“He has the best people on the staff. His pitches are moving in all directions.”
Those words, spoken to me in the Progressive Field press box in late September, came from someone who had not only watched the Cleveland Guardians regularly throughout the season, but someone whose background includes playing in the major leagues. His assessment of the 25-year-old southpaw Joey Cantillo was based on both experience and expertise. (Since we were talking informally, I choose not to mention him by name.)
Cantillo’s numbers in his first full Major League season suggest he has a bright future. Initially pitching in Cleveland’s starting rotation in early July, the Honolulu native went on to post a 2.96 ERA, a 3.21 FIP and a 25.9% strikeout rate over 13 appearances consisting of 67 innings. Counting his 21 appearances as a reliever, he posted a 3.21 ERA, a 3.55 FIP and a 26.9% strikeout rate over 95 1/3 frames in 2025. All told, Cantillo held opposing hitters to a .217 average and a wOBA of .289.
The southpaw was originally drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 16th round of the 2017 draft out of a high school in Kailua, Hawaii. (Coincidentally, the Minnesota Twins took Cleveland reliever two picks earlier Cade Smith from a high school in British Columbia, but he eschewed signing and attended the University of Hawaii). The Guardians then acquired Cantillo in August 2020 as part of a nine-player trade Mike Clevinger, Austin HedgesAnd Josh Naylor.
Cantillo sat down to discuss his development trajectory and his four-pitch arsenal in the final week of the regular season.
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David Laurila: How much have you changed since you came here from San Diego?
Joey Cantillo: “A bunch. When I first came here, I didn’t really throw very hard. I was one of those guys where it was like, ‘Hey, if he can throw harder, he can really do some good things.’ When I came here it was, ‘Hey, let’s start moving the body faster, putting the body in better positions and using it better.’
“That’s what we focused on for the first few years, and it was a struggle. When you’re on the mound thinking about things like body positions, it takes away from your over-focus at times. I had to learn to balance that. Mechanics and competition are two different things.”
Laurila: What have you done mechanically to improve your delivery?
Cantillo: “It started with a lot of glute work, getting into my hips and getting some better hinge patterns — general movement stuff — and from there we increased my pace a little bit. We worked on my rhythm, moving with speed and power down the hill. It was kind of a blending of those two things: the form of the delivery, and then the speed of the delivery.”
Laurila: Didn’t that happen with the Padres?
Cantillo: “When I first started there, it was a lot more developmental. I wasn’t a big prospect or anything like that, so it was kind of like, ‘Hey, go out there and perform. Go out there and see what you can do.’ We had good pitching coordinators there, we just never really focused on speed, or too much from a mechanical standpoint. Being at a young age and in my first few years in pro ball, I think, “Let’s just get out there,” was fine. ‘
Laurila: How much has your speed increased?
Cantillo: “When I was drafted, I was 86 to 89 years old [mph]. Slowly, over the last few years… in 2021 I had an oblique injury, and when I came back from that, I threw a lot more 91s and 92s. The first time I made a big jump was in 2022. That’s when I started throwing more consistently in the mid-90s. In 2023 I actually threw a little harder than I do now [91.7 on average with the four-seamer in 2025]. We’re trying to get back there slowly. That’s something I’ll focus on this offseason, to get some of that strength back.”
Laurila: Has the motion profile of your fastball changed at all?
Cantillo: “No, I think I’ve always been a guy who stays behind the ball and drives the baseball. Right now I think I can drive somewhere between 16 and 20 inches. I’m also getting a little more run back, so it’s a little bit more of a true fastball, whereas in the past I’ve had a little bit of a cut ride sometimes. I think I could probably average about six to seven horizontally, on the arm side, and 17 to 18.” [vertical] on a good day.”
Laurila: The change has always been a big step for you…
Cantillo: “Yes. I threw the same changeup in high school. My high school coach – his name is Corey Ishigo – taught it to me, although I didn’t have to use it that much. My first year in pro ball, they told me to throw my changeup from 100 feet every day, and the more I did that, the more comfortable I felt. Over the years, throwing it more and more has gotten better.”
Laurila: How do you approach your change?
Cantillo: “It’s a Vulcan. I think more guys have gone to one. It’s a comfort thing. A lot of guys throw splitters, but it’s something your fingers can do. A Vulcan is just another way to create some friction and affect the baseball in a different way. If I just made a circle [change]I don’t think I would get the velo differential or the motion profile at all. I get more of the traditional side spin, but with the split grip.
Laurila: More broadly, is there anything you’ve done in the last two years to really take that next step and reach the big leagues?
Cantillo: “I think it’s mostly about trusting my stuff and landing everything in the strike zone. I have unique shapes. I have the big curveball, the changeup, a good fastball. I also mix it up a little bit more with the slider; if I have that to throw against lefties, I get out a lot. Throwing four pitches competitively in the strike zone plays.”
Laurila: How big is your curveball?
Cantillo: “I think the vertical depth averages about eight inches, so it’s kind of a downer curveball. But really, it’s not one specific pitch, or one specific thing. It’s just that when you have different pitches that move in different ways, the hitter has more to think about. The big overhand curveball, the fastball that plays up top, then a changeup and a slider that goes in two different directions… the hitters have to deal with all of these things.”
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