Miami Marlins: 3 Takeaways from Jesus Luzardo Debut

Miami Marlins‘ fans were treated to the organizational debut of hometown kid Jesus Luzardo on Monday night. Acquired in the Starling Marte trade from Oakland, the former top prospect obviously garnered interest surrounding his Marlins debut, especially with it coming in his hometown for his hometown team.

A Parkland, FL native, Luzardo picked up the win during Monday night’s game against the Mets at loanDepot Park going five innings allowed three runs on four hits, three walks, and five strikeouts. The 23-year old southpaw was impressive on Monday night, but also showed some key areas of improvement as well.

Jesus Luzardo looked impressive in his Miami Marlins debut.

When looking at Luzardo’s first outing in a Marlins uniform on Monday, there are three different takeaway points from his impressive showing.

1. His Stuff is Legit

Luzardo displays a big arm with impressive stuff, both of which were on display Monday night. Striking out five batters overall in five innings, the young southpaw flashed some of his strikeout potential last night, while also doing a nice job of keeping the ball on the ground forcing seven ground balls to only two fly balls. His stuff was impressive, and will be something to be excited about for Luzardo going forward.

2. Command will Improve

While he flashed some impressive strikeout potential, Luzardo also struggled at times with his command. Walking three batters across five innings pitched, Luzardo threw 47 of his 84 pitches for strikes (56%), but ran into some trouble in the second inning that started with a leadoff walk, and later allowed a run to score on a wild pitch. While it might not have been the best last night, Luzardo’s command should improve over time.

3. Don’t ERA watch

Luzardo obviously struggled in Oakland this season posting a 6.87 ERA across 38 innings pitching in multiple different roles. Now pitching with a completely different team, the young left-hander will certainly take some time to get used to new things. Because of this, Luzardo’s overall numbers will take some time to lower, and they should if last night is something to go off.

It was certainly an impressive Marlins debut last for the 23-year old southpaw. While it wasn’t the most eye-popping debut, Luzardo is certainly a player that the Miami Marlins should be excited about going forward.