Analyzing a surprisingly dominant Miami Marlins starting pitcher

It's almost unimaginable what's been happening with the Miami Marlins. A hidden gem that is starting pitcher Valente Bellozo has burst onto the scene. I can't help but want to analyze his stuff. Bellozo's break-out is one of the best stories of the 2024 season, and only enhances the already excellent starting pitching mix going forward. Are you ready to analyze the potential new rotation mainstay?

Valente Bellozo has broken out for the Miami Marlins this season.

There was no reason to think that Valente Bellozo would do anything special this season. Peter Bendix acquired him from the Houston Astros in a minor trade on April 6. Going back to Houston were Minor League 2B Jacob Amaya and cash. Amaya by the way is a career .200/.200/.200 hitter at the Major League level.

Bellozo didn't do anything memorable in the Miami Marlins Minor League system. Pitching in AA and AAA, he had a 4.64 ERA in 14 games and 66.0 innings pitched, with 9.8 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. I would assume that the strikeout rate got some attention, but everything else really didn't seem impressive. The previous season in Houston, he pitched at the A+ and AA levels and had an even worse 5.55 ERA in 26 games and 110.1 innings pitched. He also had 8.6 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9.

You can imagine the surprise when The Fish called up Valente Bellozo and he pitched to a 2.45 ERA/3.53 FIP, with 7.4 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 6 games and 33.0 innings pitched. Bellozo's best pitch is his cutter, with which he puts away the hitter 41.7% of the time. Hitters are batting .143/.169/.229 against that pitch.

Bellozo's fastball is only 89.7 MPH, but hitters are still only batting .149/.232/.255 against it. It's remarkable that he's able to do it with what is considered to be a below average fastball speed. It seems to me that he knows how to locate his pitches very well and how to get outs. I don't see his performance as luck at all. The FIP does project a bit of a decline, but even with that Valente Bellozo seems to be a solid mid-rotation arm for the Miami Marlins.