2025 Cleveland Guardians Prospect Scouting Report: #12 LHP Parker Messick

Is Messick ready to take the leap and debut in 2025?

Bio

• Age (2025 season): 24

• Acquired: Draft (2022, 2nd Round)

• 2024 Level: Double-A

• Rule 5: 2025

• Height: 6’0

• Weight: 225

• Throws: Left

2025 Scouting Grades

• Fastball: 50

• Slider: 50

• Curveball: 45

• Changeup: 55

• Command: 50

• Overall: 45

• Risk: Moderate

• ETA: 2026

First impression

Pitchability lefty with a sneaky fastball, good command, plus changeup, high energy and deceptive delivery.

What Makes Messick Fun

If you're into pitchability, deceptive lefties with power changeups, Messick is your kind of pitching prospect. He knows how to kill spin with his changeup and he throws with good arm speed to increase deception and separate his fastball from his changeup. Dives away from right-handers and dies under bats. He's not afraid to throw it to lefties either and he's not afraid to throw it in any count. He has confidence in what is a well above average pitch, possibly plus. His deceptive delivery creates a shallow approach angle on his fastball that helps it play up over a low-90s velocity sneaking by hitters and getting swings and misses in the zone. His fastball and changeup are good enough for him at this stage of the minors, though he mixes in what looks to be an average slider that can also get swings and misses. He has confidence in the slider to throw it behind and counts as well. He controls everything well and generally limits walks and can suppress contact. Curveball is a little slurvy but gives him a different look. Has improved control and conditioning more since he's gotten into the system. Deceptive delivery arm angle plus changeip really drive the profile. Has enough stuff now to profile as a potential back end starter.

What Could Hold Messick Back

Despite it’s deception, Messick's velocity is still in a lower range where making a mistake in the majors could leave him susceptible to damage. He'll need good location with the fastball on top of the deception to make it work at the current velocity. He may be change up dependent and will need to be in counts where he can use it effectively. The curveball can be a little bit slurvy at times and it's a clear fourth pitch. Slider could be a little tighter as well. Delivery is a bit noisy despite his control in the minors. Despite his decent walk rates, he does run up higher pitch counts at times and can miss at the top with his fastball. Against upper level hitting he may not get swings off the black the way he currently does. He'll need to prove that his command can hold up against upper level hitters. Delivery may prevent him from repeating his minor league control metrics. Has improved body type as he's gotten in the pros and could continue to refine this. Could continue to find more fastball velocity.

Key Metric

17.1% - Messick was able to increase his swing strike rate and strikeout rate while maintaining the same walkrate when hitting Double-A in 2024 pitching the same amount of innings. Double-A hitters had just as a hard of time making contact against him, showing he was ready for the level and that his stuff can get swings and misses now at the upper levels of the minors.

Intangibles

Energetic competitor and isn't afraid to show emotion on the mound and pitch with it under control. Has worked hard on conditioning in the pros and improving his stuff. Good marks for being a good teammate and competitor. Smart about the craft of pitching.

Future

Cleveland has slow played Messick's rise in the minors. In 2023 given where he came from in college, he probably didn't need to face lower level hitting. He probably could have been in Double-A to start 2024, not that he was without challenges. He should be ready for Triple-A at some point in 2025. He'll need to test how much control he has and how effective it is against better hitters to avoid walks and traffic to overcome what is not overpowering stuff despite his plus change up. We will see if his fastball continues to work against upper level hitters and the deception is real. Triple-A has been an adjustment for a lot of Cleveland pitchers with Messick's profile. He's not dissimilar to Logan Allen where he relies on a low 90s fastball with deception and a plus changeup. Allen’s slider might have been a little better than Messick's at this stage. He should have enough control of a fastball and changeup that should allow him to be a potential backing starter with five and fly type stuff.

Role/Risk

45/Moderate - Backend five and dive type starter/depth arm