Is Braxton Garrett quietly breaking out?

Braxton Garrett is seemingly…turning into an ace?! With all the talk focused on other starting pitchers, it’s been easy to miss the Miami Marlins developing another top of the rotation arm. Braxton Garrett is turning the corner and it’s exciting to watch.

Braxton Garrett may be turning into an ace for the Miami Marlins.

Braxton Garrett has a 2-4 W-L record and a 3.96 ERA/3.24 FIP in 10 games and 52.1 innings so far this season. He also has 9.5 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9. Those are all pretty impressive numbers and got him a 0.5 WAR. The 3.24 FIP and the K/9  compared to BB/9 especially stand out. Could he possibly be on the way to becoming an actual ace?!

Braxton Garrett debuted for the Miami Marlins in 2020 and had a 1-1 W-L record with a 5.87 ERA/8.15 FIP in 2 games and 7.2 innings. He had 9.4 K/9 and 5.9 BB/9 as well. This wasn’t an impressive debut to say the least, but the strikeouts were very good and hinted at better results if he got his walks under control.

The Miami Marlins called up Braxton Garrett again in 2021, and this time he started 7 out of 8 games that he pitched in for 34 innings. He produced a 1-2 W-L record with a 5.03 ERA/4.38 FIP, 8.5 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9. Garrett improved in the ERA and FIP departments, but his strikeout rate dropped and his walks only slightly improved. Then came this season…

Braxton Garrett significantly improved in both the ERA and FIP departments, improved his strikeout rate to his career high and fixed his control problem. Is it possible that he is a legit future ace? He is still only 24 years old.

How is Braxton Garrett looking on his StatCast page? A lot of red (good) on that page, but his fastball velocity and curve spin are unfortunately in the blue (bad). Despite the poor velocity, his fastball has a .209 batting average against it. Garrett’s best pitch is his slider, that has a .214 batting average against it and that has a 42.3 Whiff % along with a 27.2 PutAway%.

Braxton Garrett may be turning a corner and becoming a legitimate ace for the Miami Marlins. We will find out for sure in the coming games, but at worst he seems to be a solid mid-rotation arm.