Parker Messick 6/18/26
LAB REPORTS
Parker Messick Gets Back on Track Thursday, Still a Quality Arm in All Formats
Cleveland Guardians' left-hander Parker Messick had a nice bounce-back start on Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers, where he tossed six innings of two-run ball while allowing four hits, three walks, and striking out nine. He generated 13 whiffs, nine of which came on his four-seamer, which was up 2.2 mph on the afternoon.
On the season, he now owns an impressive 2.70 ERA and 1.10 WHIP on the season with 91 strikeouts in 86 ⅔ innings pitched. Messick has stumbled over his past two starts, allowing seven earned runs and walking four with only eight strikeouts. Regardless, his season line has been nothing short of impressive for the 25-year-old, who was likely a late draft pick or undrafted in most formats coming into the season.
When we take a peek under the hood, while his average fastball velocity is in the 27th percentile (93.2 mph), his xERA, average exit velocity, chase percentage, strikeout percentage, barrel percentage, and hard-hit percentage all rank in the 70th percentile or better. While his xERA shows some signs of regression (3.34 xERA), even if that regression comes, Messick has been one of the more consistent arms in all of fantasy baseball.
His 41.6 percent whiff rate on his changeup, his best pitch, offsets the lack of velocity on his four-seamer. Even then, opponents are hitting .161 on his four-seamer, and his 16.8 inches of induced vertical break (IVB) is considered above-average compared to the rest of the MLB to help mask his lack of four-seam velocity.
Fantasy managers can continue to fire up Messick with confidence.
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