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Miami Marlins 2020 Opening Day: The Starting Rotation

By Kevin Kraczkowski

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 24: Sandy Alcantara #22 of the Miami Marlins pitches during the first inning of their game against the New York Mets at Citi Field on September 24, 2019 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 24: Sandy Alcantara #22 of the Miami Marlins pitches during the first inning of their game against the New York Mets at Citi Field on September 24, 2019 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /
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Miami Marlins
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 24: Sandy Alcantara #22 of the Miami Marlins reacts after giving up a two run home run to Michael Conforto of the New York Mets in the seventh inning at Citi Field on September 24, 2019 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Sandy Alcantara

Alcantara is probably the only slam-dunk solid lock for the Opening Day rotation. The only starter to make every turn through the 2019 campaign, Alcantara seemed to turn a corner after the trade deadline. Compare his pre-deadline numbers with his post-deadline numbers.

Pre-Deadline: 4-10, 4.54 ERA, .261/.350/.440, 6.51 K/9 over 123 innings, 1.480 WHIP

Post-Deadline: 2-4, 2.78 ERA, .207/.271/.324, 7.51 K/9 over 74 1/3 innings, 1.049 WHIP

What’s clear is that Alcantara seemed to figure out this whole “pitching” thing right around that time. I mean, sure, he knew how to pitch before that, but since the trade deadline came and went, Alcantara was the clear “ace” of the staff.

Miami Marlins
PHILADELPHIA, PA – SEPTEMBER 28: Pitcher Caleb Smith #31 of the Miami Marlins delivers a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies during the second inning of a game at Citizens Bank Park on September 28, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

Caleb Smith

Smith, also affectionately known around these parts as “Dr. K,” first made a dent in the Miami Marlins rotation in 2018, going 5-6 with a 4.19 ERA over 16 starts before making a near-year-long trip to the injured list in June. Smith had a 10.2 K/9 rate when he went down, good for 88 whiffs in 77 1/3 innings.

The Miami Marlins decided to err on the side of caution when bringing Smith back into live game-action, waiting until the 2019 regular season to play him. He didn’t disappoint. Smith’s 1.8 WAR ranked second from amongst the Marlins starters, behind only Alcantara’s 2.9. He led the team in victories, going 10-11 with a 4.52 ERA and striking out a club-leading 168 in 153 1/3 innings for a 9.9 K/9 rate.

Alcantara and Smith are the only starters that I would consider a “lock” going into the offseason, with Alcantara solid as the number one and Smith a good number two.

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