This Miami Marlins pitcher is similar to a Hall of Famer...

The Miami Marlins have an underperforming rotation that is finally getting some help. It will get better, but there is a way that it can get elite. What if I told you that Edward Cabrera reminds me of Hall of Famer Randy Johnson? Before you say how crazy that sounds, let me present my case for why Cabrera has the chance to have a similar career as the legendary former Arizona Diamondbacks ace.

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Edward Cabrera could replicate Randy Johnson's career

Edward Cabrera is just 25 years old, and debuted in 2021 as a 23 year old with the Miami Marlins. Cabrera delivered an abysmal 5.81 ERA/6.63 FIP, with a great 9.6 K/9 and a terrible 6.5 BB/9 in 7 games and 26.1 innings pitched. The strikeout rate was phenomenal but everything else looked bad, especially his control. Things changed in 2022, when he delivered a 3.01 ERA/4.39 FIP, with 9.4 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9. The walk rate went down, and the strikeouts did too, but were still very good. The ERA was elite, but the FIP made it appear like a fluke.

This season Cabrera has a 5.35 ERA/5.01 FIP, with 12.5 K/9 and 7.6 BB/9 in 8 games and 35.1 innings pitched. At this point he has 10.3 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9 for his career. It's obvious that he's elite at getting strikeouts, but has serious control issues. Would you like to see Randy Johnson's career K/9? 10.6. How about his BB/9 in his first four seasons? 5.7. The numbers are almost identical. Johnson was always a high strikeout pitcher, but had terrible control early on in his career. He has 3.3 BB/9 for his career.

I'm not saying that Edward Cabrera is the next Randy Johnson, but that there are some startling similarities. In both cases you have a starting pitcher with an elite strikeout rate, who had control issues early on in his career. Of course the difference is that Randy fixed his, but can Cabrera fix his control too? If the Miami Marlins can get Edward Cabrera's control...well "under control" the reward could be another ace in the rotation.