Marlins’ Snelling Speaks After Successful Elbow Surgery

MIAMI — Usually when a pitcher undergoes season-ending elbow surgery, they usually fade away only to return when the time is right to pitch. 

Uniquely, Miami Marlins pitching prospect Robby Snelling was made available to reporters before Sunday’s 4-0 win over the New York Mets. The surgery was successful and he was seen with an internal brace during his press session in the clubhouse. The timeline for his full recovery is projected for 10-12 months. 

Snelling went five innings allowing three runs on five hits with two strikeouts in his Major League debut. The Washington Nationals won that game but the Marlins saw one of their top young arms go through adversity and show his potential along the way. 

"Getting a little taste of it and realizing how special it is to be up here and how important winning is, it’s refreshing," Snelling said. 

However, the signs of a potential injury were present during his debut when he felt a forearm pull. He noticed discomfort in his elbow during a bullpen session before what would’ve been his second start, to which he said, "I just couldn’t trust my arm to be able to go out on that start and try and throw 95."

"I don’t know what it’s supposed to feel like," Snelling said. "Obviously, now I do. I threw a breaking ball. It was in the middle of the outing and felt a little different than all the other pitches. I threw another fastball; I was still 95-96 and still locating. I wasn’t super worried about it. I thought it just came out different. I wasn’t hurting at all after that. Nothing really tightened up, and I was able to go throughout the rest of the outing the way that I did."

Snelling dominated the International League before his call-up. He posted a 1.86 ERA in six starts with Triple-A Jacksonville. He was promoted to Triple-A midway last year and went 6-2 with a 1.27 ERA to propel the Jumbo Shrimp to the national championship. 

"In the minor leagues, you obviously want to win, but a lot of is about development, and when you finally get up to the big leagues, development is important, but every time you step out onto the field, you just want to win with your team and the guys that you are with in the locker room, so being removed so quickly from that is really hard.”

The Marlins are still trying to figure out what to do with their fourth rotation spot. Chris Paddack was designated for assignment, Snelling’s injury and Braxton Garrett’s ineffectiveness has led to Tyler Phillips taking the mound as a starter rather than a reliever. He went 3.2 innings in Miami’s 4-0 win over the New York Mets on Sunday will have another chance to stretch out to the standard five innings on Saturday in New York. 

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