Miami Marlins Rotation: Opening Day 2023

Edward Cabrera is as near a lock to join the Miami Marlins rotation sometime this season that I’ve seen. A six-foot-four, 175 lb. right-hander from Santiago, DR, Cabrera won’t even turn 22-years-old until April. Ranked number six in the system according to MLB Pipeline, Cabrera has a fastball that has reached triple digits, but mostly lives in the 93-to-97 MPH range. He also throws a nasty slider and a solid changeup.

Last season, his fourth in the Miami Marlins system, Cabrera split his time between High-A and Double-A. As part of the Jupiter Hammerheads in the Florida State League through the first half of the campaign, he started 11 games and posted a 5-3 record with a 2.02 ERA, along with 73 whiffs in 58 innings. His 11.3 K/9, 5.7 H/9, and 0.948 WHIP all rated as elite, so the organization pushed him up a level.

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After joining the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in the Southern League, Cabrera continued his near-mastery of near-major league level talent. Despite being over three years younger than the “average” Southern Leaguer, he racked up a 4-1 record in eight starts, with a 2.56 ERA, 43 K’s in 38 2/3 innings, and a still-near-elite 1.060 WHIP.

Cabrera has done nothing to dissuade Marlins management from their high opinion of him this spring. In two appearances, he has struck out four and surrendered one walk and two hits. Hardly a large enough sample size by which to make a determination as yet, but Cabrera is on path to join the Marlins proper at some point this season. Come 2023, I expect he’ll already be a stalwart in the rotation.