Miami Marlins Nick Neidert turning heads in Spring Training

Nick Neidert may be one of the Miami Marlins top prospects, but he is turning heads in Spring Training.

As the Miami Marlins look to climb out of their latest rebuild, they are going to need to find pieces for the starting rotation. Jose Urena put himself back into those plans with an excellent seven start run to close out the season, but the remainder of the rotation is questionable at best. prospects such as Jordan Yamamoto and the recently acquired Sixto Sanchez are likely a couple of years away, leaving the Marlins with a rather uninspiring rotation.

However, there may be at least one reinforcement on the horizon. Nick Neidert has turned heads thus far in Spring Training, impressing manager Don Mattingly with his command and arsenal. In doing so, Neidert may be on the cusp of reaching the majors, perhaps even early this season.

Looking at his raw statistics, it is hard to see why the coaching staff would be so excited. In three innings, he has allowed two runs on three hits and three walks, while striking out two batters. Those are the speedbumps that one would expect from a 22 year old non-roster invitee in the major league portion of camp.

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Instead, it has been the way that he has overcome adversity. His first outing was rough, and Neidert had struggled early in his second appearance. However, he battled back, and then fired a perfect frame in his second inning on the mound.

Despite lacking fastball velocity, Neidert has displayed excellent command of his four pitch arsenal in his minor league career. Last season, he posted a 3.24 ERA and a 1.133 WHiP over his 152.2 innings, striking out 154 batters with only 31 walks. During his four years in the minors, Neidert has produced an impressive 4.91 K/BB rate, as he has the ability to spot any pitch in virtually any situation.

If he continues to perform well at AAA during the start of the 2019 campaign, his major league debut may come sooner than expected. Wei-Yin Chen may have two more years left on his contract, but he has been utterly putrid in Spring Training thus far, having been pounded for nine runs on ten hits and two walks in 3.2 innings of work. Following on the heels of his mediocre 2018 campaign, Chen should not have a long leash in Miami.

Nick Neidert may not have the type of fastball that will draw attention, but his command and arsenal are turning heads in Spring Training. His debut with the Miami Marlins may come sooner than expected.