookie’s response was simple: “I don’t know when I’m starting. I have no idea.
So just whenever that timeframe is, just work on whatever I can to be ready to rock and roll.”
For a choice this close, that kind of calm may be exactly what Cleveland wants to see.
In Other News...
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Craig Yoho and Daniel Schneemann have emerged as the most obvious names in the conversation, a reminder that even after a season of getting this far, the postseason can still ask for a hard choice or two. The final call has not been made yet, and for a team trying to line up the right mix for a short series, the last cuts may matter more than they look on paper. [Read more 🡒]
Parker Messick Just Gave Guardians Fans Another Reason To Love Him
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Messicks season line tells part of the story, with a 12-9 record and a 2.55 ERA underscoring how important he has become to the rotation. He is expected to start the regular season finale and then take on a key role in the American League Division Series, giving Guardians fans one more reason to feel good about where this team stands heading into October. [Read more 🡒]