Miami Marlins breakout relief pitcher

The Miami Marlins have the best closer in the Major Leagues. That is of course Tanner Scott. Tanner has some help in the bullpen as well, that help being breakout relief pitcher Andrew Nardi. Nardi has been a revelation this season, which is especially important when some others failed to deliver as expected.

Andrew Nardi has broken out as an elite Miami Marlins relief pitcher.

Having an elite bullpen is key to making a deep run in the playoffs. This has been something that the Miami Marlins badly need and tried to create this season. Who knew that it would be a seemingly failed reliever that would be an elite arm?

Andrew Nardi is a lefty who was drafted in the 39'th round of the 2017 draft by the New York Yankees. The 39'th round. He did not sign with the team, so ended up being available in the following year's draft as well. In that 2018 draft, Nardi was drafted by the Washington Nationals. In an ironic coincidence, this once again happened in the 39'th round. He once again refused to sign. This meant that he'd be eligible for yet another draft.

Nardi was available once again in the 2019 draft. This time he was drafted by the Miami Marlins in the 16'th round. This was quite an improvement on his previous drafts. He ended up signing this time, and that paid off major dividends later.

Andrew Nardi debuted for The Fish in the 2022 season. He delivered an abysmal 9.82 ERA/7.13 FIP, with 14.7 K/9 and 8.6 BB/9 in 13 games and 14.2 innings pitched. The strikeouts were elite, but the walks were atrocious. It was clear that the then 23 year old had some great strikeout stuff. It was also clear that he had lackluster control and terrible overall results.

Things were drastically different in 2023. Andrew Nardi has so far delivered an impressive 2.88 ERA, (with a less impressive 3.68 FIP). He has an elite 11.7 K/9 and a decent 3.2 BB/9 in 55 games and 50.0 innings pitched. He was worth -0.8 WAR last season, but has been worth 1.5 WAR this season.