The Guardians will turn to right-handed pitching prospect Xzavion Curry to start the second game of today’s doubleheader, manager Terry Francona announced (Twitter link via Cleveland.com’s Joe Noga). He’ll need to have his contract formally selected to the 40-man roster, which is currently at capacity.
Curry, 24, was Cleveland’s seventh-round pick back in 2019 and has enjoyed a strong season between Double-A and Triple-A, working to a combined 3.48 ERA, 27.5% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate over the life of 101 innings (17 starts, two relief appearances). Curry didn’t post dominant numbers in his college days at Georgia Tech and was listed at “just” 5’10”, which might’ve contributed to him landing in the seventh round of his draft. However, he’s had little to no problems adapting to professional ball, posting strong results at every minor league stop — culminating in a career 2.90 minor league ERA.
FanGraphs tabs Curry 12th among Guardians farmhands in an absolutely stacked system, and he lands 18th on Baseball America’s midseason rankings. Scouting reports on Curry note that even though his heater sits in the low 90s, its huge spin and his deceptive delivery help it play up as a plus pitch that can miss bats in bunches. His secondary offerings don’t garner as much praise, though his slider is regarded as a potentially above-average pitch — and Curry’s outstanding command helps all of his pitches exceed expectations at times. He’s walked just 46 off the 795 hitters he’s faced as a pro (5.8%).
Curry will give Guards fans their first look at the latest rotation option to step out of the organization’s pitching factory. Cleveland seems to grow viable big league starters on trees, with both Curry and righty Peyton Battenfield (drafted two rounds after Curry) the latest unheralded prospects to surge through the system and position themselves as potential big league contributors. The Guardians’ five-man rotation is presently full, thanks to the presence of Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie, Aaron Civale, Zach Plesac and Cal Quantrill, but both Curry and Battenfield have seemingly pitched their way to the upper levels of the organization’s depth chart.
Success in routinely turning out promising arms is one of the many reasons the Guardians have regularly been able to trade from their Major League pitching staff to keep the minor league system stacked without needing to dive headlong into a tedious, years-long rebuilding effort in recent seasons. Cleveland was reportedly open to trade offers on some controllable arms prior to the deadline — Plesac’s name was most commonly speculated upon — and promising late showings from arms like Curry who make their debuts this season will make it easier for the Guardians to renew any of those conversations this winter if they choose.
80-grade name and a good prospect to boot.
A guaranteed Scrabble winner.
Blue Skies:
I will raise you one Marc Rzepczynski.
Ha. Not enough tiles in the game for that guy.
“I have certainly not thought that it can possible however one of my closest pal has received $25,000 within three weeks completing this top work and also she satisfied me to join”
I also would not have thought it can possible. In fact, I still don’t.
And this woman had to satisfy you to join? That might be legal in your country, but I don’t think it is here.
Steph curry’s brother !!! Congrats!!
How would one pronounce that name? Good to see a guy get the call without the big heater. Good luck to him and play by play guys everywhere.
My guess is ex-AY-vee-ahn
I would try pronouncing the “x” (ex) and then zavion like Xavier but with a different ending.
I’m sure the proper pronunciation is “ZAY-VEE-UN,” with the “X” pronounced as a “Z,” as it’s supposed to be with the name “Xavier,” despite people mispronouncing it “EX-ZAY-VEE-UR.”
@getoff I wouldn’t be *sure* unless I knew him or his parents personally. If pronounced like you say, then they could’ve just named him “Zavion”, with the X being an unnecessary flourish. Or “Xavion” would likely be pronounced like you’re saying. Also “Xavier” with the Z sound and no hard X is never spelled Xzavier, so I’m skeptical that you’re correct.
Merriam-Webster’s gives the pronunciation of the X as a legitimate alternative:
Xa·vi·er | \ ˈzāv-yər , ˈzā-vē-ər, ig-ˈzā- \
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Xavier
Cleveland’s broadcast booth has been pronouncing it ex-zay-vee-on .
You know how many points you would get if you could use the name Xzavion in Scrabble?
76.
If you are playing that word, there has to be some doubles or triples involved. Plus the bonus for using all seven.
Yes I am a Scrabble dork, but I love my life.
Yes, its 26+50 for using all the letters…. the previous poster was correct with 76
I’ve been looking forward to this one!
You and me both brother!!! It’s dinner time!!
He’s going to be the best Xzavion in MLB history.
or at least set the baseline for all others
So someone loses a slot on the 40? Who?
Jake Jewell
“Xzavion” is worth 76 points in scrabble! Good job.
I’d delete this if I could given that 30% of the comments are about scrabble so far. Thought I had a hot take there.
Self awareness is hot at least
You usually don’t see teams bring up tons of prospects over the course of the season and be playoff contenders… Guardians have had the most mlb players debut this year with 14 and are in 1st place and 8 games over .500
Youngest team in baseball, I believe. I also think I heard an announcer say that their average team age is below the average AAA team.
Young players are cheap players. It’s all about saving money.
Why do you care about the payroll? The team has spent in the past and they will do so again when the time is right..
Rather have a cheap team that’s able to compete than spend a lot of money and be a bottom feeder like Detroit
Or have a cheater like Tatis
He’ll probably throw six innings of 2-hit shutout ball with 10 Ks against the Tigers before turning it over to the bullpen.
Mlb hitters will be in awe of his three-striker pitch
Next superstar pitcher. Move over Verlander & Scherzer, you guys are yesterday’s news…
113 K’s to 30 BB’s in 101 IP so far in 2022…..not too shabby!
He will look like a Cy Young candidate against the tigers today!
Ask your doctor about Xzavian.
That was pretty funny.. well done.
“Guardians Of The Galaxy To Select Xzavion of Kepler-186f”