The Cleveland Guardians pitching factory is set to debut its newest product.

Parker Messick will make his first big league start for the Guardians today in the third-game of a three-game road series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Messick, 24, was drafted by the Guardians in the second round of the 2022 MLB draft with the 54th pick. He represented the Guardians at the All-Star Futures Game in July.

Messick will go up against Diamondbacks starter Brandon Pfaadt. First pitch at Chase Field is scheduled for 3:40 p.m.

Here are a few things to know about Messick:

How tall is Parker Messick?

The Guardians list the left-handed Messick as being 6 feet tall and 225 pounds.

Parker Messick stats

This season for the Triple-A Columbus Clippers, Messick has a 3.47 ERA while striking out 119 batters in 98 2/3 innings pitched to go with 42 walks.

Last season, he pitched for Akron and Lake County, compiling a 2.83 ERA with 165 strikeouts in 133 2/3 innings pitched.

The Cleveland #Guardians have three pitchers in the top 15 for the most strikeouts in all minor league baseball since the start of the 2024 season.

3) LHP Parker Messick 284
5) LHP Matt Wilkinson 276
13) RHP Austin Peterson 261#GuardsBall

— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) August 19, 2025Parker Messick rated the No. 12 Guardians prospect in their farm system

According to MLB Pipeline, Messick is the Guardians’ 12th best prospect in the farm system. That places him third among pitching prospects behind Khal Stephan and Braylon Doughty.

Here’s how they described Messick’s repertoire:

Messick’s great equalizer is his tumbling low-80s changeup, which elicits plenty of chase and swings and misses, along with well-above-average grades from some evaluators. It helps him miss bats with his low-90s fastball, which also benefits from a flat approach angle and good carry up in the zone. He has mostly scrapped his upper-70s curveball and turned what had been an upper-70s slider into a more cutterish mid-80s version that played as an average offering last year.

What Guardians pitching coach Carl Willis said about Parker Messick’s MLB debut

Here’s what Guardians pitching coach Carl Willis said about Messick on Tuesday:

“We just want (Messick) to be (himself). I mean, you know, you’ve worked your whole life to get here. You’ve worked, obviously, throughout your minor league career, with our minor league coaches, everything else. Just go be the best version of yourself you can be today.”

Where is Parker Messick from?

Messick was born Oct. 26, 2000, in Plant City, Florida.

Did Parker Messick go to college? What were his college stats?

Messick went to college at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida.

In three collegiate seasons with the Seminoles, Messick went 16-8 as a pitcher with a 3.10 ERA across 200.1 innings pitched. He struck out 289 batters in those 200-plus innings.