Dominant Triple-A performances and Robby Snelling’s debut signal a youth movement in Miami, creating a high-stakes competition for spots that keeps even seasoned veterans on notice.
There is a longstanding belief in Major League Baseball that successful teams have more than just the five starting pitchers comprising the Opening Day rotation.
The Miami Marlins traded two members of last year’s rotation believing that there are newer, fresher arms on the way. After the first month of the season, the Triple-A team sported a rotation that has created urgency for the big league team through their solid performances.
“Having a lot of starting pitchers is a great problem to have,” Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix said during his media availability this past Friday. “We know that it takes more than 26 guys to get through a season. We know that especially with pitchers, things can change, guys can get hurt, there’s opportunities. If you’re not on the team you have to stay ready because you never know when you’re gonna be here.”
A recent example of that is Robby Snelling making his MLB debut after veteran pitcher Chris Paddack was designated for assignment at the beginning of last week. Snelling went five innings with all three of his earned runs allowed, and both of his strikeouts, coming in the first inning of a 3-2 loss against the Washington Nationals last Friday.
“He's made really tremendous strides since we've acquired him,” said Bendix. “It's a testament to Robby, how hard he works, the kind of competitor that he is. It's also a testament to our pitching group from top to bottom, Bill Hezel, our director of pitching, and everybody who's been involved in Robby's development. The great thing about Robby is he's really good right now.”
It’s because of the Marlins depth that explains why despite clearly demonstrating his health and productivity, Braxton Garrett remains in Triple-A Jacksonville. Garrett is slated to start for Jacksonville on Wednesday against Memphis, and he enters with a 2.30 ERA on the season.
"He's been great,” Bendix said. “I think the fact that Braxton is in Triple-A really speaks to the depth of pitching that we have. There will be an opportunity for him. I'm sure of it. He will be ready for it. I'm sure of that, too. The fact that he's healthy and throwing the ball well, that's what's important.”
Snelling will pitch in the series finale against the Minnesota Twins on Thursday. Eury Pérez will start at the series opener looking to lower his 5.01 ERA. With expectations of a breakout season — similar to what Ryan Weathers (Yankees) and Edward Cabrera (Cubs) are experiencing with their respective new clubs — he has been inconsistent lately.
However, he has been consistently troublesome on the road, sporting a 7.43 ERA through three starts. Bendix said on Friday he still feels confident that his patience with Pérez will be rewarded.
"Eury is still one of the youngest pitchers in baseball,” Bendix said. “He's got as good stuff as anybody, and he's still learning how to utilize it and best deploy it. The path to being a superstar is not always linear, and so I think that's what we're seeing."
Max Meyer will take the mound for the middle of the series against his hometown team. With a 2.79 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 42 innings, Meyer has been the best of the bunch. The next lowest ERA on the rotation comes from Janson Junk (3.25 ERA) who originally won the spot over Garrett in spring training.
The leader of the rotation, Sandy Alcantara, has a 3.90 ERA while leading the Major Leagues in innings pitched (57.2). After a solid start to close out the homestand on Sunday with a 5-2 win over Washington, he’ll take the ball in the middle of a crucial road series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday.
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