Miami Marlins pitcher had an unusual season

The playoffs are off to a hot start but the Miami Marlins are not in. We can only hope that the 2025 season goes better. There were some bright spots this season and Peter Bendix surely doesn't need to worry about the rotation as much as other areas of the team. There are many good arms in the mix, but one name was not expected to be in the mix: Valente Bellozo.

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Valente Bellozo may be in the rotation mix next season.

Valente Bellozo came seemingly out of nowhere. He pitched to a 4.64 ERA in AA/AAA with an impressive 9.8 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. It was the strikeout rate that seemingly got the team's attention. The result was of course his promotion to the Major Leagues. It wasn't a permanent call-up, he was just called up as an injury replacement. It was interesting to see how he would do, though there was really no real reason for optimism.

The 24 year old right-hander made his Major League debut this season and it went in an intriguing way. He pitched to an impressive 3.67 ERA, with an underwhelming 5.73 FIP. He had an unimpressive 5.8 K/9 and a solid 2.8 BB/9. He did all of this in 13 games and 68.2 innings pitched. It was a very short sample size, and the FIP is definitely concerning to say the least. So is the lack of a track record.

What can the Miami Marlins expect from Valente Bellozo in the 2025 season? It doesn't seem likely that he'll crack the Opening Day rotation. It's pretty clear that Sandy Alcantara, Eury Perez, Jesus Luzardo and Ryan Weathers have the top four spots locked up. Weathers has definitely earned his spot for example. The fifth spot will have a competition for it and Bellozo may not be in the lead. Edward Cabrera as well as Braxton Garrett seem to be ahead of him on the depth chart. That doesn't mean that Bellozo can't surprise us with a strong performance in say Spring Training. The ERA is certainly impressive.