Miami Marlins History: All-Time Top 10 K/9

In weekly segments in this 25th anniversary season, Marlin Maniac will be highlighting the best and the brightest from throughout their history. Whether a Florida Marlin, a Miami Marlin, or a player who was here for both iterations, these 10 Marlins left their mark on the culture.

In total for the Miami Marlins, there have been 318 players who have pitched to at least one batter. 51 players have pitched at least 200 innings for the team, and that’s where we will set our cutoff. Most of these 51 are starting pitchers, but 14 of them appeared in relief over half of the time. Before we get started, lets take a look at who barely missed the cut.

Adam Conley (7.73)

Adam Conley signed with the Miami Marlins when they were still known as the Florida Marlins. In the second round of the 2011 draft, they picked him with the 72nd overall choice.

Conley has historically appeared as a starter. Before this season, he was 20-15 with a 4.60 ERA and a 1.416 WHIP and 255 K’s in 303 innings. This season, manager Don Mattingly decided to use him out of the bullpen. He’s given up 12 hits in 23 2/3 innings, and struck out 29 since making the change. He’s also holding opponents to a  0.887 WHIP and a .150/.228/.313 slashline.

Al Leiter (7.74)

Al Leiter made his debut in 1987 with the New York Yankees, then spent seven years with the Toronto Blue Jays. After the 1995 campaign, the Florida Marlins signed him through free agency.

In two seasons with the Marlins, Leiter went 30-28, made his first all-star team in 1996 and won his first World Series Championship in 1997. He also finished sixth in the NL Cy Young Award vote in 1996. As a Marlin, he posted a 4.07 ERA, struck out 384 in 446 2/3 innings, and kept opponents to 1.442 WHIP.

A.J. Burnett (7.94)

As far as I can tell, A.J. Burnett was the founder of the #STFD hashtag, with this play:

Burnett made his major league debut in 1999 with the Florida Marlins, and stuck around through the 2005 campaign. He was 49-50 overall, with 753 whiffs in 853 2/3 innings. Burnett earned a 3.73 ERA, a 1.284 WHIP, and held opponents to a .230/.317/.350 slashline during his tenure. That translates to a largely harmless .667 OPS.

Later, Burnett spent three seasons each with the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees. After two seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he played for the Philadelphia Phillies for one season. He played his final year back in Pittsburgh, earning his first all-star nod in his 17th and final season.

Chuck Smith (8.07)

Chuck Smith had a 15-season baseball career, starting in 1991 and ending in 2005. For two seasons in the middle of his minor league travels, he started 34 games for the Florida Marlins.

Smith went 11-11 with a 3.84 ERA and a 1.372 WHIP, striking out 189 in 210 2/3 innings. Opponents slashed .255/.335/.393 against Smith.

Josh Johnson (8.17)

Johnson appeared in 154 games for the Florida and Miami Marlins from 2005 through 2012. In 2006 he finished fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting, then made his first all-star appearance in 2009 when he went 15-5. In 2010, he led the National League with a 2.30 ERA and finished fifth in the NL Cy Young Award vote.

Johnson totaled a 56-37 record with the Marlins, with a 3.15 ERA, 832 strikeouts in 916 2/3 innings, and a 1.233 WHIP. Opposing batters slashed .242/.307/.348 versus Johnson.

10) Dan Straily (8.18)

In the three seasons prior to joining the Miami Marlins, Dan Straily played for four different MLB teams. The Cincinnati Reds traded him to the Marlins for Zeke White, Austin Brice, and Luis Castillo.

A Redlands, CA native, Straily entered professional baseball after getting selected in the 24th round of the 2009 MLB draft by the Oakland Athletics. In 2013, he earned enough votes to finish fourth for the American League Rookie of the Year award. He then played with the Chicago Cubs and the Houston Astros before joining the Reds.

Straily was Miami’s number two starter in 2017. He posted a 10-9 record and led the NL with 33 starts. He earned a 1.299 WHIP, a 4.26 ERA, and held opposing batters to a .256/.318/.466 slashline. Hardly the stuff of legends, to be sure, but plenty good enough to hold down a spot in this rotation.

For the Miami Marlins this season, Straily spent the first month of the season rehabbing an injury to his throwing elbow.He rejoined the Marlins on April 30th. Out of his 14 starts thus far, six of them have been Quality Starts. That includes his last four, during which he’s whiffed 21 in 25 1/3 innings and allowed 18 hits, holding batters to a .196 average. Overall in 2018, he’s 3-4 with a 4.29 ERA, a 1.346 WHIP, and 60 K’s in 71 1/3 innings.

Prior to the season, Straily endorsed the new ownership group by stating a willingness to let go of Miami’s all-star outfield.

Glad they’re gone. If they don’t want to be here, then good for them. They can continue their career elsewhere. – Straily

Despite this, Straily is frequently mentioned as a possible trade piece for the Miami Marlins to acquire some talent pre-trading deadline. Whatever happens, Straily looks to keep churning out six+ innings per start and keeping the Miami Marlins in every game.

9) Renyel Pinto (8.65)

Renyel Pinto was a 6’4″, 280 lb. left-handed pitcher out of Cupira, Venezuela. Born on July 8th, 1982, he was signed through international free agency in 1999 by the Chicago Cubs.

Pinto worked his way up through the Cubbies system with the Arizona Cubs in 2000, making stops with the Lansing Lugnuts, the Daytona Cubs, the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx, and the Iowa Cubs. After the 2005 campaign, the Cubs sent him, Ricky Nolasco, and Sergio Mitre to the Florida Marlins for Juan Pierre.

In Pinto’s 2006 season, he split the year between the Albuquerque Isotopes and the Marlins. For Florida, he appeared in 27 games in relief, posting a 3.03 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. He also collected 36 strikeouts in just 29 2/3 innings. That’s a figure that would have led the team had he played a few more frames.

In 2007, Pinto enjoyed his official rookie season, getting into 57 contests for the Marlins. He struck out 56 in 58 2/3 innings, dropped his WHIP to a career best 1.313, and kept his ERA down to 3.68. He walked a few more batters than he should have been comfortable with (32), but also allowed a team-second-best 6.9 H/9.

In 2008, Pinto went 2-5 in 67 games, with a 1.407 WHIP and 56 K’s in 64 2/3 innings. He posted a career-worst 4.45 ERA, reflected by his career-worst 5.20 FIP. He also finished with a ERA+ below “average” for the only time in his career, finishing at 98.

Pinto rebounded in 2009, going 4-1 with a 3.23 ERA in a career-high 73 games. He struck out 58 in 61 1/3 innings pitched, and limited opposing batters to a 1.598 WHIP. Pinto split his final major league season between Florida and their minor leagues. He struck out 16 more batters at the major league level in 16 2/3 innings.

Pinto was released by the Florida Marlins in June of 2010, and didn’t sign another contract anywhere.

8) David Phelps (8.86)

David Phelps is a 6’2″, 200 lb. right-handed pitcher from St. Louis, MO. He’s currently on the 60-day DL with the Seattle Mariners, but he used to be one of ours.

Phelps was chosen in the 14th round of the 2008 draft by the New York Yankees, and made his way up through their system. After making his major league debut with them in 2012, he went 15-14 with a 4.21 ERA over 87 total appearances in three seasons. After the 2014 season, the Yankees traded him with Martin Prado for Garrett Jones, Domingo German, and Nathan Eovaldi.

Phelps joined the Miami Marlins rotation for most of the 2015 season. He started 19 times and came out of the bullpen four times, totaling 112 innings. He struck out only 77 batters, earning a 4.50 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Phelps also allowed a .272/.325/.404 slashline for the season, which makes his 2016 season so much more impressive.

In 2016, Phelps was moved primarily to the bullpen, starting five times but making 59 relief appearances. In 86 2/3 innings, he struck out 114 batters, with a 1.142 WHIP, a 2.28 ERA, and a 7-6 record. He also kept opponents to a .197/.288/.294 slashline. His 2.6 WAR for the year ranked second on the club for pitchers, behind only Jose Fernandez. His 11.8 whiffs per nine innings in most other seasons would be good enough to lead the Miami Marlins. During this campaign, it was only third best on the team. The 2016 team was blessed with four fireballers who averaged over 10 K/9. We will get to the other three later in this slideshow.

Phelps came out of the pen 44 times in 2017 for the Florida Marlins. He didn’t make any starts, and struck out 51 in 47 innings. He had a 1.340 WHIP and a 3.45 ERA, and batters slashed .243/.323/.376 off of him. Prior to the trading deadline, the Seattle Mariners parted ways with Brayan Hernandez, Pablo Lopez, Brandon Miller, and Lukas Schiraldi for Phelps.

Since leaving the Marlins, Phelps has pitched 8 2/3 innings for the Mariners, striking out 11 and allowing three runs. He’s currently out for right elbow UCL construction.

7) Josh Beckett (8.97)

Josh Beckett was a 6’5″, 230 lb. native of Spring, TX, and the Florida Marlins first round pick in 1999. Second overall off the board, he was a two-time first-team High School All-American.

Working his way up through the ranks, in 2001 he was a Baseball America first team minor league all-star and the Florida Marlins Minor League Player of the Year. He also made his major league debut that season, striking out 24 in as many innings while allowing just four earned runs.

In 2002, Beckett turned in a 6-7 season and a 4.10 ERA. He managed to strike out 113 in 107 2/3 innings, with a 1.272 WHIP and a 3.69 FIP that said maybe he really was that good. Beckett ranked second on the team with his strikeout total, despite ranking sixth in innings pitched. Opponents slashed .232/.307/.389 against him.

In 2003, Beckett went 9-8 with a 3.04 ERA and an even lower 2.94 FIP. He struck out over a batter per inning, whiffing a team-best 152 in 142 frames, and earned a 1.324 WHIP. It’s important to realize here that Beckett also ranked fifth in the rotation in innings pitched, by a wide margin. That makes his leading the team in strikeouts more impressive.

Beckett would go on to win the World Series MVP for his performance against the New York Yankees in the Fall Classic. In total through the postseason for the Marlins, he started five times and came off the bench once, going 2-2 with a 2.11 ERA, a 0.796 WHIP, and 47 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings.

In 2004 and 2005, Beckett would start in 55 more games for the Florida Marlins. He won 24 and lost 17, striking out 318 in 335 1/3 innings. In total for the Marlins, he was 41-34 with a 3.46 ERA and 607 strikeouts. He went on to make three all-star teams over seven seasons with the Boston Red Sox, later playing three seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

5) Steve Cishek (9.69)

Steve Cishek was a 6’6″, 215 lb. right-handed submarine-style pitcher from Falmouth, MA. The Florida Marlins drafted him in the fifth round of the 2007 draft out of Carson-Newman College. In three seasons with the NCAA organization, he was 5-7 with a 3.31 ERA, 81 whiffs in 100 2/3 innings, and a 1.18 WHIP to his credit.

Cishek made quick work of the Marlins’ minor league feeder system, with stops for the Jamestown Jammers, the Greensboro Grasshoppers, the Jupiter Hammerheads, and the Jacksonville Suns. He didn’t stop in triple-A on his way to Florida, making his debut with the Marlins in 2010. He allowed one hit and struck out three in 4 1/3 innings in his limited appearance.

In 2011, Cishek did play with the New Orleans Zephyrs for 15 games, but spent the majority of the campaign coming out of the Florida Marlins bullpen. He appeared in 45 games at baseball’s top level, and earned his first three saves to go with a 2-1 record. Cishek had a 2.63 ERA and a 2.46 FIP. He also had a 1.17 WHIP and held opposing batters to a .221/.296/.294 slashline, striking out 55 in 54 2/3 innings.

In 2012, Heath Bell opened the season as heir apparent to the closer role. A tough start to the season for Bell would see Cishek moved into the role. In 68 games for the now-Miami Marlins, Cishek was 5-2 with a 2.69 ERA and a 3.22 FIP. He struck out 68 in 63 2/3 innings, saving 15 games and racking up a 1.30 WHIP. Opponents slashed .230/.327/.336 against Cishek, and he would enter 2013 as the Miami Marlins bonafide closer.

Cishek would save 34 games for the 2013 Fish, whiffing 74 in 69 2/3 innings. He dropped his ERA to 2.33, with a corresponding drop in FIP to 2.52. Cishek also could boast a 1.07 WHIP, his best with the Marlins, and a opposing batter slash of .211/.277/.291.

In 2014, Cishek saved a career-best 39 games for Miami, and struck out a career-high 84 batters in 65 1/3 innings. He posted a 3.17 ERA and a 2.17 FIP, suggesting that he was pitching better than his record would already indicate. He was 4-5 with a 1.20 WHIP, and batters continued to have a tough time with him, slashing .237/.296/.347.

Cishek struck out another 28 batters in 32 innings for the Miami Marlins in 2015. Near the trading deadline, the Marlins sent him to the St. Louis Cardinals for a prospect. There was a lot of bellyaching over that one, an unknown guy named Kyle Barraclough. More on him later.

4) Mike Dunn (9.80)

Mike Dunn was a 6’1″, 185 lb. left-hander from Las Vegas, NV. He was chosen by the Houston Astros in the 14th round back in 2003, but didn’t sign. The following season, the New York Yankees took him in the 33rd, and he accepted their offer.

Dunn made it up to the Yankees for four games in 2009, then wound up with the Atlanta Braves in 2010. After that season, the Braves sent him and Omar Infante to the Florida Marlins for Dan Uggla.

Dunn made the most of his situation, and in 2011 stayed in the major leagues for the entire season for the first time. As a Marlin, he was 5-6 with a 3.43 ERA and 68 K’s in 63 innings. His 1.30 WHIP had him pegged as just about a league average reliever.

In 2012 for the Miami Marlins, Dunn had what could be termed a down year. Opponents totaled an all-star worthy .806 OPS off of him. He kept striking guys out at a decent rate, with 47 in 44 frames, but his 1.773 WHIP would be his worst (until 2018).

Dunn rebounded for a pretty good year in 2013, going 3-4 with a 2.66 ERA in 75 games. He whittled his WHIP down to a career-best 1.197 mark, and slashed opponents to .212/.288/.316. He also struck out a career-best 72 batters in 67 2/3 innings.

In 2014, Dunn continued to be a workhorse for the Miami Marlins out of the pen, appearing in a team-high 75 games for the second season in a row. Opponents slashed .220/.303/.332, and collected 1.211 WHIP while Dunn whiffed 67 in 57 innings. He was 10-6 with a 3.16 ERA

Over the next two seasons, Dunn struck out another 103 in 96 1/3 innings, and went 8-6 with a 4.02 ERA. Despite his status as a relief pitcher, he ranks 19th on Miami’s all-time list with 26 victories.

3) A.J. Ramos (10.42)

A Lubbock, TX native, the Florida Marlins chose 5’10”, 200 lb. right-hander A.J. Ramos in the 21st round back in 2009. Ramos rose through Florida’s system until 2012, when he made his major league debut with the Miami Marlins.

Ramos struck out 13 of the 40 batters he faced over 11 games to close out the 2012 season. In 2013, he struck out 86 in 80 innings and earned a 3.15 ERA.

In 2014, Ramos turned some heads by going 7-0 with a 2.11 ERA, and 73 K’s in 64 innings pitched. Opponents WHIP’d 1.234 off him, and slashed .164/.307/.236. Control was a bit of an issue, as Ramos issued 43 of them. That’s two walks every three innings, or kinda like Kyle Barraclough’s rookie season. More on him later.

In 2015, Ramos dropped his WHIP all the way down to 1.009, and issued just 26 walks in 70 1/3 innings. He did this while continuing to blow guys away, at a career best 11.1 K/9 rate. Ramos posted a 2.30 ERA and a 2.4 record through the season. He also saved 32 games after taking over as the closer from Steve Cishek.

In 2016, Ramos was honored with his first all-star appearance. He saved another 40 games for the Miami Marlins, going 1-4 with 2.81 ERA. He struck out 73 in 64 innings, and walked 35 while WHIPping 1.359. He saved another 20 games for the Marlins in 2017. The Marlins traded him to the New York Mets on July 28th for Merandy Gonzalez and Ricardo Cespedes.

Ramos has gone on to middling success with the Mets, with only seven saves and a 5.59 ERA in 49 contests since the trade. Meanwhile, Gonzalez is 2-0 for the Marlins in a short look earlier this year.

2) Jose Fernandez (11.25)

Jose D. Fernandez was the first round choice of the Florida Marlins in 2011, 14th overall off the board. It wasn’t very long before he made his first major league start, on April 7th, 2013. Still just 20-years-old, Fernandez had an infectious love of the game, and every fifth day in Marlins Park was “Jose Day,” accompanied by a crowd sometimes sized double when another pitcher started.

Fernandez started in 28 games as a rookie, and posted a 12-6 record with a 2.19 ERA, 187 strikeouts in 172 2/3 innings, and a 0.979 WHIP. He led the National League by surrendering just 5.8 H/9, earning an all-star invitation, winning the NL Rookie of the Year, and finishing third in the NL Cy Young Award vote. This rookie, advanced beyond his or anyone’s years, held opposing major leaguers to a slashline of .182/.257/.265.

Due to a Tommy John surgery and rehab, Fernandez started just 19 times over the next two seasons, going 10-3 with a 2.71 ERA and a 1.066 WHIP. He also collected another 149 strikeouts in 116 1/3 innings.

2016 was a special season for Miami Marlins fans. Fernandez went 16-8 with a 2.86 ERA and 253 strikeouts in 182 1/3 innings. Opponents slashed .224/.288/.336 and WHIPped 1.119 against the still just-24 Fernandez. We all know the rest of the story, and will always mourn his loss.

After the season, Fernandez would finish seventh in the NL Cy Young Award vote, despite leading the NL with a 12.5 K/9. And that’s the thing that gets me, every time – Fernandez was STILL GETTING BETTER. In his final start, he struck out 12 Washington Nationals over eight shutout three-hit innings. His post TJS time would see a slight increase in opponents slash numbers, but also an increase in strikeouts.

1) Kyle Barraclough (11.67)

There was a lot of gnashing of teeth in the Miami Marlins fanbase when Steve Cishek was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. That’s because no-one had heard of the guy the sent to us, one Kyle Barraclough.

Barraclough was chosen in the seventh round of the 2012 draft by the Cards out of St. Mary’s. The college had him set up as a starter, who had an 18-25 record, a 1.47 WHIP, and a 4.36 career ERA. He had struck out 290 in 331 2/3 innings.

Barraclough got up to the double-A level for the Cards when the Marlins traded for him. He would strike out 30 major league batters in 24 1/3 innings for Miami when we got called up to the parent club. He gave up seven earned runs and just 12 hits, holding opponents to a .154/.306/.256 slashline. and a 1.233 WHIP.

More from Marlins History

• Miami Marlins One-Year Wonder 1B
• Miami Marlins players & the 2023 Hall of Fame
• Former Miami Marlins star is retiring
• Gary Sheffield or Mark Buehrle, will either Marlin make the Hall of Fame?
• Why don’t we see more dynasties? Part 3

In 2016, Barraclough struck out batters at a nearly inexplicable 14K/9 clip. He also dropped his walks from 6.7/9 to 5.4/9, a number that’s still dropping. In 72 2/3 innings, he struck out 113. A 1.225 WHIP, 2.11 FIP, and a .176/.299/.238 slashline back up his claim as an elite pitcher.

2017 would see Barraclough continue to pitch effectively for the Miami Marlins, although it’s technically his least impressive season to date. He allowed 1.379 WHIP and whiffed 76 in 66 innings, going 6-2 with a 3.00 ERA.

This season, we’ve seen Barraclough put up numbers never even seen before. He’s given up 16 hits in 41 1/3 innings, held batters to a 0.944 WHIP, and saved eight games since taking the closer role from Brad Ziegler.

Barraclough has never struck out players at a slower rate than he is right now, “just” 10.2 per nine innings. On the other hand, opponents are hitting just .116 off him, with a .210 slugging percentage. For about five weeks there, he didn’t allow a hit. No, I didn’t say that he pitched a bunch of scoreless innings. From May 8th through June 24th, he allowed one hit in 19 2/3 innings for an opposing slashline of .017/.119/.033. It almost seems like a typo, right?

Next: The Miami Marlins are Listening to Offers for Starlin Castro

Thanks for reading. If you like it, say something in the comments. I’ll be doing these on Friday’s from now on, so if you’d like a statistic highlighted, let me know. In the meantime, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to our daily newsletter.