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The 3 greatest Miami Marlins pitching performances by WAR

The top pitching performances by Miami Marlins starting pitchers by WAR may actually surprise you

By Neil Raymond |
Sandy Alcantara
Sandy Alcantara / Mitchell Layton/GettyImages
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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?!

2. SP SANDY ALCANTARA IN 2022

The second best pitching performance in Miami Marlins history based on WAR was accomplished just last year. It was Sandy's Beach in Little Havana that season. It's also why we're going to be missing Sandy Alcántara in 2024. Sandy wasn't just the best starting pitcher in the Major Leagues in 2022, he was the best player in baseball period.

Sandy Alcántara produced a 2.28 ERA/2.99 FIP, with 8.1 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 32 games and 228.2 innings pitched. He also had a 14-9 W-L record. Those 228.2 innings pitched was an inning high for ANY starting pitcher that season. No one does this anymore. Sadly, it may have also contributed to his having to go through Tommy John Surgery. It's fair to say that his FIP was significantly higher than his ERA, but it was still an elite performance from him.

Sandy Alcántara was worth a 7.8 WAR that season. It's not much of a surprise that he won the National League Cy Young award that year. It was actually a bit of a travesty that he didn't win the National League MVP award that season too. He finished tenth in that voting. The winner was St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who was worth an identical 7.8 WAR. Sandy however was more vital to the Miami Marlins, than Goldy was to St. Louis.

NEXT: THE BEST PITCHING PERFORMANCE IN MIAMI MARLINS HISTORY

1. SP KEVIN BROWN IN 1996

The then Florida Marlins were a year away from winning the World Series. The greatest pitching performance in Miami Marlins history came in that 1996 season. Brown was worth 7.9 WAR, the highest single season pitching WAR in Fish history. As you can see it's only slightly higher than Sandy's, but it was still the highest.

You might be stunned when you see just how good Kevin Brown was for The Fish. Brown produced a 1.89 ERA/2.88 FIP, with 6.1 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9. He also had a 17-11 W-L record. The strikeout rate may not have been impressive, but the control was great and the ERA was absolutely amazing. There was no doubt that he was an elite ace.

Surprisingly, Kevin Brown didn't win the National League Cy Young award that year. He actually finished second in the voting, as the winner was John Smoltz from the Atlanta Braves. Smoltz had a 24-8 W-L record, with a 2.94 ERA/2.64 FIP, with 9.8 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9. Smoltz had a better record, but a significantly worse RA. The strikeout rate was significantly higher as well. He was worth 7.4 WAR, so he technically was indeed worse than Brown.

It's going to be hard for any pitcher to do better than Kevin Brown in 1996. I'm glad to add that he did win the World Series with the then Florida Marlins the following season in 1997.

Next. The 3 greatest position player seasons in Miami Marlins history. The 3 greatest position player seasons in Miami Marlins history. dark

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