Miami Marlins at New York Mets: Three Stories To Watch

What Will Happen With The Miami Marlins Pitching On Sunday? 

If you go by ESPN pitching probables, the mystery of who starts on Sunday for the Miami Marlins has already been solved. Justin Nicolino will get the nod.

But Don Mattingly has been mum who will be making that start. Jose Urena stands out as the obvious in house candidate, as he is most often the guy flexed in and out between bullpen and rotation. Plus, you get the sense the Marlins are still in the process of evaluating exactly what they have in him.

My personal preference is David Phelps, as he has shown the best propensity for not being knocked out of sync by having to make the odd spot start. The club likes him as a late relief guy, though. But I think giving him multiple innings in one shot might actually do more good than harm in this case.

Or it could be Nicolino, who last pitched on May 2nd. He’d be in line to make an appearance, and that’s often enough. He has pitched better this year, in Spring Training and at AAA alike. Strikeouts are way up and the ERA is way down from his 2015 numbers, which is great. Although his walk rate his climbed significantly as well. So a mixed bag, but just as likely a choice as any.

“Plan B”ullpen?

The Marlins could also opt for a mix of the all above, of course, with a smattering of others. If Tom Koehler and Wei-Yin Chen can pitch deep into the game the first two nights of this series, Mattingly might be tempted to make a bullpen day of it.

Allocating two to three innings a piece to the long arms on hand, which could easily include all three of the starting options listed above come Sunday afternoon.

Fans should pay close attention to how Phelps, Urena, and even Dustin McGowan are used the next two days.