Miami Marlins Spring Training: What Will the Bullpen Look Like?

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MIAMI, FL – SEPTEMBER 5: Drew Steckenrider #71 of the Miami Marlins throws a pitch during the ninth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Marlins Park on September 5, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images) /

Along with the 40-man roster common to every major league team entering Spring Training, the Miami Marlins have also invited 26 players to try their best.

Today we take a look inside the bullpen. The rotation will be five, there’s going to be two catchers, four outfielders, and six infielders. That leaves the largest group as the bullpen, which will have eight players. There are twenty-one in Miami Marlins camp. Who is in, who is out, and who is close? We’ll dive into it.

On Monday, we took a look into the rotation. Tuesday we reviewed the outfield picture. Later on this week, join us for a look at the catching corps and the infielders.

Who are considered locks for the Opening Day roster?

Adam Conley

As everyone is already tracking, Adam Conley was a starter for his first three major league seasons with the Miami Marlins. In 2018, he was looking pretty bad as a starter through his first three games with the New Orleans Baby Cakes, in the triple-A Pacific Coast League. Through his first 7 1/3 innings, he had a .488 opposing batting average and a 19.64 ERA.

When Conley returned to the Miami Marlins as a reliever, starting on May 21st, everything was different. Each of his four offerings had increased by an average of 6 MPH, and all of his other metrics followed. He spent the rest of the season with the Miami Marlins, and put up a career-best 1.064 WHIP and a 3.60 FIP.

Riley Ferrell

Riley Ferrell hasn’t appeared at the major league level through his four-year minor league career. Chosen by the Miami Marlins in the MLB portion of the rule 5 draft, he will remain with the parent club through the 2019 campaign, or be ceded back to the Houston Astros.

2018 saw Ferrell with Houston’s top two minor league affiliates. He racked up a 4.53 ERA, 67 K’s in 51 2/3 innings, and a 1.587 WHIP. More of the same would be enough to stick with the Marlins.

Jose Quijada

Jose Quijada has spent five seasons in the Miami Marlins system below the major league level, and has impressed consistently. He’s played at every minor league level excepting the short-season-A Batavia Muckdogs, and gone 17-14 with a 2.79 ERA, 282 K’s in 251 1/3 innings, and a 1.082 WHIP.

The Marlins need a lefty out of the bullpen, and Quijada fits the bill. Look for him to make the team.

Sergio Romo

Sergio Romo has an 11-season major league career under his belt. Nine seasons for the San Francisco Giants followed by time spent with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Tampa Bay Rays. He’s 38-31 with a 2.86 ERA and 109 saves to his credit, with 632 strikeouts in 562 2/3 innings. There’s no question that he joins the team for the duration.

Drew Steckenrider

Drew Steckenrider has 128 strikeouts in 98 major league innings over his first two seasons with the Miami Marlins. Although he’s probably the most dependable reliever remaining, it’s unlikely he takes up the mantle of “closer,” as it’s been stated the Miami Marlins will not name one for the 2019 season.

Jarlin Garcia

Jarlin Garcia got off to an unprecedented start as a starting pitcher. After appearing 68 times in relief in 2017 for the Miami Marlins, he entered 2018 as the “swing” starter.

In five appearances in the month of April, including three starts, Garcia gave up 10 hits in 27 innings of work for an opposing batting average of .114. That would prove to be an unsustainable rate of production for the Dominican lefty, and after moving to the bullpen in mid-May was sent down to the New Orleans Baby Cakes for July and August.

After Garcia’s April, opponents hit .308 with a 7.62 ERA against him. He also finished in the very bottom of the National League in a lot of StatCast metrics, including a opposing barrel percentage of 11.0, an XWOBA of .382, and a 14.4 percent strikeout rate.

Merandy Gonzalez

Merandy Gonzalez joined the Miami Marlins from the New York Mets for A.J. Ramos in mid-2017. Last season he started 14 times for the double-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, and racked up a 4.32 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP in 73 innings.

In eight appearances at the major league level with the Miami Marlins, Gonzalez struck out 19 in 22 innings, and posted a 5.73 ERA. Although he finished with a 1.77 WHIP, his fastball velocity ranked in the top third of the N.L., and his curveball spin rate in the top quarter, according to StatCast.

Nick Anderson

Nick Anderson has yet to appear at the major league level over his four-season professional career. Although he’s already 28-years-old, his career WHIP at levels from low-A to triple-A is a solid 0.936. He’s also gotten 232 batters to miss in 183 2/3 innings, a K/9 rate of 11.4, and this while walking only 2.2 per nine. The resultant 5.16 K/BB would be considered elite at the top level of baseball, and Anderson is looking to stick around.

Austin Brice

What’s old is new again in Miami for the Marlins. Austin Brice left the organization just over two seasons ago, along with Zeek White and Luis Castillo for starter Dan Straily. Since then he’s been thrice waived, by the Reds, the Anaheim Angels, and the Baltimore Orioles. Can a guy who was waived by the only team rated “worse” than the Marlins possibly offer anything to the parent club?

In 70 major league appearances over his first three seasons, Brice has a 1.262 WHIP, which isn’t that bad. A 5.25 FIP, a 76 ERA+, and a 5.68 ERA tell a different story. Brice does well in avoiding the issuance of free passes, with a BB/9 of 2.7, which is really his bread and butter. He strikes out just over one-fifth of batters he faces, and walks just seven percent.

Tayron Guerrero

According to StatCast, Tayron Guerrero threw two of the fastest 18 pitches of the 2018 season, with offerings of 104.0 and 103.8 MPH, respectively. The lanky 6’7″ right-handed Columbian native got 68 batters to miss in 58 innings, but his 1.2 wins below replacement marked him as the worst pitcher on the club. Indeed a dubious distinction.

Elieser Hernandez

Elieser Hernandez was a rule 5 pick from the Houston Astros system after the 2017 season despite never pitching above the high-A level. He started six times last year for the Miami Marlins, appearing 26 other times as a reliever. He completed the campaign with an ERA+ of 70, a 1.447 WHIP, and a 5.29 FIP that was nearly in line with his 5.21 ERA.

All of Hernandez’ advanced StatCast metrics graded out as below average, most notably his bottom 10 percent K rate of 15.8 percent. The good news is that the Miami Marlins can bring Hernandez along at a little more natural pace this season, as they are no longer restricted from sending him to the minor leagues.

Kyle Keller

Kyle Keller is another player who has never pitched in the majors. After his first three seasons of languishing in the lower reaches of the Miami Marlins minor league system, 2018 must have seemed like a dream. He excelled at the top three levels of the system, with Jupiter, Jacksonville, and New Orleans, striking out 78 in 52 2/3 innings along with a 1.101 WHIP which is strongly correlative with future major league success.

Tommy Eveld

Tommy Eveld is widely considered as the Miami Marlins closer of the future. Somewhat appropriately, he was gained by Miami in the trade deadline deal which netted the Arizona Diamondbacks former Marlins closer Brad Ziegler.

In a small sample size after joining the system, the 6’5″ righty struck out 14 in 9 2/3 innings for the Fish, holding the opposition to a sub-1 WHIP and a 0.93 ERA in double-A Jacksonville.

Brett Graves

Brett Graves came to the Miami Marlins from the Oakland Athletics system via rule 5 last season, and aside from a long injury time-out, spent the year with the Marlins. In 21 contests, he struck out 21 batters in 33 innings, with a 1-1 record, one save, and a 1.59 WHIP.

Dylan Lee

After going 4-10 with a 4.85 ERA with the Greensboro Grasshoppers as a starter in 2017, Dylan Lee transitioned to the bullpen to obscene results. Blowing through the Marlins top three minor league levels, much like Kyle Keller (above), Lee was 8-3 with a 1.60 ERA, 63 K’s in 62 innings, and a WHIP of 0.97 in a not-small sample size.

Tyler Kinley

Tyler Kinley was lost to the Miami Marlins via rule 5 to the Minnesota Twins prior to the 2018 season, but was returned after four sub-par appearances. After rejoining the Miami Marlins, he pitched very effectively at triple-A with the Baby Cakes. In 40 innings, he collected 56 strikeouts and held the opposition to a 2.93 ERA.

Kinley rejoined the majors with the Miami Marlins when the roster expanded in early September, and in a small sample struck out nine in 7 2/3 innings. He also gave up six runs, but on only six hits.

R.J. Alvarez

R.J. Alvarez has enjoyed two cups of coffee at the major league level, but no hot beverages since 2015. He’s spent most of the last four years at the triple-A level, between the Athletics and the Texas Rangers systems. As the closer for the Round Rock Express last year, he saved 24 contests, with 44 strikeouts in as many innings.

Mike Kickham

Mike Kickham is another guy who’s been gone from the majors for a long time. He played in 14 games for the San Francisco Giants in 2012 and 2013, but has bounced around a bit since then.

For the last two years, Kickham played in the Marlins minor league system. For the Baby Cakes last year, he held the opposition to a 1.14 WHIP in 37 2/3 innings, with 33 K’s and a 3.64 ERA.

Ben Meyer

Ben Meyer had a rough introduction to major league hitting in his debut late last season. Opponents tagged him for 23 runs in 19 innings for a 10.42 ERA and a 2.11 WHIP.

Meyer’s minor league totals paint a better picture. He’s struck out just over a batter per inning through his first four professional seasons, and racked up a 3.05 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP.

Brian Moran

Brian Moran joins the Miami Marlins as the ninth-oldest player in the system, at 30. He’s pitched in 301 games in a 10-season minor league career, with a 3.15 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP, and 472 whiffs in 401 innings.

Hector Noesi

Hector Noesi has started in 53 of his 107 career major league appearances, going 12-31 with a 5.30 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. Since 2015, he’s spent his seasons in the KBO, with the Kia Tigers. He’s turned in a serious workload for them, pitching 582 1/3 innings over the last three years, and pitching to a 3.79 ERA over 90 starts. A 46-20 record were the fruits of his labor. He hopes to bring some of that success to the Miami Marlins in 2019.

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