This page may contain affiliate links. If you click and sign up, make a deposit, or place a wager, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
Cecconi allowed one run on five hits and one walk while striking out five over four innings in Saturday's spring start against the Padres.
Cecconi made his third Cactus League and had traffic in all four innings. He induced two double-play groundouts to squelch a couple of potential rallies. The right-hander upped his pitch count to 53 (36 strikes) and has been much sharper in 2026 than he was year ago in his first spring training for the Guardians. Cecconi finished last spring with an ERA of 16.88 over 5.1 innings compared to his 3.12 over 8.2 frames this year.
... See More... See Less
Guardians' Slade Cecconi: Falters in third inning
Rotowire
Cecconi allowed two runs on three hits and one walk while striking out four over 2.2 innings in Monday's spring start against Texas.
Cecconi had two scoreless frames in his second Cactus League outing before Wyatt Langford took him deep in the third. The Rangers worked counts in all three innings, and the right-hander's day was done after 52 pitches (33 strikes). Cecconi is much more established than he was in 2025, when he was new to the Guardians. Coaches reworked his mechanics and pitch mix, per Tim Stebbins of MLB.com, adding a cutter and increasing his slider usage. The cutter was particularly effective Monday, generating six whiffs on 12 swings.
... See More... See Less
Guardians' Slade Cecconi: Works out of trouble
Rotowire
Cecconi allowed three hits and struck out one over two scoreless innings in Wednesday's spring start against Texas.
Cecconi made his Cactus League debut and was immediately forced to work out of jams. He was aided by a runner being thrown out at home plate, and he also stranded a runner at third base in the first inning and second base in the second. The good news was he didn't issue any walks, and he was around the zone (20 strikes among his 30 pitches). After serving in a hybrid starter/reliever role for the Diamondbacks in 2023 and 2024, Cecconi was a full-season starter for the Guardians in 2025. Results were mixed, but the right-hander showed enough to keep him in Cleveland's plans for the rotation in 2026.
Guardians' Slade Cecconi: Records seven outs in Game 3
Rotowire
Cecconi didn't factor into the decision during Thursday's loss to the Tigers, giving up one earned run on two hits and a walk while striking out three batters across 2.1 innings.
Cecconi kept the Tigers off the board through the first two innings of the game with little trouble, but back-to-back singles from the Tigers in the third were all manager Stephen Vogt needed to see to take his starter out of the game after just 47 pitches. Reliever Tim Herrin allowed one of the inherited runners to score, preventing Cecconi from finishing his Guardians postseason debut unblemished. With Cleveland now shifting its focus to the 2026 campaign, Cecconi should have a good chance at cracking the Opening Day rotation after turning in a 4.30 ERA and 1.19 WHIP across 132 innings in the regular season.
... See More... See Less
Guardians' Slade Cecconi: Settles in after dismal first frame
Rotowire
Cecconi (7-7) took the loss Friday against the Rangers, allowing four runs on five hits and one walk in four innings. He struck out three.
It was a pivotal game for the playoff-hopeful Guardians, but Cecconi was unable to deliver a positive performance. It was his shortest outing since Aug. 10 against the White Sox, though the right-hander at least managed to settle in for three scoreless innings after giving up all of his runs in the first. Cecconi will finish the regular season with a decent 4.30 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 109:32 K:BB over 132 innings, turning in 11 quality starts in 23 outings.
Guardians' Slade Cecconi: Blanks Minny for seventh win
Rotowire
Cecconi (7-6) picked up the win in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader sweep of the Twins, scattering two hits and a walk over seven scoreless innings. He struck out eight.
A Luke Keaschall double in the second inning represented the only Minnesota runner to get into scoring position against Cecconi, who racked up 33 called or swinging strikes among 98 pitches (60 total strikes) in arguably his best start in the majors to date. Over his last three outings, the right-hander has a 0.87 ERA, 0.53 WHIP and 15:5 K:BB through 20.2 innings as he wraps up 2025 on a roll and boosts the Guardians' remarkable late playoff push. Cecconi will try to carry that momentum into his final start of the year, which lines up to come at home next weekend against the Rangers.
... See More... See Less
Guardians' Slade Cecconi: Concedes two runs in no-decision
Rotowire
Cecconi allowed two runs on three hits and one walk over 5.2 innings while not factoring into the decision Sunday against the White Sox. He struck out four.
The 26-year-old gave up just two extra-base knocks in this 93-pitch appearance, and both scored the pair of runs he yielded. Miguel Vargas plated the first Chicago run with a double in the fourth before Chase Meidroth added a solo homer in the fifth. Cecconi has now pitched to a 4.39 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 98:30 K:BB across 121 total frames. The Cleveland right-hander projects to face off with divisional foes Minnesota for the first time in his career next weekend on the road.
Cecconi (6-6) earned the win Monday against the Royals, allowing one hit and three walks over eight scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
The Cleveland right-hander turned in his second scoreless outing of the season -- with the first coming June 22 against the Athletics -- as he picked up his 10th quality start. This dazzling performance was a welcome sight for Cecconi, who had struggled with a 6.19 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 35:8 K:BB across 52.1 innings in nine post-All-Star break starts. Through 115.1 total frames, the 26-year-old now sports a 4.45 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 94:29 K:BB. He currently lines up to make his next start at home against the White Sox this weekend.
... See More... See Less
Guardians' Slade Cecconi: Hit hard for seven runs
Rotowire
Cecconi allowed seven runs on 11 hits and no walks while striking out eight in 5.1 innings against the Red Sox on Tuesday. He did not factor into the decision.
Cecconi allowed a season-worst 11 hits and has now given up at least five runs in three of his last five starts. The Red Sox piled on four runs with six hits in the second and would add another three runs via the long ball. He's given up at least one home run in nine consecutive starts and has allowed 15 total in 11 outings since the start of July. A positive is he didn't issue a walk for a third straight start, and his eight strikeouts was one below his season high. Cecconi will look to rebound in a softer matchup versus Kansas City next week.
Guardians' Slade Cecconi: Produces another quality start
Rotowire
Cecconi didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 4-3 extra-inning win over the Rays, giving up three runs on six hits over six innings. He struck out four without walking a batter.
The right-hander delivered his second straight quality start on 99 pitches (63 strikes). Cecconi has five quality starts in eight outings since the All-Star break, but in the other three outings he got tagged for 19 runs (17 earned) in 16 innings, leaving him with a ragged 5.55 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 27:8 K:BB and 2.1 HR/9 over 47 frames during that span. With John Means (elbow) closing on on his Cleveland debut, either Cecconi or Parker Messick, who has been very impressive in his first two MLB starts, are likely to lose their spot in the rotation. Cecconi may get one last chance to make his case in his next start, which is scheduled to come on the road early next week in Boston.
Cecconi didn't factor into the decision against the Rangers on Friday, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out three over six innings. He did not issue a walk.
Both runs Cecconi surrendered came via the long ball, as Rowdy Tellez took him deep in the fifth inning and Wyatt Langford followed with a solo shot in the sixth. Home runs have been a consistent issue for Cecconi, who has now surrendered 19 homers across 96 innings this season. Despite the flaw, the right-hander has provided steady innings for Cleveland, and will carry a 4.41 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 79:26 K:BB into his next scheduled outing against the Rays.
Cecconi (5-6) took the loss against Atlanta on Saturday, allowing eight runs (six earned) on 10 hits and two walks while striking out three batters over 4.2 innings.
Cecconi got through a scoreless first inning but struggled thereafter. The biggest blow to his stat line came on a three-run homer by Michael Harris in the fifth. Cecconi failed to make it through five frames for the second straight start following a streak of six consecutive outings of six-plus innings. He's been particularly hurt by the long ball of late, serving up 11 homers across his past 52.2 frames. On the season, his 1.7 HR/9 is the eighth-worst figure among MLB hurlers who have thrown at least 80 innings.
0:20
11:34
9:07
0:38
0:29
1:50
0:38
1:50
1:46
1:14
1:54
1:25
0:38
0:49
1:43
0:59
8:58
1:14
1:14
0:50
