Would the real Slade Cecconi please stand up?
2024 overview
- Rating: 4.07
- MLB Stats: 20 G, 77 IP, 6.66 ERA, 5.02 FIP, 1.416 WHIP, -1.1 bWAR
- Date of birth: June 24, 1999 (age 25 season)
- Earnings: $740,000
- 2025 status: Pre-arbitration
The Diamondbacks made Slade Cecconi their second pick (33rd overall) of the highly abbreviated 2020 draft. When he was selected out of the UNiversity of Miami, he arrived with a four-pitch mix and real strikeout stuff. He also arrived with some concerns regarding his control and his sporting maturity. Cecconi’s naturally laid back, laissez faire demeanour bristled fellow teammates and coaches as he was perceived to not be taking his responsibilities with the seriousness and devotion he should. After a calm talking to by a fellow teammate, he took note of how his approach to the game was not going over well and he began to settle in with a more disciplined approach.
This resulted in Cecconi overcoming some early struggles and making an appearance in the Arizona Fall League in his first professional season. He then played the entirety of 2022 in Amarillo where he acquitted himself well enough, especially given the hyper-inflated offensive nature of playing there. This led to a promotion to Reno in 2023, where he continued to pitch better than his 6.27 ERA would indicate. Cecconi then made his MLB debut in August and pitched well enough as a combined starter/reliever that he made the postseason roster. IN the postseason, he pitched out of the bullpen where his stuff was able to play up and his filth helped the Diamondbacks defeat the Phillies in the NLCS.
Cecconi’s debut put him on the inside track to make the 26-man roster out of spring in some capacity. While his spring performance was decent enough, the Diamondbacks made a move to acquire free agent Jordan Montgomery. With Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Brandon Pfaadt already locking down four of the five rotation slots, Cecconi found himself the odd man out. Instead of sliding Cecconi to the bullpen, the team made the decision to keep him stretched out as a starter, which resulted in Cecconi heading back to Reno to open the season.
Cecconi’s wait to return to the Majors was not a long one. With injuries and fitness concerns ravishing the starting rotation, Cecconi was called up to trite and steady things. Early results were promising as he pitched six full innings in his first two appearances, striking out 11 and walking only one batter. In those two outings, he allowed only three total runs and five total hits. These performances, coupled with his late-season showing in 2023 provided Arizona fans with plenty to be excited about. After all, Cecconi represented one of the best prospects in the organization with regard to finding a top-of-the-rotation arm. But then, he was hammered by the Padres before again bouncing back to have a strong performance against the Seattle Mariners. Sadly for Cecconi, he then hit a brick wall when the league began to adjust to him. This, coupled with the return to form of other starters resulted in Cecconi moving to the bullpen.
Cecconi spent the remainder of the season bouncing about. He spent a stretch in the bullpen. He spent time in Reno. He filled in as a starter. About the only thing consistent about the rest of Cecconi’s season was the amount of inconsistency, both in usage and results. When Cecconi was on, he was dominating. When he was off, his hard throwing tended to give batters of all skill levels all the power they needed to deposit pitches into the seats. By the end of the season, Cecconi had allowed 16 home runs in his 77 innings of work. Cecconi’s biggest saving grace was his ability to limit walks, thus limiting the damage done by untimely hits (especially those home runs). During this time, another trend started to develop, Cecconi’s lack of success when flipping the lineup over, allowing hitters a second look at him in the game.
By the time the calendar turned to July, Cecconi was appearing only sparingly. The right-hander made only eight appearances (two starts) in the span from 29 June to 11 September. His ominous 6.66 ERA to end the season was well above his 5.02 FIP, but even that FIP was still too high to be considered good by pretty much any measure.
2025 Outlook
While it is not only possible, but likely, that Cecconi will again start the season in Reno, the biggest decision to be made for Cecconi in 2025 is to decide what role he has moving forward. Most indicators point to Cecconi moving full-time to the bullpen, where his combination of filth and command can play up and he can avoid seeing batters twice in the same game. He has the stamina to be a long man, something the Diamondbacks will almost certainly need multiple versions of. However, Cecconi also possesses the type of repertoire that makes for a good back-end, high leverage reliever. Given that Arizona will almost certainly be forced by personnel departures and payroll restrictions to explore the trade market, Cecconi represents one of the more tantalising trade chips, as he does not even reach arbitration until 2027.
About the only things that seem certain for 2025 with regard to Cecconi are that he will come out throwing hard, limiting walks, striking out even the best hitters in the league. Whether or not he is able to limit long balls, go deep, face hitters a second time in a game or anything else remains very much in question. It is going to be interesting to seee what Hazen, Lovullo, and Kaplan have in mind for Cecconi and whether or not Kaplan can unlock more consistency from their right-hander or not.