CLEVELAND, Ohio — Slade Cecconi had thrown the ball well on several occasions since the middle of July but the Guardians right-hander had not experienced the kind of results he was looking for in his last half-dozen starts prior to Monday’s outing against Kansas City.
Manager Stephen Vogt said the missing ingredient had been pinpoint command of a pitch that Cecconi throws unlike anybody in the big leagues. Vogt said he marvels at Cecconi’s curveball — a pitch that profiles slower than the typical major league curve, with a shape that is bigger than most others.
“It still has teeth, it’s still sharp coming down, and that’s what he was missing there for that month,” Vogt said. “It just wasn’t sharp, but it’s not an easy pitch to throw.”
Uncle Charlie finally arrived when Cecconi faced the Royals as the 26 year old came within five outs of making history at Progressive Field, taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning before Kansas City’s Micheal Massey broke it up with a leadoff single during Cleveland’s 10-2 win.
Cecconi’s dominant outing was built largely on his distinctive curveball, throwing 26 of his 30 breaking balls to left-handed hitters. The pitch is a key weapon in his arsenal, helping him put away just over 20% of the batters he has retired this season.
“Not a lot of people in the league throw a curveball like I throw it – it’s bigger, it’s slower,” Cecconi said. “It really complements my fastball. They have almost exact opposite movement patterns.”
What made Monday’s outing special was Cecconi’s command of the pitch, which he described as the best he’s had all season. The strategy proved particularly effective against a Royals lineup stacked with seven left-handed bats.
Vogt noted that despite some early command issues, Cecconi showed resilience throughout the game.
“His command wasn’t great in the first few innings,” Vogt said. “He spiked a lot of pitches throughout the night, but he kept executing and making pitches when he needed to. But Slade came out and was sharp when he needed to be and it turned into an unbelievable outing.”
Cecconi’s curve was effective despite not generating a lot of swing-and-miss opportunities. Royals hitters swung at 12 of his 30 curves and missed only twice. But they generate an average of just 73 mph in exit velocity on the pitches they did connect with, compared to 96.1 mph average exit velo on his fastballs. The relatively weak contact allowed Cecconi to navigate eight innings while striking out just three batters.
“He used all of his pitches, he located well and he stayed away from the plate for the most part,” Massey told reporters afterward. “He had his stuff, lived on the corner and changed speeds.”
Royals rookie outfielder Jac Caglianone tipped his cap to the Guardians starter.
“He had all the stuff working and he hit all the spots,” Caglianone said.
The performance highlighted Cecconi’s development since joining Cleveland. He’s focused on refining his delivery, shaping pitches, and building his arsenal while working closely with the team’s pitching staff.
“From day one when I got traded here through the entire first half (of the season) there was a lot of delivery work,” Cecconi said. “All of that has accumulated to now focusing more on strategy and how do I play the game the best way?”
Had Cecconi completed the no-hitter, it would have been the first in the majors this season and ended Cleveland’s 44-year drought without one.
Moving forward, Cecconi’s curveball could become more of a featured pitch in his arsenal as he talked about working it more into the gameplan.
“It kind of worked out well that I had the best command of it tonight that I’ve had all season,” Cecconi said. “When you pair that with strategy of how to use it, things go well.”
Staying out of the middle of the plate with fastballs is another focus for Cecconi, and Monday’s outing allowed him to do exactly that. He talked afterward about how the pitch has performed at an outlier level to both righties and lefties and that regardless of the scouting report, it is a pitch that he needs to utilize more often, rather than giving in and throwing fastballs to hitters when he is behind in counts in order to make them earn their way on base.
“You never want to walk a guy, but you also have to pay attention to what the game is telling you,” Cecconi said. “The game telling me right now to stay further out of the way from the middle and trust that I have the command to execute and find locations behind in the count and that walks don’t necessarily kill me.”
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