Two Marlins starters are tweaking their pitching arsenals. Both want similar results
For Jose Urena, the Miami Marlins’ Opening Day starter, the focus is his breaking ball.
For Trevor Richards, who is competing for a starting spot, it’s the addition of a curveball (and possibly a cutter) to his pitching arsenal.
For the Marlins, the hope is those two fixes go a long way for the projected bookends of their rotation.
Let’s start with Urena.
The 27-year-old was as dominant as he has been in his career over his final seven starts, going 6-0 with a 1.80 ERA.
Urena said his effectiveness came when he realized he was relying too much on his fastball early in the year.
So in came the slider and the curveball. Both were effective, getting batters to swing and miss more than 30 percent of the time, compared to just 15 percent with his fastball, according to Statcast.
“I gave everything I had with it late,” Urena said. “... It’s still early, so I don’t want to be overthrowing breaking balls to get ready. I just want to give it time and get ready to go when the time comes out.”
Marlins manager Don Mattingly said after Urena’s start Thursday that his ability to weave in his breaking ball with his fastball and changeup will make it easier for him to build off last year’s late success and avoid a slow start when he relied predominately on two pitches. Urena lost seven of his first 10 decisions in 2018, giving up at least four earned runs in four of those outings.
“We just can’t let guys’ eyes lay down at the bottom of the zone. The breaking ball is going to be part of that to give them something else to look at.”
As for Richards, the curveball is a new development from the offseason that he has worked into his last two starts.
It’s trial by error at the moment, but with three more spring training starts, he has time to adapt and learn before the season begins.
“He threw some pitches that got hit in a couple spots that he was working on, but he would go right back to it and keep using it,” Mattingly said. “You’re seeing a whole different variety, and I think that’s what’s going to be really important for him.”
If Richards wants to be a starter long-term, adding an effective third pitch is crucial because hitters will begin to feel out the other two pitches.
Case in point: Richards held hitters to a .165 batting average and had a 36.3 percent strikeout rate with his change-up. In comparison, they hit .310 off his four-seam fastball.
“If he continues to improve with all that,” Mattingly said, “he’s going to make some noise.
Notables from Friday
Neil Walker hit two home runs and JT Riddle had a solo shot of his own to lead the Marlins’ to a 10-3 win over the New York Mets on Friday in Port St. Lucie. Walker finished the day 3-for-3 with four RBI on a day the Marlins had 13 hits. Isaac Galloway also had a two-hit day, while Yadiel Rivera, Gabriel Guerrero and Isan Diaz all drove in a run each.
Dan Straily went 3 1/3 innings, giving up a pair of solo home runs while striking out three. Jarlin Garcia (1 2/3 innings), Tayron Guerrero (1 inning), Mike Kickham (1 inning) and Jose Quijada (1 inning) all had scoreless relief appearances.
Roster moves
The Marlins made a host of roster moves on Friday. pitchers Jordan Yamamoto, Kyle Keller and Elieser Hernandez as well as outfielder Magneuris Sierra were optioned to Triple-A New Orleans. Pitcher Jorge Guzman was optioned to Double-A Jacksonville, and pitcher Jordan Holloway was optioned to Single-A Jupiter. In addition, pitchers Nick Neidert, Robert Dugger and Ben Meyer, outfielder Brian Miller and catcher Sharif Othman were reassigned to Minor League camp.
This story was originally published March 8, 2019 at 5:16 PM.
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