Brian Flynn to Make Major League Debut Wednesday vs Chicago Cubs

Feb 22, 2013; Jupiter, FL, USA; Miami Marlins player Brian Flynn (71) poses for a picture during photo day at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Left-hander Brian Flynn will make his major league debut on Wednesday afternoon in Chicago, against the Cubs. This move has been speculated for months, as the time is nearing for the Miami Marlins to shutdown rookie phenom Jose Fernandez.

With the team anticipating two more starts for Fernandez, moving Flynn into the rotation likely means the Marlins go with a 6-man rotation for the next couple of weeks.

Flynn, who was seen as a throw in piece in the Anibal Sanchez–Jacob Turner trade last July, has been impressive in his time in the Marlins organization. In 45 innings in Jacksonville last season, Flynn owned a 3.80 ERA and a 3.78 FIP. His performance didn’t gather much fanfare, as he remained unranked in most Marlins top prospect rankings.

To begin the 2013 season, Flynn was once against assigned to pitch in Double-A. After just four starts and 23 innings, the Marlins had seen enough and promoted Flynn to Triple-A.  He posted an impressive 1.57 ERA and a 2.68 FIP, all while striking out over a hitter an inning.

His performance in Double-A earned him a prospect profile by our very on David Polakoff back in May. David described Flynn as a “lefty starter who just turned 23 a week ago and is built like a brick house.”

Once he got to Triple-A, Flynn continued to pitch well. Despite his 6-11 record (which is a terrible way to judge a pitchers performance), Flynn owns a 2.80 ERA and a 3.05 FIP in 138 innings. Although his strikeout rate has dipped well below what he did in Double-A, it is still near striking out 8 hitters per nine innings, which is a career high for the lefty.

Flynn has thrown 151 combined innings in 2013, but the Marlins will likely stretch him out a bit further this season, as he did throw 174 innings combined between four different stops in 2012.

No, Flynn is not another Jose Fernandez-esque ace in the making, but he is a promising young lefty that could anchor the Marlins rotation for the foreseeable future if the chips fall properly into place for him.