Phillies 2020 opponent outlook: Miami Marlins
The Phillies will see a trail of young Marlins pitchers this season
Sandy Alcantara
The Marlins depth chart lists Sandy Alcantara as their number one starter after he led the team with a 3.88 ERA and two shutouts in 32 starts in his first season as an All-Star. He did allow 23 home runs and 81 walks, but he struck out 151 batters in nearly 200 innings last year.
Caleb Smith
Caleb Smith led the Marlins with 10 wins and 168 strikeouts last year, but like Alcantara he was susceptible to the longball, dishing out 33 in 28 games. Turning 29 in the first week of the season, Smith is the “veteran” of the Marlins rotation despite having just 53 games under his belt.
Pablo López
Pablo López was traded to Miami for veteran reliever David Phelps in 2017 and has made 31 starts since coming up in 2018. Last year he had a 5.09 ERA and gave up 15 home runs in 21 starts for the Marlins, but at 24 he still has time to grow in the Marlins young rotation.
Jose Urena
From the outside looking in it feels like Jose Urena has been a top prospect looking to break out for the Marlins for years. He’s shown flashes since 2016 but for some reason he’s never put it all together. He’s got a 2:1 K:BB ratio in his career but was notorious for hitting batters, leading the league in back to back years in 2017-18.
Philadelphia Phillies
Jordan Yamamoto
Jordan Yamamoto is listed at the back of the Marlins rotation on their depth chart, but he flashed a lot of good stuff as a rookie in 2019. In his first two starts he pitched 14 combined shutout innings with only five hits allowed and 12 strikeouts. He finished the year with a 4.46 ERA and enters this season just 24-years-old. Averaging more than nine strikeouts per nine innings last year, Yamamoto could work his way up in the Marlins rotation.
Bullpen
The Marlins acquired Brandon Kintzler in the offseason, who at 35 was coming off the best season of his career with the Cubs. Kintzler has some experience as a closer, but right now the Marlins depth chart has Drew Steckenrider listed as their closer.
Stechenrider missed most of last year with an elbow injury, but in 108 games during his first two seasons he had a 3.35 ERA and gave up only 11 home runs.
The only other “vet” in the Marlins bullpen is Adam Conley, 30, who is entering his second season as a full-time reliever for the Marlins. Conley looked like a promising starter for the Marlins but tailed off in 2017 with a 6.14 ERA.
Marlins outlook
The Phillies lost nearly half of their games against Miami this year, which would have likely added up in the win column. They’ll most likely win the season series but Miami has some young pieces that could surprise skeptics in the shortened season.