Guardians' Zach Plesac: Uneven pitching in Cactus League
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Plesac has allowed eight runs on 15 hits with an 11:4 K:BB across 13 innings during Cactus League play.
Plesac is still projected for a spot in the Guardians' rotation, but his ineffective pitching in the spring is reason for concern. He was just alright a year ago with a 4.31 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 100:38 K:BB over 131.2 innings. Plesac should have a chance to get things sorted out early in the season, but strong work from Hunter Gaddis or Xzavion Curry at Triple-A Columbus could shake things up at the back of the rotation.
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Guardians' Zach Plesac: Avoids arbitration with Guardians
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Plesac signed a one-year, $2.95 million contract with the Guardians on Friday to avoid arbitration, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.
It's a nice salary bump for Plesac, who was in his first year of arbitration eligibility. The right-hander had an up-and-down 2022 campaign, finishing with a 4.31 ERA and 100:38 K:BB across 131.2 frames. For fantasy purposes, Plesac is likely to be a streaming option again in 2023.
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Guardians' Zach Plesac: Takes loss in return
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Plesac (3-12) gave up one earned run on seven hits and a walk while striking out one over 3.2 innings to take the loss in a 7-1 defeat to the Royals on Saturday.
Plesac allowed three straight two-out doubles in the top of the fourth, which gave the Royals all the run production they needed to hand Plesac his 12th loss of the season. Only one of the four runs that Plesac allowed were earned due to a throwing error by third baseman Gabriel Arias. It was Plesac's first start since August 28th when he fractured his pitching hand after punching the mound in frustration. The appearance is best viewed as a tune-up start before the Guardians finalize their postseason rotation. The 27-year-old right-hander finishes the regular season with an ERA of 4.34.
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Guardians' Zach Plesac: Activated prior to start
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Plesac (hand) was reinstated from the 15-day injured list ahead of Saturday's game against the Royals, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Plesac was initially slated to start Friday against Kansas City but was ultimately pushed back to Saturday. However, he'll officially have at least one more chance to pitch for the Guardians ahead of the playoffs. The right-hander will likely take on a bullpen role for Cleveland once the postseason begins.
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Guardians' Zach Plesac: Start pushed back to Saturday
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Plesac (hand) will now start Saturday's game against the Royals, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
The right-hander was initially slated to return from the injured list to start Friday's matchup against Kansas City, but he'll be pushed back a day since Aaron Civale will now take the mound Friday. The altered rotation plans also mean that Civale lines up to start Wednesday's regular-season finale, while Saturday's start will likely be Plesac's last of the regular season. It's possible that Plesac moves to a bullpen role during the playoffs.
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Guardians' Zach Plesac: Confirmed for Friday's start
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Plesac (hand) will be activated from the 15-day injured list to start Friday against the Royals, Tom Withers of the Associated Press reports.
Plesac is throwing a bullpen session Tuesday in advance of the start. He struck out five while allowing two hits and zero walks over five scoreless innings in his lone rehab start. Plesac could possibly start the final game of the season Oct. 5 as well, which is also at home against the Royals.
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Guardians' Zach Plesac: Lines up to start Friday
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Plesac (hand) is tentatively scheduled to return from the 15-day injured list to start Friday against the Royals, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Plesac landed on the injured list with a fractured right hand Sept. 2, but he should be able to make at least one start prior to the end of the regular season. He threw 45 pitches during a simulated game Tuesday, so it seems likely that he'll be on a pitch count during his return to game action. However, if the right-hander ultimately starts Friday's matchup, it's possible that he'll make another start during the Guardians' regular-season finale against Kansas City on Oct. 5.
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Guardians' Zach Plesac: Throws sim game
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Plesac (hand) threw 45 pitches in a simulated game Tuesday, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.
Plesac had no apparent setbacks after the sim game, so he's taken another step forward in his recovery. It's unclear what his next step will be, and it's also uncertain if he'll have enough time to get stretched out before the end of the regular season. With Cody Morris pitching fairly well in Plesac's absence, there may not be a spot in the rotation for the 27-year-old right-hander once he can return.
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Guardians' Zach Plesac: Begins throwing again
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Plesac (hand) was cleared to play catch from 90 feet last Friday and is expected to begin doing more baseball activities in the coming days, MLB.com reports.
Plesac was able to take the first meaningful step forward in his recovery from the fractured right hand after getting the green light from a specialist last week to start throwing again. Manager Terry Francona said that Plesac will be re-examined every six or seven days before advancing to the next phase of his rehab regimen, so he's likely still at least two weeks away from being at a point where he would be ready to pitch in a competitive setting. Due to the nature of his injury and the timing of his placement on the injured list, Plesac might not have enough time to get fully stretched out for a starting role and could be deployed out of the bullpen initially whenever he's activated.
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Guardians' Zach Plesac: To IL with fractured pitching hand
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Plesac was placed on the 15-day injured list Friday with a fractured right hand, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.
Considering this is Plesac's pitching hand, this probably means he is done for the regular season. Top prospect Cody Morris is starting in Plesac's place Friday and could stick in the rotation.
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Guardians' Zach Plesac: Scratched Friday with hand injury
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Plesac was scratched from Friday's scheduled start due to a right hand injury, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Highly regarded pitching prospect Cody Morris will be starting in Plesac's place. It's unclear how serious the injury is, but Meisel said more information will come soon on that front.
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Guardians' Zach Plesac: Wins quality start
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Plesac (3-11) earned the win during Saturday's 4-3 victory over Seattle, allowing three runs on three hits with six strikeouts in seven innings.
Making his first start since Aug. 16, Plesac limited the damage to three Seattle solo home runs and fell in line for the win after Cleveland scored three runs in the top of the eighth to take the lead. The 27-year-old tossed 65 of 95 pitches for strikes with 11 of the swinging variety en route to six strikeouts, and he's now struck out 27 batters across 28 innings over his last five starts despite posting a 7.0 K/9 on the season.
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Guardians' Zach Plesac: Pushed to back of pitching schedule
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Plesac is scheduled to make his next start for the Guardians on Saturday in Seattle.
As a result of the postponement of Sunday's game against the White Sox in addition to a team off day Monday, the Guardians will elect to reorder their rotation. Plesac will end up getting an extended break, as he'll be taking the hill on 10 days' rest following his most recent start Aug. 16 against the Tigers. The right-hander may look to do some tinkering in the meantime after he posted a 6.00 ERA and 1.81 WHIP across his last four outings.
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Guardians' Zach Plesac: Stuck with 11th loss
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Plesac (2-11) took the loss Tuesday, giving up four runs on nine hits and three walks over 5.1 innings as the Guardians were downed 4-3 by the Tigers. He struck out three.
Detroit jumped on Plesac for three runs in the top of the first inning, and Cleveland's offense was never able to climb out of the hole. The right-hander hasn't picked up a win since early June, posting a 4.18 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 52:24 K:BB through 64.2 innings to go with an 0-7 record over his last 12 outings.
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Guardians' Zach Plesac: Sleeper pitchers for Week 20 (Aug. 15-21)
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Plesac has been a mess recently but just delivered a gem against the 30th-ranked Tigers lineup Thursday, allowing one earned run in 6 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts. He'll be facing that same lineup again this week.
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Guardians' Zach Plesac: Excellent in no decision
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Plesac allowed one earned run on four hits and a walk while striking out seven across 6.1 innings Thursday against the Tigers. He did not factor into the decision.
Plesac entered the start having allowed nine earned runs across his last 9.1 innings and two appearances. However, he shut down the Tigers, with the primary damage coming against him on a solo homer by Javier Baez. It was also the first time that Plesac finished at least six innings in a span of five starts. Across 114.2 frames on the campaign, Plesac now has a 4.32 ERA and 90:34 K:BB.
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Guardians' Zach Plesac: Surrenders five runs
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Plesac (2-9) allowed five earned runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out seven across five innings to take the loss Saturday against the Rays.
Plesac allowed multiple home runs in a game for only the second time this season, which accounted for four of his five earned runs Saturday. Positively, he did manage 17 swinging strikes on 92 total pitches but that wasn't enough to avoid his fifth consecutive losing decision. After 19 starts on the campaign, Plesac has a 4.33 ERA and a 79:28 K:BB across 104 frames.
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Guardians' Zach Plesac: Handed eighth loss
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Plesac (2-8) allowed three runs on three hits and three walks over five innings Monday, striking out four and taking a loss against Boston.
Plesac gave up just one run through five frames before he was charged with two more in the sixth without recording an out in the inning. He's now 0-4 over his last eight starts despite a respectable 3.30 ERA during that span. The 27-year-old now owns a 4.09 ERA through 99 innings on the year. Plesac is expected to face the Rays on the road this weekend.
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Guardians' Zach Plesac: Sleeper pitchers for short Week 16 (July 21-24)
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After seven straight quality starts, Plesac has delivered back-to-back clunkers against low-scoring teams. With options limited for the shortened scoring period coming out of the All-Star break, he's worth another shot against a White Sox lineup that is itself suspect.
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Guardians' Zach Plesac: Coughs up five runs
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Plesac yielded five runs (two earned) on six hits over 3.2 innings in Friday's win over Detroit. He struck out three and did not factor in the decision.
Through three innings, the only damage against Plesac was a solo shot by Riley Greene. The 27-year-old righty then gave up four runs in the fourth, including a two-run double from Greene. Plesac is 0-3 despite a 3.03 ERA over his last seven outings. However, he's allowed nine runs (six earned) over his last two starts. On the year, Plesac is sporting a 4.02 ERA with a 68:23 KBB across 94 frames.
