T.J. Messick

Mike Lucas argued that Parker Messick deserved more recognition in the AL Rookie of the Year race, saying the Guardians pitcher was more impactful and consistent than Kevin McGonigle but was disadvantaged by the award’s format. “Parker Messick was a better pitcher this year than Kevin McGonigle was a shortstop. I have an issue with how the award’s given out. And it’s nothing against McGonigle, who had a great season. Parker Messick is going to finish much higher in the Cy Young Award voting than McGonigle will in the MVP voting in the American League. Despite the fact that the Guardians had all their ups and downs this year, that guy, that rookie, was their most consistent pitcher throughout the regular season. He was the stabilizing factor on that staff. He gets penalized in the Rookie of the Year voting because McGonigle played every day and Parker Messick’s a starter who pitches one out of every five games, which is why the award should be the American League Rookie Pitcher of the Year and American League Rookie Hitter of the Year because there’s no way you could tell me that Kevin McGonigle had a better overall rookie season than Parker Messick did." (via @ultCLEsports)

Parker Messick credited the Guardians’ coaching, training and support staff for helping him succeed in his rookie season, saying his main goal was to make every start and pitch as deep into games as possible. “I’ve been blessed with the team I’m playing for. They’re great with their arms. Our training staff, strength conditioning, pitching coaches, everyone kind of partners together. That really helped me as a rookie. It was a blessing to be able to go in and be with people who wanted to help me succeed and be out on the field every time. My goal since being drafted is just to take the ball every time the team wants to hand it to me. That was a big goal for me, is to make every single one of the starts and pitch as deep as I could into the year. That’s what I did. It turned out to be a good one." (mlb.com/guardians/video/park…)