After frustrating '22, Plesac working to stay positive

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- There’s no hiding it: 2023 will be a big year for Zach Plesac.

Since he made his debut in 2019, Plesac has shown glimpses of stellar stuff. He’s also had plenty of struggles. He’s battled through inconsistency and strange injuries. Now, he just wants -- and needs -- to settle in and prove that he belongs in this rotation.

That journey started on Sunday when he made his spring debut and gave up five runs (four earned) in 1 2/3 innings in Cleveland’s 13-4 loss to Texas at Goodyear Ballpark. Last year, he went 3-12 with a 4.31 ERA and a career high 1.322 WHIP. He struck out 100 batters and walked 38 in 131 2/3 innings.

“His record wasn’t very good, but he had like a 4.[31] ERA,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said. “It’s not like he got beat around. There were times where I think he felt like, ‘Oh, what’s gonna go wrong now?’ I think if you think like that, it’s gonna happen. … I just think it’s kind of snowballed a little bit.”

Plesac agreed.

“It was almost like I had to understand that nothing is against me,” Plesac said. “I have all the capabilities of being a great pitcher and I’ve shown it. There are glimpses of it. Having that mental confidence and being able to understand [that] I’m as good as I know I am. It’s being able to battle.”

That battle hasn’t always been easy. Plesac was notorious last year for receiving little run support. Of all 90 hurlers who threw at least 130 innings in ’22, Plesac ranked 88th in the amount of run support he received from his offense. While his mental game wasn’t at its peak, he was also being dealt difficult hands that continued to test him, and he didn’t always pass those tests.

“There were a lot of times when I could have focused on more positive things, rather than be fighting demons, so to say,” Plesac said. “There was a point where it felt like everything was going well for everybody except for me. And there was a point where the mindset has to change.”

So often pitchers can go into an offseason and try to add a new pitch to their arsenal or tweak an offering that has some room for improvement. Plesac took a different approach. He trusts his stuff, but he knew he needed to get better at understanding himself and improving his mental game.

“This offseason was about finding and understanding and identifying what I need to do to be really good,” Plesac said. “More just how to consistently move well and areas through the long period of a season, you develop habits. Different exercises that keep me in better positions.

“This is my fifth season. There’s been good, there’s been bad and there’s been right in the middle. Being good in this league for a long time is not easy. … So in my mind, having to understand not to read things by the numbers and more about mentality, physically, what I’m feeling, what I have to bring every day, and just focusing on the positive.”

Plesac reminisced about his rookie season, remembering how everything seemed to go in his direction. He then recalled how difficult 2020 was when he missed some time with the team after breaking COVID-19 protocols. It took until ’21 for him to truly experience his first full MLB season. And in both ’21 and ’22, he experienced similar years, struggling to get run support and not finding the consistency he believes he’s capable of providing.

“All the outside noise has nothing to do with how we perform,” Plesac said, “and I’m just learning that I need to take responsibility for what goes on here, and everything else is just a whirlwind.”

His journey to proving he belongs in this rotation begins now, and he’s confident he can do just that, despite the fact that a handful of Major League-ready starters will be sitting at Triple-A, and highly regarded prospects like Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee are getting closer to knocking on the big league door.

The first step is believing in himself. And Plesac is ready to show he can do that.

“I know it’s easier said than done,” Francona said, “but control what you can control.”