Five Things the Miami Marlins Need to Learn Before the End of the Season

Young Rotation

Most of the Miami Marlins rotation will be young guys in either their rookie or second seasons in the majors. The only three exceptions are Dan Straily, Jose Urena, and Wei-Yin Chen. Straily is still likely to be traded at some point before next season. Also, there’s no way that the Miami Marlins will get anyone to agree to a trade for Chen.

Chen is slated to make $42 million over the next two seasons before a possible vesting option kicks in. His results do not back up the paycheck. Urena isn’t going anywhere, and is at this point considered the staff anchor, if not exactly an “ace.”

Trevor Richards

Aside from those three, a wealth of young pitchers are expected to compete for a rotation spot. Trevor Richards looks like he’s found a home, with the highest ERA+ from amongst all Marlins pitchers with at least two starts. Richards has struck out 85 in 86 innings, and racked up a 1.372 WHIP in his first season.

Caleb Smith

Even after missing two months already, Smith still leads the Miami Marlins pitching staff with five wins. Whether we can attribute this to a staffwide spate of underachievement, the watering down of the “win” statistic, or a combination of both is your guess. Smith is currently on the 60-day disabled list, and may or may not be ready for the start of the 2019 campaign.

Pablo Lopez

Lopez clearly has “it.” Despite a 4.79 ERA and a 2-3 record over his first eight starts, Lopez leads the Miami Marlins pitching staff with a 1.170 WHIP (minimum 34 innings). Lopez looks to continue impacting the Marlins in a positive way by holding things down every fifth day.

Others

Some combination of Jarlin Garcia, Elieser Hernandez, Dillon Peters, Merandy Gonzalez, and Sandy Alcantara could also contribute starts. From below the major league level, help could come in the form of Zac Gallen, Jeff Brigham, Nick Neidert, Robert Dugger, and Jordan Yamamoto.