First Impressions From Slade Cecconi's Cleveland Guardians Debut

The Cleveland Guardians may have been on the losing side of Saturday night's matchup with the Cincinatti Reds, but it wasn't a complete loss.

With Ben Lively on the injured list, Slade Cecconi was activated off the injured list and made his Guardians debut, and it couldn't have gone much better for the right-hander.

Cleveland's newest starting pitcher made a positive first impression during his team and season debut.

Cecconi's Efficent Outing

Stephen Vogt admitted before the game that he knew Cecconi hadn't been fully stretched out yet to get deep into the start. However, that didn't matter, considering how efficient he was.

Cecconi only threw 77 pitches, but still managed to work 5.0 innings, gave up five hits, allowed three earned runs, issued no walks, and tied a career-high with eight strikeouts.

He was attacking the zone with first-pitch strikes, which led to some short at-bats for Reds hitters.

Slade Cecconi throws a pitch — May 17, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Slade Cecconi (44) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds in the first inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

Slade The Strike Thrower

One of the biggest standouts from Cecconi's first appearance with the Guardians was his command of the zone. Out of his 77 pitches, the righty threw 67 of them for strikes.

It wasn't just one pitch hitting the zone either. Cecconi established his fastball command early, which set up plenty of whiffs from the slider and curveball.

By the end of Cecconi's start, he had generated 15 swings-and-misses.

Slade Cecconi, Elevated 98mph ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/1avsVaLd4w
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 17, 2025

Stephen Vogt's Reaction

Stephen Vogt was clearly impressed with what he saw from Cecconi, and that was clear in his comments after the game.

"I don't think we could have asked for much more out of Slade," said Vogt.

"I mean, first start with us, first real start since last year probably. So, outstanding job; gave us a chance to win [and] kept us in it. We couldn't have asked anything more from him."

"I really liked the mixture - the sinker, the breaking balls, the changeups. He used his mix really, really well all night."

It's only one start, but the efficient start Cecconi put together is a great first impression to make on his new organization.

Cecconi's Efficent Outing

Slade The Strike Thrower

Stephen Vogt's Reaction

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