Cleveland Guardians 4 biggest disappointments at 2022 quarter pole

2. Cleveland Guardians disappointment: Zach Plesac

The right-hander is going through the roughest stretch of his big-league career, as some of his numbers are worse than what we saw during his rookie campaign back in 2019.

He enters the quarter pole 1-4 with a 5.40 ERA in eight starts. His walk rate (6.8%) is the highest its been since his first season (8.4%), while his strikeout rate (14.6%) is at its lowest.

Another key stat: Opposing batters are batting .280 against Plesac offerings, a shocking number considering the MLB average in 2022 is .237.

The Akron Beacon’s Journal noted Plesac recently spoke about infusing “some this athleticism into his delivery, instead of being so robotic.” That translated into allowing seven earned runs off nine hits during his last start, an implosion against the Astros.

The Guards aren’t going to give up on him yet, but if Plesac wants job security, he needs to put it into gear fast. The Guardians have some intriguing prospects on the 40-man roster and one, Konnor Pilkington, is getting a shot with Aaron Civale going on the IL.