Testing Depth

After a long Spring Training which featured more than it's fair share of Injuries to the Rotation, conjoining with complete resurgences of health for Pitchers comparable to Sixto Sanchez of all Marlins. A Spring that included some (for lack of better words, or maybe just to be nice) odd/senseless comments at times from Jazz 👽 Chisholm during a podcast sit-down interview with The Pivot, in addition to a 3 Home Run stretch in 3 consecutive At Bats over the 2 Games for the Fish Center Fielder before the conversation was shared. A Camp which included lots of Hits from (no surprise) Luis Arraez, plenty of Strikeouts from A.J Puk & David Weathers, and welcoming additions headlined by Tim Anderson & Nick Gordon injected into the Marlins Lineup.

Opening Day is today in Miami. The Marlins, through it all in Jupiter, truly seem as ready as they can be all things considered to face the Pirates to start the Season, and here's one of the reasons why.

 

The Fish knew they'd they'd be without Sandy Alcantara heading into 2024 following Tommy John Surgery in October. What they probably were not counting on was that Lefty Braxton Garrett (the Marlins most consistent Starter in 2023) would have a little Injury setback himself practically following Day 1 of Camp. Garrett has finally begun facing Hitters and should be back in the Rotation within the first month or so of the Season. 

About 2 weeks into Exhibition Games, Right-Hander Edward Cabrera would leave his third Grapefruit League appearance before a pitch was thrown do to a Right Shoulder Impingement that will also place the talented Hurler on the I.L to begin '24. The ultra talented Cabrera, who is out of Minor League Options this Season, was/is a lock to be in the Rotation once proving health, and did face some Teammates in an intra-Squad scrimmage Tuesday.   

While the news on Phenom Eury Perez quickly became a lot more complex than just the broken finger nail on his Pitching hand, which pulled the six foot eight 20 year old from a pair of Spring Contests. Right elbow inflammation was the official diagnosis on Perez, who had to fly out to Texas to visit the same surgeon whom operated Alcantara last year. Of note, Sandy was originally diagnosed with a UCL Sprain on his Pitching elbow (which almost always leads to Tommy John). Eury was given the green light to begin throwing again, though one knows the Marlins will be extremely careful with their young Starter given the nature of elbow Injuries in the Sport.       

The Ballclub had to dip into it's depth right out the shoot in Spring, and fortunately for them that depth stepped up for the most part in Camp. Ryan Weathers, a gifted Left Hander whom the Marlins acquired from San Diego at last year's Trading Deadline for Garrett Cooper, needed to have a solid showing this Spring Training following so many inconsistencies over his brief Big League Career with both the Padres and the Fish last Season. The son of former Marlin David Weathers did that, at one point tallying 11.2 Scoreless Innings in which he allowed only 5 Hits/just 2 Walks and a whopping 18 K's in 3 Spring Outings that were sandwiched in between his 5 Grapefruit League Games overall.

We touched previously/briefly on A.J. Puk and the Marlins F.O Decision to build him as a Starter despite some Injury history out of the Bullpen in the past, coupled with the fact the tall Lefty hasn't been a true Starter in a Professional Game since August 31st 2017. However, because of said Injuries/more importantly Puk's performance, that decision by the Fish brass up to now is paying off huge dividends. The former Florida Gator was simply terrific in Spring Training, going 1-0 in the Grapefruit League, allowing less Hits than Innings Pitched, with an incredible 23-4 K/BB ratio. 

Staying on the Left Hander topic, and yes the Marlins will carry 4 Left Handed Starters in the Rotation to start, it's been good to see Trevor Rogers back on the bump. Rogers, who finished runner-up in Rookie of the Year Voting in 2021, hasn't really been the same since the All Star Game of that year, and has battled the Injury bug since the summer of 2022. It will be interesting to see where the velocity is at when the big New Mexico Lefty takes the ball in Game 4 of the Season on Sunday, and what a boost it would be for the Fish if the former 1st Rd. Pick can return to his 2021 All-Star form.

Last but certainly not least is the only Right Hander in the Rotation for the Marlins at the moment, and that's 2020 1st Rounder Max Meyer. The former University of Minnesota standout was originally sent down to the Minor Leagues in Spring Training, as Meyer missed the entire 2023 Campaign with his own Tommy John Surgery after only 2 Big League Starts in '22. However, as you can see that Big League Rotation depth has worn awfully thin for the Marlins, who will now deploy the very talented Meyer into the 5th Spot of their Staff. Ability & grit is certainly not in question for the Righty, as much as monitoring his Innings after missing so much time. 

How long somebody like Meyer will be up, or Puk be allowed to Start, won't necessarily depend on performance, as much as when the Club can expect the returns into the Rotation for Pitchers like Garrett, Cabrera and Perez. Both Meyer & Puk will be on some kind of Innings limits in 2024, and it happens the Marlins need some of those Innings right out the shoot. Luckily for them, with the talent possessed in such Depth by so many Hurlers, the Fish will be expecting those Innings to be some kind of quality too. 

Happy Opening Day and Go Marlins!