Boasting a historic .047 opponents’ batting average, left-hander John King has transformed into Miami’s premier high-leverage stopper by stranding inherited runners and evolving his six-pitch arsenal.
MIAMI — While much of the offseason attention for the Miami Marlins centered on the signing of closer Pete Fairbanks, left-hander John King has emerged as the club’s top bullpen weapon one month into the season.
King has been nearly untouchable to open the year, leading all National League relievers in opponents’ batting average at .047 (2-for-42). He is tied for the second-longest active hitless appearance streak in the majors at seven games, dating to April 17.
Marlins manager Clayton McCullough has used King out of the bullpen in 15 games, which is tied with Anthony Bender for the team lead. He inherited 15 baserunners and stranded 13 of them for the highest rate (86.7 percent) among relievers with such a minimum.
"He's shown he's been incredibly durable, and someone who always wants the ball no matter what," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said during Friday’s pregame press conference. "The situation is not always the greatest, but what John does and his ability to come in and collect outs helps us win games. It also helps keep guys fresh."
King’s was used in all three games and went scoreless in 2.2 innings during a series victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers, which was the Marlins’ first road series win of the season.
"I think going into it, it's something John had done in the past," McCullough said of using him on three consecutive days. "Him coming into spring training, he can handle it. Generally, his workload, the amount of hitters asked of him to face, is a little bit narrower than some other guys."
King enters Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies with a 0.66 ERA, 3.72 FIP, 8.56 strikeouts per nine innings, and 3.29 walks per nine. He has also allowed only two hits all season and none were at home to begin his Marlins tenure.
King came to the Marlins on a one-year, $1.5M deal after a rough 2025 with the St. Louis Cardinals, where he posted a 4.66 ERA and 5.00 FIP across 48.1 innings. The previous season was his best, however, with a 2.85 ERA in a career high 60 innings and 56 appearances for the Cardinals.
King features a six-pitch mix, which is uncommon for a relief pitcher. The main pitch is the sinker, but he has significantly reduced usage of that pitch from 59.2% last season to 28.7% this year. Though the pitch’s velocity has dipped, its whiff rate has jumped from 15.7% to 40.9%.
“He’s very sinker heavy in the past,” McCullough said. “It’s a good pitch. He can strike with it and keep the ball on the ground. Having a better breaking ball that goes with the changeup as well gives him some more options to get some misses as well.”
With Fairbanks out, the Marlins are using a closer-by-committee approach. Having King as a reliable weapon in high-leverage situations helps prevent the bullpen from undermining the Marlins’ progress.
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