DETROIT - Stephen Vogt didn’t need long at Comerica Park on Thursday to get the point.
The Guardians manager watched a game loaded with young talent and came away convinced the American League Central is about to stay crowded for a while. Cleveland had three rookies with strong Rookie of the Year cases in left-hander Parker Messick, outfielder Chase DeLauter and second baseman Travis Bazzana.
Detroit’s Kevin McGonigle is in that conversation, too. And center fielder Max Clark, fresh in the mix, helped make the case with a 12-pitch battle against Cade Smith.
“There’s five guys on the field today that should be in consideration for Rookie of the Year,” Vogt said. “It’s going to be a tough division for a long time. There’s a lot of really good players.”
He added: “It’s fun to see young talent going at it,” Vogt said, “and it’s going to be fun for a long time.”
Messick was the clearest example of what Vogt was talking about. He came into Thursday’s start against Detroit at 9-6 with a 2.57 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 136 2/3 innings, leading qualified rookies in ERA and WHIP at 1.04. He also ranked second among rookies in strikeouts and wins, was tied for second in innings and had held opponents to a .209 average.
Vogt said what stands out most is how fast Messick has learned to lean into what got him to the majors.
“I think that’s what the best pitchers do,” Vogt said. “They pitch to their strengths.
They know where they can go with certain hitters. They know the scouting reports, but at the end of the day, a pitcher’s best stuff is going to beat good hitting.”
Messick entered Thursday on a run of six straight starts with two or fewer earned runs allowed, putting up a 1.77 ERA across 35 2/3 innings. His 2.60 ERA over his first 30 career starts was Cleveland’s best since Gene Bearden’s 2.47 in 1948.
DeLauter has also been right in the middle of the rookie race. He started Thursday with 13 home runs and 57 RBI, sitting second among AL rookies in hits and RBI, third in total bases and fifth in homers. Since coming back from a cracked rib on June 28, he has hit .315 with six homers, 23 RBI and an .894 OPS in 37 games.
Then there’s Angel Genao, 22, who has barely been in the majors a week and still managed to make a splash. He became the first player in franchise history to collect four hits in his major league debut, and he has reached base in six of his first seven games.
Vogt said the rapid rise of young players doesn’t surprise him. Part of it, he said, is the way the game is built now, with fewer minor league teams at every level and organizations pushing prospects through faster. But he also pointed to a broader change in the players themselves.
“The guys getting drafted today are more skilled than anybody at any time,” Vogt said. “People are training to be professional baseball players from the time they’re 12, right, wrong, indifferent, however you want to slice it, agree with it, disagree with it, but that’s just the way it is.”
He also believes the modern game has made the transition less overwhelming. Prospects can study big league pitching whenever they want, watch video, track exit velocity and other numbers, and line themselves up against players already in the majors.
“These guys aren’t big-eyed,” Vogt said. “Part of it is social media, part of it is access to big league video. ...
Now these guys are watching Major League pitching. You can break it down, you can see what they’re doing.”
That access, Vogt said, can even fuel confidence.
“You can measure your metrics to see if you’re hitting the ball like they’re like, ‘Oh, I can hit the ball just as hard as so-and-so,’” Vogt said. “So you get here and you’re confident.”
For Cleveland, that confidence has shown up quickly in Messick, DeLauter, Bazzana and now Genao. And Vogt sees Detroit and the rest of the Central building the same kind of foundation.
“It’s just a byproduct of where we’re at,” he said.
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