Fastball

Cleveland Guardians Rookie Cade Smith Makes History Among Canadian-Born Players

Smith wasn't named as one of the finalists, but by even receiving Cy Young votes, he made some unique history.

Brady Farkas

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Cade Smith (36) throws during the sixth inning against the New York Yankees in game 3 of the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field on Oct 17.
Cleveland Guardians pitcher Cade Smith (36) throws during the sixth inning against the New York Yankees in game 3 of the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field on Oct 17. / David Dermer-Imagn Images
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Last week, Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers was named the Cy Young winner in the American League. It was the first Cy Young win for Skubal, who beat out Emmanuel Clase (Cleveland Guardians) and Seth Lugo (Kansas City Royals).

And though he wasn't named as a finalist, Guardians rookie Cade Smith made some history by even receiving votes for the award. He finished ninth.

Per the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame on "X:"

Cade Smith became the 9th Canadian to receive Cy Young votes.
Fergie Jenkins 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1978
John Hiller 1973, 1974
@EricGagne38 2002, 2003
Jeff Francis 2007
Erik Bedard 2007
@Dempster46 2008
@JohnAxford 2011
Michael Soroka 2019
Cade Smith 2024 (his 2024 debut cleats in our collection)

With Clase and Smith, the Guardians put together one of the best bullpens in all of baseball this past season. With it, they advanced to the American League Championship Series, losing to the New York Yankees in five games. The Guardians also won the American League Central.

As for Smith, he put together a stellar campaign, helping fill in the gaps left by the injured James Karinchak and Trevor Stephan. He appeared in 74 games, going 6-1 with a 1.91 ERA. He struck out 103 batters in just 75.1 innings. A 16th-round pick of the Minnesota Twins in the 2017 draft, he elected to play college baseball at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

He then went undrafted in the pandemic-shortened 2020 draft and signed with the Guardians.

He's also represented Canada at the World Baseball Classic in 2023.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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