Marlins Trevor Richards takes the mound against the Mets

Can Miami Marlins starter Trevor Richards earn his first win of the season when he takes the mound against the New York Mets on Wednesday night at 6:10 PM from Marlins Park?

Trevor Richards pitched a gem last week but came up on the short end of a loss to the Colorado Rockies. Can the Miami Marlins starter notch his first win of the season tonight when he goes to the mound against the New York Mets?

Richards, who was one of the most talked about players during the spring for the Marlins, looks to once again use his change up to baffle hitters and lead his team to victory. His “go-to” pitch is considered one of the best in the Majors.

"As Joe Frisaro wrote, “Per Statcast, counting 2018 and his first start of this season, Richards has the third most strikeouts on changeups. He also ranks third in swinging strikes on the tantalizing pitch that resembles a fastball out of the hand, only to sputter drastically as it gets closer to the plate.”"

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That kind of confusion is what the Marlins coaching staff hopes will make Richards one of the ehst young arms in the National League this season and is one of the reasons the organization decided to use more youth in the rotation.

While Richards takes his 1.50 ERA to the mound Wednesday night, he goes against Jacob deGrom who looked to be in midseason form already this season.

Richards had success over the Spring that led to him nailing down the No. 2 spot in the rotation behind Jose Urena. But that could be misleading as Urena has not been effective, giving up five runs in the first inning of a 6-5 loss on Tuesday night. He threw 40 pitches in that frame alone.

Is the 25-year-old the best the Marlins have to offer in its rotation? That’s open for debate with Sandy Alcantara, Pablo Lopez and Caleb Smith all in the mix. Richards uses his changeup like a power pitcher uses a fastball. The results are proof it can be something he can count on in tough situations.

"Again, per Frisaro, “Since last year, Richards has struck out 80 with the changeup. Only Luis Castillo (112) and Kyle Hendricks (102) have fanned more batters with that pitch in that span.“As for swinging strikes, Richards has racked up 190 on the changeup. Again, Castillo (207) and Hendricks (192) are the only pitchers with more since 2018.”"

That’s pretty impressive stuff. Tonight, Richards will have a chance to show Mets hitters how good he can be on the mound. He has other pitches he counts on to mow down batters, but the change up will be his calling card during his MLB career.

Can Miami Marlins starter Trevor Richards earn his first win of the season when he takes the mound against the New York Mets on Wednesday night at 6:10 PM from Marlins Park?

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