Florida / Miami Marlins All-Time Top 40 Players: Part 2

31. Brad Penny (7.5)

Brad Penny was a 6-foot-4, 200 lb. right-handed starter from Blackwell, OK. Born on May 24th, 1978, the Arizona Diamondbacks chose him in the fifth round of the 1996 MLB Amateur Entry Draft.

In 1999, Penny, still a minor leaguer, was traded by Arizona with Abraham Nunez and Vladimir Nunez to Florida for Matt Mantei. He made his major league debut for the 2000 Marlins, going 8-7 with a 4.81 ERA over 23 appearances, including 22 starts. In 119 2/3 innings, he struck out 80 and closed the campaign with a less-than-adequate 1.504 WHIP for the 79-82 club.

Penny was over a full run better per-game with a 3.69 ERA in 2001. He went 10-10 over 31 starts, with 154 K’s in 205 innings, a much-improved 1.156 WHIP, and a 115 ERA+, up from 92 the season prior. Despite his improvement, the Marlins finished at 76-86.

In 2002, Penny again went 8-7 while his ERA regressed to 4.66 and his WHIP increased back to 1.531. He whiffed 93 in 129 1/3 innings, starting 24 games in total. The Marlins finished at 79-83.

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In 2003, Penny, along with Carl Pavano, Mark Redman, Josh Beckett, and Dontrelle Willis, maintained possibly the best Marlins rotation throughout their history. The five starters combined to start in 143 of the Marlins 162 regular season games. Penny went 14-10 with a 4.13 ERA over his 32 starts, striking out 138 in 196 1/3 innings and holding the opposition to a 1.278 WHIP. Through the playoffs, Penny went 3-1 over seven appearances, including four starts. He saved his best for last, winning both of his World Series starts over the Yankees while maintaining a 2.19 ERA.

2004 would see Penny go 8-8 for the Fish with a 3.15 ERA over 21 starts prior to the trade deadline. On July 30th, Florida sent him to the Los Angeles Dodgers with Bill Murphy and Her Seop Choi for Juan Encarnacion, Guillermo Mota, and Paul LoDuca.

Penny went on to gain all-star accolades in two of his four full seasons with Los Angeles, and later spent time with the San Francisco Giants, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Detroit Tigers.

In 2014, at the age of 36 and nearly two full calendar years after his last appearance, Penny appeared in eight games for Miami, four as a starter and four in relief. He went 2-1 with a 6.58 ERA and 13 K’s in 26 innings.