Miami Marlins: How in the World are the Fins in Second Place?

Miami Marlins: A young school of fish swimming upstream.

It probably comes with no surprise that you have not heard many of these names. Sixto Sanchez has gained popularity as of late for his elite fastball velocity as a 22-year old.

He has definitely caught the league’s attention when he got called up and is now 3-1, with a 1.69 ERA. Despite his high velocity, he keeps his walks very low and boasts a .906 WHIP.

You would not expect many 22-year olds to keep their walks low, especially when you throw heat. Sanchez has shown maturity and seems to understand the importance of managing the strike zone, not just blowing batters away.

My favorite pitcher for the Marlins is Sandy Alcantara. Like the title says, the Marlins rotation is filled with young talent. He is only 25-years old and was selected as an All-Star in 2019.

One of the reasons why I like Alcantara was his 6-14 record last year, but he still found a spot on the All-Star team. This says a lot about his talent and the struggles he had to fight against being on a terrible Marlins team.

In 2020, he holds a 3.97 ERA, 8.3 K/9, and a 1.235 WHIP. Alcantara does walk quite a few hitters and is something he needs to improve on to warrant another All-Star selection.

Pablo Lopez is another surprising staple in the Marlins rotation as a 24-year old. He does not have quite the stats like Sanchez and Alcantara, but a 4.50 ERA is not terrible.

Lopez also has a high K/9, 9.0, but his walks are high which hurts him in the long run.

The other two starting rotation spots have been a rotation of pitchers and call ups. The 22-year old, Trevor Rogers was called up and he has started four games now, but without any impressive numbers.

But the main three are Sanchez, Alcantara, and Lopez. The trio are quietly leading a team of unknowns into playoff contention.