Joey Cantillo #54

JOSEPH LOPAKA CANTILLO...Graduated from Kailua High School in 2017...Kailua is located in the County of Honolulu on the island of O‘ahu...Named 2016-17 Gatorade Hawaii Baseball Player of the Year, going 5-1 with a 1.24 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 45.2 innings for the Surfriders...Was committed to the Univ. of Kentucky prior to signing with SD...Favorite baseball memory is winning conf. title his jr. year of HS...Grew up NY Giants and LA Dodgers fan, favorite players were Peyton Manning and Clayton Kershaw...Enjoys hiking and surfing.

2025

After beginning the season out of the bullpen, Cantillo became an effective starter down the stretch for the Guardians, posting a 5-3 record with a 3.21 ERA (34ER/95.1IP) across 34 appearances/13 starts…Made 21 relief appearances from March 30-May 26, fashioning a 3.81 ERA (12ER/28.1IP) before being optioned to Triple-A Columbus on May 27 to stretch out as a starter...Replaced Luis Ortiz (MLB Leave) in the starting rotation, making his final 13 appearances as a starter from July 3-Sept. 27, boasting a 4-3 record with a 2.96 ERA (22ER/67.0IP)...Would return to AAA, Aug. 18-Sept. 2 before ending the season on a high note...Earned AL Rookie of the Month honors for the month of September...After this Sept. 3 recall, the southpaw would go 2-0 with a 1.55 ERA (5ER/29IP) over his final five starts...His 1.55 ERA in September led all left-handed pitchers while ranking third in MLB...Ranked among qualified AL Rookies in ERA (3.21, third), opp. average (.218, fourth), WHIP (1.26, fourth) and SO (108)...Allowed one-or-fewer runs in six-straight starts from August 9-Sept. 21…Became the first CLE P to turn the trick since Carlos Carrasco in Aug. 2014 (also six-straight)...Twirled eight shutout innings on Sept. 9 vs. KC, following up Slade Cecconi’s eight-scoreless IP vs. KC the day prior...Marked the first time that two CLE P have thrown 8+ scoreless IP in back-to-back outings since Zach Plesac and Shane Bieber accomplished the feat from July 29-30, 2020....RH hitters recorded a .183 (28-for-153) average in his final 10 starts from July 22-Sept. 27, the lowest mark by any American League pitcher during that stretch…Held opponents to a .173 (13-for-75) average with runners in scoring position...Earned his first career save on April 20 at Pittsburgh, throwing a scoreless 10th inning against the Pirates...Took the loss in the final game of the ALWC vs. Detroit, yielding a sixth-inning solo homer in relief to Dillon Dingler that snapped a 1-1 tie.

2024

Entered the season as the 11th-best prospect in Cleveland's system (MLB.com)...Overcame a left hamstring injury suffered in Spring Training to make his Major League debut with Cleveland on 7/28 at Philadelphia, filling a vacancy in the club's rotation due to injuries to several starting pitchers...Went 2-4 with a 4.89 ERA (21ER/38.2IP) across nine appearances (eight starts) for the Guardians in the 2nd half, earning a spot on both the club's ALDS and ALCS rosters as a bulk relief option...Appeared in three Cactus League tilts (1GS) before being shut down due to a left hamstring strain...Commenced the season on AAA Columbus' 7-day Injured List...Fashioned a 2.79 ERA (9ER/29.0IP) with 39SO (12.10 SO/9.0IP) in eight games (7GS) with the Clippers from 6/5 to 7/20...Was recalled by Cleveland on 7/28 in anticipation of his MLB debut later that day at PHI (ND, 3.1IP, 3R/ER, 3BB, 3SO)... Shuttled between Cleveland and Columbus throughout the second half (five recalls/four options)...Struggled in his first four GS (8.47 ERA, .304 BAA, 6HR), with each opponent he faced owning a Postseason position at the time of his starts...Rebounded following a flawless appearance out of the bullpen 8/26 vs. KC (1.2IP), registering a 2.25 ERA (5ER/20.0IP) with 29SO (13.05 SO/9.0IP) in four September starts to close his rookie campaign...Did not allow a home run and held opponents to a .192 (14-for-73) batting average...Worked his most dominant start of the year on 9/9 at CWS, striking out a season-high 10 batters across 7.0IP while allowing one R on 2H...Retired the first 20 batters he faced until an Andrew Benintendi seventh-inning single, marking the longest perfect-game bid by a Clevelander since Triston McKenzie twirled 7.2 perfect IP to begin his start on 8/15/21 at DET...The Honolulu, Hawaii native became the third player born in Hawaii to appear in a game for Cleveland, joining Mike Huff (1991) and Milt Wilcox (1972-74)...Made third relief appearances in the 2024 Postseason, recording a 3.86 ERA (1ER/2.1IP) with 4BB and 3SO...Threw four wild pitches in ALCS Game 1 at NYY, setting a franchise record for a reliever and tying the club mark for any pitcher in a Postseason or regular season game... Bounced back with 1.0 scoreless IP in Game 4 vs. NYY.

2023

Combined 4.07 ERA in 26 games/24GS between Akron and Columbus, tossing a career-high 119.1 IP and pitched in the SiriusXM Futures Game...Led system in SO (146) and was third in IP...Promoted from Akron on May 18...Enjoyed a solid six start stretch at Triple-A, Aug. 4-Sept. 2, posting a 3-1 mark with a 2.84 ERA (10ER/31.2IP)...Averaged 11.0K per 9.0IP on the year...Had seven outings with at least four walks and struck out 13 on May 3 vs. Portland (5.0 IP).

2022

Was dominant over his 14 outings (13 starts), posting a 1.93 ERA at AA Akron (60.2IP, 38H, 13ER, 87SO, .187 avg) and was named to the Eastern League Postseason All-Star Team…Was limited to 60.2 due to a left shoulder strain and did not pitch after July 30...Combined over the last three years he has thrown 73.2 innings…After posting a 5.73 ERA over his first three April starts (7ER/11.0IP), posted 22.0 scoreless May innings (10H, 4BB, 33SO)…Also did not pitch from June 30-July 29 due to shoulder fatigue, made one start on July 30 vs. Harrisburg (3.0IP, 1H, 0R) and was shut down for the season...Rehabbed at Lake County Alt. Site in October...Double-A left-handed hitters were just 6-for-53 (.113) off him with one XBH…On the year he averaged 12.9 SO/9 IP...Entered the season as 24th-rated prospect in the system (MLB Pipeline)…Added to 40-man roster on Nov. 15.

2021

Suffered a fractured rib on his right side in Depth Camp in February and his season was delayed until mid-August, beginning a rehab stint in the ACL on 8/20...Activated from the Injured List at AA Akron on Aug. 31, making five appearances.