Messick’s elite four-seamer fuels another strong outing

CLEVELAND — Guardians lefty Parker Messick fired a 1-2 four-seam fastball to Ryan Kreidler in the fifth inning on Tuesday. The Twins shortstop offered at the pitch, which was well above the strike zone, but merely got a piece of it.

Kreidler turned to see that catcher Austin Hedges had held on to the foul tip to secure Messick’s fifth strikeout of the night.

In the Guardians’ 5-2 win over the Twins at Progressive Field on Tuesday, Messick struck out six batters over 5 2/3 innings, while allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits. He lowered his ERA to 2.68 and became the first Cleveland lefty to throw five-plus innings in his first 20 starts of a season since Cliff Lee in 2008.

Five of Messick’s six punchouts came on his four-seamer, which he threw 48 times (his third most in a start this season). In his stellar rookie campaign, that has been one of the most valuable offerings in the Major Leagues this season.

“He’s got a really unique, sneaky, quick heater. There’s something special about it,” said Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers, whose first-inning solo home run was the only earned run off Messick. “He’s an All-Star for a reason.”

Entering Tuesday, Messick’s four-seamer had a +19 run value, according to Statcast, which made it the third-most-valuable pitch in MLB. The only pitches ranked higher were Brewers starter Jacob Misiorowski’s four-seamer (+21) and Mets right-hander Nolan McLean’s sinker (+20).

You’re probably not surprised to see Misiorowski here. His fastball averages an MLB-leading 100.5 mph, while Messick’s heater averaged 93.9 mph through his first 19 starts. But opponents were hitting just .140 against Messick’s four-seamer with a .217 slugging percentage. They were hitting .179 with a .253 slugging percentage against Misiorowski’s.

“Nobody really counts a low-to-mid-90s lefty heater,” Messick said. “You kind of just count it out and think that you can get to it, and it really just sneaks up on guys. I think now, it’s starting to be one of those things where they know I have a good heater, and they’re going to start swinging at it more and trying to get the head out on it. That just opens things back up for other pitches.”

Messick theorized that some of his four-seamer’s success lies in execution, its profile, and its increased velocity: It averaged 92.8 mph last season. But much of it lies in how it plays off the rest of his arsenal, which also includes a changeup, a sinker, a curveball, a cutter and a slider.

Messick’s changeup is his putaway pitch, but there’s an element of disguise between it and his four-seamer. They look similar coming out of his hand but play differently. He throws his fastball at the top of the zone and his changeup at the bottom.

“The ball gets on you. It’s extremely sneaky,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said. “It plays harder than it is.”

Designated hitter Josh Bell said the Twins’ game plan was to give Messick the bottom with his changeup and be on top of his fastball up. They fouled off 11 of the 48 he threw and went 4-for-20 against the offering. Messick used his fastball to strike out Bell (first inning), Victor Caratini (second) and Luke Keaschall (third) looking. He got Keaschall with it swinging in the fifth before Kreidler’s foul tip.

Bell’s at-bat was a prime example of how much of a weapon Messick’s fastball is. He threw a sinker for a first-pitch strike. Bell laid off a 1-0 changeup low, and then fouled off a four-seamer up and a changeup inside. After he took another changeup low for ball two, Messick came back with another low offering. This time it was a four-seamer, which Bell took for strike three.

“He was diving balls down, sniping pitches on the bottom of the zone,” Bell said. “For the most part, for me, I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll give him that.’ And then, with two strikes, obviously, I have to be a little bit better. But I’ve just got to tip my cap.”

Messick celebrated being an All-Star this season. He’s firmly in the American League Rookie of the Year Award conversation, and might warrant AL Cy Young Award consideration down the line.

His fastball continues to be key to his success.

“You don’t get a chance to really learn it,” Hedges said. “Unless a guy just really isn’t on it, you’re not getting too many ‘heater, heater, heater, heater.’ A guy like Misiorowski might just blow four heaters in a row. Parker’s gonna throw a little sinker, maybe try and get you to ground out, then throw a changeup. Now you don’t know what it is.”