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Guardians’ reliever makes jaw-dropping ALDS history

Originally posted on MLB on ClutchPoints
By Matt De Lima | Last updated Oct 12, 2024 3:14 PM ET

Cleveland Guardians’ Cade Smith became the first reliever to pitch in all five games of a Major League Divisional Series and broke the record for relievers with 12 strikeouts in a MLDS, per The Athletic’s Zack Meisel.

Smith appeared for 1.2 IP beginning in at the top of the third inning against the Detroit Tigers. He allowed one hit and struck out three. In the previous four games of the series, he pitched 4.2 IP, allowed one hit, one earned run, one walk and struck out nine. He also earned the win in Game 1.

The 25-year-old right hander showed out in his rookie season. He pitched 75.1 innings with a 1.91 ERA and 0.90 WHIP and 103 strikeouts.

In the fifth inning, the Guardians loaded the bases against Tarik Skubal. CF Lane Thomas connected for a grand slam, part of a five-run inning. In the top of the sixth, Cleveland leads 5-1.

Guardians’ reliever Cade Smith is the real deal

Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Cade Smith (36) pitches in the third inning against the Detroit Tigers during game five of the ALDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Progressive Field © Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Baseball purists love to deep dive analytics and models, so if you’re interested in that, FanGraphs delivers that kind of analysis of Cade Smith’s incredible fastball. Instead, I’ll highlight a section from Ben Clemens’ piece.

“Smith is just punking people with a plus fastball. He throws it more than two-thirds of the time, as you might expect for such an excellent pitch. He gets swinging strikes on 13% of those fastballs, in the 80th percentile for major leaguers. He also generates popups on a staggering 37.5% of his fly ball contact. That’s 16 fly balls, six of which have been popped up harmlessly to infielders, a truly staggering rate. Weak contact and plenty of swinging strikes? It’s no wonder Smith leans on his heater.

“That mismatch between expected and actual movement has a lot to do with his fastball’s success, but that’s certainly not all there is. We’ve already noted Smith’s above-average velocity. He gets elite extension, which means that velocity plays up even a little bit more. Put it all together, and we’re talking about a strange pitch.”

Smith also is rapidly developing a splitter to go along with his slider and fastball. The Guardians are blessed with a great bullpen, anchored by Emmanuel Clase, and it’s carried them far this season. But teams rarely stockpile bullpen arms long term so what’s the next step for a franchise with so many young players?

This article first appeared on MLB on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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