Miami Marlins Spring Training: Bullpen Check, Part Five

The Miami Marlins still have quite a few possibilities to come out of the bullpen on Opening Day.

The statistics cited in the following article are for the last seven games, including today’s contest and covering March 13th through the 20th. Chances at making the Miami Marlins Opening Day roster are estimated by me, and are not reflective of the opinions of FanSided. First, there are five locks to make it.

Miami Marlins Bullpen: Locked In

Adam Conley

Adam Conley pitched the fifth inning of the Miami Marlins 4-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals last Wednesday. He was sandwiched right between José Ureña’s pretty good start (four innings, two hits, one run, one walk, three strikeouts) and Caleb Smith‘s flawless relief victory (four innings, zero hits, zero runs, zero walks, six strikeouts). For Conley’s part, he surrendered one hit and struck one batter out, and kept the Cardinals off the board.

On Saturday, in Miami’s 11-6 win against the New York Mets, Conley was again called on to bail out a struggling starter, this time Sandy Alcantara, who allowed 10 baserunners in only 3 1/3 innings. Conley came in, put out the fire, and struck out two in 1 2/3 innings. He allowed only one hit.

Today, Conley pitched a perfect eighth inning against the Cardinals, striking out a pair and doing his part to ensure an 11th straight win. Opening Day Roster Chance: 100 percent

Sergio Romo

Sergio Romo came out of the pen to bail out a struggling Dan Straily on Thursday, in a 12-6 Miami Marlins victory. He inherited a pair of baserunners in the fourth inning, and struck out Tony Kemp to get out of it. He earned a victory for his troubles, despite walking Carlos Correa and subsequently giving up a home run to Tyler White.

On Monday, Romo took the ball from Caleb Smith, who limited the Washington Nationals to one run on two hits while striking out seven in five innings. Romo pitched a perfect inning of his own, fanning one in the Marlins eventual 7-1 victory. Opening Day Roster Chance: 100 percent

Tayron Guerrero

Tayron Guerrero pitched a perfect inning on Thursday, collecting a pair of strikeouts. On Sunday, he ran into a spot of trouble in the Marlins win against the Cardinals. Despite losing the no-hit bid in the ninth inning, he held on enough to seal the victory, allowing two runs on two hits. In today’s contest, he pitched a perfect inning against the Cardinals, striking out two and helping the Miami Marlins clinch a winning spring training record. Opening Day Roster Chance: 100 percent

Drew Steckenrider

On Thursday, Drew Steckenrider pitched a perfect seventh inning. In another seventh inning, on Sunday, he again pitched a perfect inning in a 4-2 victory against the Cardinals. Opening Day Roster Chance: 100 percent

Riley Ferrell

Riley Ferrell struck out a pair and surrendered only a walk in an otherwise clean eighth inning on Thursday. On Saturday, he gave up a hit and struck one batter out over the first 2/3 of the ninth inning prior to the game being called. Opening Day Roster Chance: 100 percent

These next seven pitchers, including the now-sent-down Jarlin Garcia, are looking to fill out the final three spots in the pen. They may also have to share those three spots with some combination of Miami Marlins would-be starting pitchers. It’s likely that Caleb Smith opens out of the pen, and also that Wei-Yin Chen remains there for awhile.

On the Edge

Tyler Kinley

Tyler Kinley struck out two of the three batters he faced on Thursday, pitching a perfect ninth in a non-save situation against the Astros. With 10 strikeouts in only 5 2/3 innings, and a sub-one WHIP (despite a pretty small sample size), Kinley looks like a better-than-even bet to open with the Miami Marlins. Opening Day Roster Chance: 60 percent

Nick Anderson

Nick Anderson pitched the sixth and seventh innings on Saturday against the Mets, and struck out three batters over a perfect outing to earn the victory. Opening Day Roster Chance: 70 percent

R.J. Alvarez

R.J. Alvarez pitched a perfect eighth in the Marlins win against the Mets on Saturday, striking one batter out. Despite that, he’s a long-shot to break camp with the Miami Marlins due to his two-plus WHIP in Spring Training. Opening Day Roster Chance: 10 percent

Austin Brice

Austin Brice pitched a near-clean inning on Sunday, hitting a batter and striking one out in Miami’s latest win against St. Louis. He has eight K’s in 6 1/3 innings, and is probably going to open the season on the parent roster. Opening Day Roster Chance: 70 percent

Jarlin Garcia

Jarlin Garcia pitched the seventh inning in Miami’s win against the Nats on Monday, allowing one hit. On Tuesday, the Marlins optioned Garcia to the New Orleans Baby Cakes, in the triple-A Pacific Coast League. Opening Day Roster Chance: Zero percent

Brian Moran

Brian Moran pitched the eighth against Washington on Monday, issued two walks, and collected two strikeouts. Moran has walked five in only 3 2/3 innings, but also struck out five and allowed only one hit. Still, he’s going to need to get a handle on that before he’s trusted in any leverage situations. Opening Day Roster Chance: 25 percent

Mike Kickham

Also on Monday, Mike Kickham pitched a scoreless ninth against the Nationals, allowing a walk and striking two batters out. Today, Kickham faced one batter and allowed a double, one of only three hits given up by the Miami Marlins. Opening Day Roster Chance: 40 percent

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