Cleveland Guardians left-hander Parker Messick finished second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting announced Monday night, November 9, falling short of Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, the Akron Beacon Journal reported.
McGonigle won the award with 28 of the 30 first-place votes and 204 points, according to the voting totals reported by NESN. Messick collected the other two first-place votes and 122 points to finish as the runner-up, while Boston Red Sox pitcher Payton Tolle placed third with 54 points, NESN reported.
Messick’s case rested on one of the finest seasons ever turned in by a Cleveland rookie pitcher. He went 12-9 with a 2.56 ERA across 32 starts, striking out 193 batters in 186 1/3 innings with a 1.06 WHIP, according to the season lines reported by the Akron Beacon Journal and NBC Sports. Sports Wire Live reported that his 6.3 wins above replacement was the best mark by a Cleveland rookie pitcher since Vean Gregg in 1911.
The left-hander did it as the front man of a young Guardians rotation, taking the ball every fifth day from opening week through a postseason run that included two American League Division Series starts against the Chicago White Sox, according to NBC Sports’ player reporting.
McGonigle, meanwhile, was the runaway choice on the position-player side. The 22-year-old Detroit infielder hit .278 with a .376 on-base percentage, scored 97 runs, hit 18 home runs and drove in 72 runs across 156 games, USA Today reported. He is the sixth Tiger to win the award and the first since Michael Fulmer in 2016, USA Today reported.
Monday’s result is not the end of Messick’s awards week. He is also a finalist for the American League Cy Young Award, which will be announced Wednesday night, November 11, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. According to Sports Wire Live, Messick is the first player nominated for both awards in the same year since Paul Skenes in 2024.
His finish also carries a tangible prize for the franchise. MLB Trade Rumors reported that Messick’s top-three finish in the Cy Young voting earns Cleveland an extra draft pick after the first round of the 2027 draft under Major League Baseball’s Prospect Promotion Incentive, the same mechanism that rewarded Detroit for McGonigle’s Rookie of the Year win.
Messick’s rise was fast. After making his major league debut toward the end of 2025, he claimed a rotation spot and never gave it back, the Akron Beacon Journal reported, finishing with the sixth-best ERA among qualified American League starters and the seventh-most innings pitched in the majors, according to Sports Wire Live.
The ballots behind him were nearly unanimous in his favor for second place: beyond his two first-place votes, Messick appeared second on 25 ballots, third on two and fourth on one, MLB Trade Rumors reported. It was the strongest showing by a Cleveland pitcher in the voting in years, and it came in a season when he also made two postseason starts.
Ohio fingerprints were all over Monday’s awards in both leagues. Cincinnati Reds first baseman Sal Stewart won the National League Rookie of the Year Award, NBC Sports reported, and MLB Trade Rumors noted that Stewart’s win likewise secured Cincinnati a Prospect Promotion Incentive draft pick — meaning both of Ohio’s major league clubs leave awards season with an extra high pick in the 2027 draft.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on
What we know: the Rookie of the Year race is settled — McGonigle first, Messick second, Tolle third — and Messick’s season is already recorded as one of the best by a rookie pitcher in Cleveland history. What we’re still waiting on: Wednesday night’s Cy Young announcement, which decides whether Messick’s year ends with a top-three finish in the league’s top pitching award as well, and brings the Guardians their bonus 2027 draft pick with it.
Cleveland fans tracking the rest of awards season can also revisit NewsForce247’s coverage of the Guardians’ October run, including the Cavaliers’ early-season form across town as Cleveland’s winter sports calendar takes over.
What happens next: the Cy Young Award winners in both leagues are announced Wednesday night, November 11. After that, the Guardians’ front office turns to the offseason with a 25-year-old ace at the top of its rotation and one extra high draft pick to spend next summer — a consolation prize most runner-up finishes never deliver.