Stephen Vogt Doesn't Hold Back On This Cleveland Guardians Pitcher

Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt has been impressed with the poise of rookie pitcher Joey Cantillo.

Aug 3, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Joey Cantillo (54) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports | Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Guardians' starting rotation has been a major point of contention this season. It has been one of the worst units in baseball, and injuries have forced manager Stephen Vogt to experiment more than he would have liked.

Take this past Saturday, for example.

Tanner Bibee was scheduled to start against the Baltimore Orioles, but shoulder soreness sidelined him. As a result, the Guardians turned to rookie Joey Cantillo, who made his first start on July 28.

Cantillo ended up pitching into the sixth inning against the Orioles, giving up three runs on six hits in 5.1 frames. He struck out four and didn't walk anyone.

While Cantillo has logged a 7.36 ERA in his first two big-league outings, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt sees potential in the young left-hander.

"I see a guy that doesn't get rattled and doesn't get shaken," Vogt said of Cantillo, via Michael Beaven of the Akron Beacon Journal. "He is ready to make every pitch and he is competitive. With Joey, I see that in him and I like when he is on the mound. I feel good. For him, he has got the stuff. He just hasn't gotten deep into a game."

Cleveland acquired Cantillo back in August 2020 in a trade that sent then-star pitcher Mike Clevinger to the San Diego Padres (the Guardians also landed Josh Naylor in that deal).

Cantillo has been a bit of a mixed bag in the minor leagues. In 2022, he went 4-3 with a 1.93 ERA while registering 87 punchouts over 60.2 innings of work at Double-A Akron.

Then, last season, Cantillo pitched to the tune of a 4.07 ERA in 26 outings across Double-A and Triple-A Columbus.

The impressive part about Cantillo's minor-league resume is his strikeout prowess, as he owns a career minor-league mark of 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings.

The Guardians just recalled Logan Allen from Triple-A and have in-season acquisitions Matthew Boyd and Alex Cobb making their likely debuts soon, so we may not see a whole lot more of Cantillo in 2024.

But perhaps Cantillo will carve out a significant role for Cleveland in the future.