The 3 greatest Miami Marlins pitching performances by WAR

The Miami Marlins pitching depth is a major topic this off-season. One of the arms may be a surprising boost to the staff this year. I thought that it was a good idea to take a look at the three best pitching performances in team history.

The three best pitching performances in Miami Marlins history based on WAR.

3. SP DONTRELLE WILLIS IN 2005

Dontrelle Willis was someone that I covered before. He was at his best during the 2005 season. He produced a 2.63 ERA/2.99 FIP, with 6.5 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 34 games and 236.1 innings pitched. He also had a 22-10 W-L record. Those 22 wins were the best in the Majors. That was true ace production and certainly was very promising for the then Florida Marlins. The strikeout rate wasn't promising, but everything else was great.

The breakout came after a 2004 season, in which he produced a 4.02 ERA/4.01 FIP, with 6.4 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9, in 32 games and 197.0 innings pitched. He wasn't an ace at that time, but the 2005 breakout was of course pretty amazing. He was worth 7.3 WAR for that performance.

Do you know who was worth less WAR than Dontrelle Willis? St. Louis Cardinals SP Chris Carpenter. Carpenter was worth 5.8 WAR in 2005. That's significantly less in Willis, yet Willis finished second in NL Cy Young award voting that year. Carpenter ended up finishing with a worse WAR and a 2.83 ERA/2.90 FIP, in 33 games and 241.2 innings pitched. He also had a 21-5 W-L record. It wasn't fair then and it isn't fair now. Dontrelle Willis should've won the NL Cy Young award in 2005.

NEXT: GUESS WHO IS SECOND?!