2026 Stats
W-L
2-0
ERA
2.70
WHIP
1.09
K
39
SV
19
Rest-of-Season Projections
2026 Fantasy Outlook
While Smith's ERA was a full point higher than it was in 2024, the 26-year-old still turned in dominant sophomore campaign. He was one of only five relievers to strike out 100-plus batters in 2025, finishing third once again with 104. The 26-year-old also produced a 28.3 K-BB percentage, sixth-best among qualified relievers. The Canadian native remained fastball-heavy in his approach, tossing his 96.4 mph four-seamer 70 percent of the time while registering the highest Statcast Run Value (16) on the pitch among relievers. With Emmanuel Clase missing the last few months of 2025, Smith seamlessly took over as the Guardians' closer, securing a 76.4 percent team save share from July 28 onwards. He finished with 16 saves and eight wins, which speaks to his upside for 2026 and beyond since Clase was recently indicted on federal charges. Smith has been the fifth closer off the board, on average, in early 2026 drafts. Read Past Outlooks
Signed a one-year contract with the Guardians in March of 2025.
Reaches 20 save mark
Smith earned the save in Friday's 4-3 win over the Red Sox, allowing one hit and no walks with three strikeouts in a scoreless ninth inning.
Analysis
Smith was called upon to protect a one-run lead in the ninth inning and worked around a leadoff single to become the first pitcher to reach 20 saves this season. A whopping 13 of those saves have come in May, and the 27-year-old has now converted 17 straight opportunities dating back to April 16. Overall, he's 20-for-22 in save chances with a 2.60 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 41:5 K:BB across 27.2 innings.
Smith was called upon to protect a one-run lead in the ninth inning and worked around a leadoff single to become the first pitcher to reach 20 saves this season. A whopping 13 of those saves have come in May, and the 27-year-old has now converted 17 straight opportunities dating back to April 16. Overall, he's 20-for-22 in save chances with a 2.60 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 41:5 K:BB across 27.2 innings.
Pitching Stats
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2026 MLB Game Log
2026
2025
2024
Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
18
Last 10 Games
16
Last 5 Games
14
How many pitches does Cade Smith generally throw?
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100
101-110
111-120
121+
What part of the game does Cade Smith generally pitch?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2024
-26%
BAA vs LHP
2026
-18%
BAA vs LHP
| BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2024vs Left | .171 | 133 | 21 | 53 | 4 | |||
| Since 2024vs Right | .232 | 113 | 20 | 77 | 2 | |||
| 2026vs Left | .216 | 22 | 2 | 11 | 1 | |||
| 2026vs Right | .265 | 17 | 3 | 13 | 0 | |||
| 2025vs Left | .159 | 57 | 9 | 21 | 3 | |||
| 2025vs Right | .239 | 47 | 10 | 34 | 1 | |||
| 2024vs Left | .165 | 54 | 10 | 21 | 0 | |||
| 2024vs Right | .213 | 49 | 7 | 30 | 1 | |||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | |||||||
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2024
-26%
ERA at Home
2026
-14%
ERA on Road
| ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2024Home | 2.08 | 0.85 | 86.1 | 12.8 | 2.1 | ||||
| Since 2024Away | 2.82 | 1.10 | 89.1 | 12.4 | 2.1 | ||||
| 2026Home | 2.92 | 1.22 | 12.1 | 16.8 | 2.9 | ||||
| 2026Away | 2.51 | 0.98 | 14.1 | 10.0 | 0.6 | ||||
| 2025Home | 1.78 | 0.71 | 35.1 | 12.2 | 1.5 | ||||
| 2025Away | 3.99 | 1.28 | 38.1 | 13.1 | 3.1 | ||||
| 2024Home | 2.09 | 0.85 | 38.2 | 12.1 | 2.3 | ||||
| 2024Away | 1.72 | 0.95 | 36.2 | 12.5 | 1.7 | ||||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | ||||||||
Stat Review
How does Cade Smith compare to other relievers?
This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
7.80K/9
13.2BB/9
1.7HR/9
0.3Fastball
96.7 mphERA
2.70WHIP
1.09BABIP
.389GB/FB
1.09Left On Base
68.8%Exit Velocity
83.0 mphBarrels/BBE
3.8%Spin Rate
1928 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
22.3%Swinging Strike
17.2%Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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2025 Fantasy Outlook
An undrafted free-agent by the Guardians in 2020, Smith's rookie season was a resounding success. The 25-year-old broke camp with Cleveland and immediately showcased the elite strikeout potential that he carried through every level in the minors. Armed with a 96 mph fastball that was the best pitch in baseball last year per Statcast Run Value (28), Smith struck out 103 batters (T-3rd among relievers) overall, with 81 coming via the four-seamer he threw nearly 70 percent of the time. An effective splitter (.175 BA, .228 SLG) and occasional sweeper completed Smith's arsenal, but the fastball carried his success in 2024. The 6-foot-5 righty permitted only one home run across 75.1 innings and limited free passes with an impressive 5.9 percent walk rate. Smith finished fifth in the AL Rookie of the Year standings, ninth in AL Cy Young voting and was Cleveland's most trusted reliever during the playoffs. Some ratio regression should be expected in 2025, but Smith should be on fantasy radars moving forward.
More Fantasy News
Collects 19th save
Smith gave up one run on two hits and struck out two in the ninth inning Wednesday, recording his 19th save of the season in a 3-2 win over the Nationals.
Analysis
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Up to 18 saves
Smith earned the save in Sunday's 3-1 win over the Phillies, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning.
Analysis
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Nails down 17th save
Smith struck out one in a perfect ninth inning Friday to record his 17th save of the season in a 1-0 win over the Phillies.
Analysis
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Unavailable for save
Smith was not given the save opportunity in Thursday's 3-1 win over Tigers.
Analysis
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Pockets 15th save
Smith gave up two hits and struck out three in a scoreless ninth inning Tuesday to record his 15th save of the season in a 4-3 win over the Tigers.
Analysis
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Likely to remain in Cleveland
Smith is a candidate to be traded but would be "prohibitively expensive," Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan of ESPN.com report.
Analysis
Smith has four more years of team control after this season, so the Guardians are certainly in no rush to move him, but they could consider it if the right offer came along. McDaniel and Passan list the odds of a Smith trade at 20 percent, with the Dodgers, Phillies, Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Tigers and Rangers representing possible landing spots.
Smith has four more years of team control after this season, so the Guardians are certainly in no rush to move him, but they could consider it if the right offer came along. McDaniel and Passan list the odds of a Smith trade at 20 percent, with the Dodgers, Phillies, Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Tigers and Rangers representing possible landing spots.