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'He loves to be challenged': Guardians see progress in Luis Ortiz following offseason trade

CLEVELAND — The Guardians certainly remembered Luis Ortiz from a start last summer in which he was nothing short of dominant. They acquired him over the offseason in a trade partly due to how much they loved his stuff on the mound, but also what they believed could be done with his progress as a pitcher. That potential for improvement largely rested with not just what he did on the mound, but how much he could learn about what it takes being a starting pitcher. It takes time for pitchers to learn how to maximize those days in-between starts. Advertisement Ortiz beat the Guardians last season on Aug. 31 as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, allowing only one hit in six scoreless innings. Peering in from the other dugout that day, it was difficult for the Guardians to not come away impressed. A few months later, he was traded to Cleveland. "Yeah, I mean, I love watching baseball and you remember people," said manager Stephen Vogt, recalling that Aug. 31 start and then the day the Guardians traded for him. "I was like, 'Oh yeah, you mean that guy that shoved it right up our backside? Sure, let's go.'" Luis Ortiz joins Cleveland Guardians 2025 starting rotation The Guardians' pitching development is arguably the best in baseball. As much as any other team, when they acquire a pitcher, it likely means they've seen something that can possibly be improved or expanded upon. Advertisement Guardians game coverage: Here's how Jose Ramirez and the Guardians won in extra innings June 25 Guardians starting pitcher Luis L. Ortiz throws a first-inning pitch against the Athletics, June 21, 2025, in West Sacramento, California. With Ortiz, it actually has had more to do with what he does during the four days between his outings than his actual day to pitch. In his career, he had at times gone back and forth between starting and coming out of the bullpen. "For Luis, one of the things we identified, we need to teach him how to be a starting pitcher," Vogt said. "Carl [Willis], the pitching team, our performance team, everyone's really just partnered well with him on, here's the structure, here's what we're going to do every day and creating a good routine that has allowed him to continue to make strides." Advertisement The idea has been to teach him how to put himself in the best spot to succeed before he ever takes the mound on his day to pitch through recovery and his side sessions. The progress has been evident. Ortiz started the 2025 season on a sour note. His ERA after his first start with Cleveland was 13.50. It was 8.44 after his second outing. Since that time, while Cleveland's pitching development team has been able to work with him, he's slowly lowered it to 4.30. And in his last eight outings, he's posted a 3.45 ERA with 51 strikeouts in 44 1/3 innings. "Man, he loves to be coached and he loves to be challenged," Willis said. "I think now that he is strictly, at this point anyway, a starter, he's learned about himself, how he recovers, how hard he can work between starts, how much intensity he can bring to the mound on his bullpen day, and actually get even higher quality work in those days and take it into a start. "I think that's been a huge part of us seeing him trend forward." Guardians starting pitcher Luis Ortiz celebrates in the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels, May 30, 2025, in Cleveland. The other element is improving Ortiz's pitch sequencing when it comes to working locations and facing hitters two, three and even four times per game. The Guardians always loved his velocity and movement, but learning to pitch as a starter is a skill in itself. Advertisement "[We've been] working on locations," Willis said. "I think sitting him down and showing him heat maps, whether it be from [something else] or our internal system, showing him where his pitches actually play well, it's like OK, now it's much better. There's still room for improvement, but having a really good idea of where the best place to throw each pitch is [has been a focus]." Still only 26 years old, the Guardians have needed Ortiz to deliver as a key part of their five-man starting rotation. Lately, he has. It has allowed the Guardians to remain within striking distance of a Wild Card spot even as the offense has sputtered at times. And it's been due, largely, to teaching Ortiz how to maximize his prep work on his four down days away from the cameras, fans and pressure of games. This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Luis Ortiz making strides as Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher