Is Cal Quantrill about to have a Cy Young worthy season for the Cleveland Guardians

The Cleveland Guardians’ Cal Quantrill had a no-hitter in Spring Training, is he taking the next step to Cy Young contendership?

The Cleveland Guardians may have the best rotation in baseball if everything goes their way. Shane Bieber looked like a Cy Young contender to close out the 2022 season, while Triston McKenzie took the next step in his development and looked lights out. The Guardians’ back end of Aaron Civale and Zach Plesac are average guys at best but are better than a lot of other guys in the Majors.

The fifth piece to the rotation, Cal Quantrill, has shown his potential every day since his arrival in the Mike Clevinger trade. He was a long-reliever for the Padres and then took up a similar role with the Guardians upon his arrival. Then he moved to the starting rotation in 2021, where he did very well.

Then 2022 rolled around and he was one of the best 25 starters in baseball. Unlike his teammates Bieber and McKenzie, he’s not a heavy strike-out kind of guy, and he’s known to give up a long ball or two compared to other Guardians starters.

And while his spring training has been fine, he had a huge outing recently. Quantrill held the Giants hitless across 5 and 2/3 inning on Thursday. While it’s just Spring Training, if you coupled that strong outing against his past work and it’s possible he’s ready to take that next step.

Cal Quantrill could be the next Cy Young winner for the Cleveland Guardians

Considering last year was Quantrill’s first year as a full-time starting pitcher in the majors, he played very well. He’s someone who uses his accuracy and touch to get out of innings, as opposed to bowling over hitters with power and velocity.

That means that Quantrill could possess the tools needed for a long season, and avoid things like arm fatigue. While the no-hitter in Spring Training isn’t a sign that Quantrill is ready to take that next step on its own, it, coupled with the last two few seasons should be.

He’s maturing. His accuracy is getting better. He’s getting more comfortable throwing a higher volume. He’s at the age where he’s peaking as a talent. If Quantrill was ever going to develop into a Cy Young caliber guy, then this is the year where you should see him do so.