How Caleb Smith, even through injuries, evolved into the Marlins’ most consistent starter
Caleb Smith knows how good he is as a pitcher.
The Miami Marlins know it, too.
And now, the rest of Major League Baseball has a good look this season what Smith brings to the table.
The Marlins’ 28-year-old lefty, who makes his next start Sunday to close out a short two-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays that starts on Saturday, has dazzled since returning from a left hip injury that sidelined him for a month and added a speedbump to an All-Star-caliber start to the season.
“I’m starting to get back into my rhythm,” Smith said.
His goal now: Finish the season.
This is already the deepest he has been in a season as a major-leaguer after his rookie year in 2018 was cut short because of a houlder injury.
Smith, who the Marlins obtained along with Garrett Cooper in a trade with the New York Yankees ahead of the 2018 season, is adjusting to the fatigue that comes with that prolonged playing time — his fastball velocity has dipped about 2 mph below his career average during the last two starts.
He’s also beginning to balance his high strikeout rate with pitching efficiency, which has allowed him to get deeper into games. He threw a career-high seven innings in each of his past two starts while still managing to strike out nine in his appearance.
“I’m tired of being a five-and-dive guy,” Smith said.
Smith, Texas-born-and-raised, keeps life simple.
He wears his cowboy boots before and after every start, a ritual he had with former teammate and lockermate Trevor Richards. He hunts, fishes and plays golf in the offseason when not spending time with his soon-to-be 3-year-old son Ryker.
He will gladly let the spotlight shine on others and keeps his interviews short and sweet, letting a few words suffice for each answer.
His warmup song before starting a home game: Garth Brooks’ “Rodeo.”
“He’s got a little country boy in him,” said David Pierce, who coached Smith for three years at Sam Houston State. “But the thing that I liked about him is when he wasn’t competing, he’s kind of silly. He’s quiet, but he’s silly. I think people gravitate toward him because he’s a fun kid.”
But don’t let his laid-back persona fool you. He easily flips the switch when it’s his turn to pitch.
“Whenever I step on the mound,” Smith said, “it’s business time.”
And he has taken care of business.
Smith is 7-4 this season, and the Marlins have won each of his past five starts since returning from the injured list. He leads Marlins pitchers who have made at least nine starts in ERA (3.43), strikeouts (119) and opponent batting average (.191).
He has struck out 31.2 percent of the batters he faced this season, the fourth-highest mark among NL starters who have thrown at least 90 innings. His 11.04 strikeout-per-nine-inning rate would be the second highest for a starter in Marlins history behind Jose Fernandez’s 12.19 rate in 2014.
Opposing batters have whiffed on 30.9 percent of their swings against Smith. That’s the 13th-highest rate among MLB starters.
He’s walking batters at a lower rate, too — just 8.1 percent of the time so far this season compared to 10.1 percent as a rookie in 2018.
“You can tell just by his demeanor now,” Pierce said. “He knows that he’s good.”
But Smith has yet to be truly satisfied with an outing.
If he strikes out nine, he will say he could have gotten 10.
If he goes seven innings, he will strive for eight.
One walk given up is one walk too many.
“That’s the guy that we really trust,” Marlins second baseman Starlin Castro said. “That’s the guy who is going to go out there and compete, no matter what. No matter how the game is, he’s going to compete.”
Look no further than the day his promising rookie season came to an end.
It was the second inning against the Colorado Rockies on June 24, 2018, the end of a nine-game road trip. The Marlins held a two-run lead as Smith took to the mound to face Tom Murphy. With a 1-1 count, Smith threw a slider for a swinging second strike.
He felt something tweak. He hoped it was just a pulled muscle. Deep down, he knew it was worse.
“I was done after that pitch,” Smith said.
The at-bat wasn’t.
So after taking a minute to collect himself and muster up whatever strength he had left, Smith stepped back on the mound and fired one more slider — 80.8 mph — to strike out Murphy. The 88th and final strikeout of his 2018 season.
Smith threw one more pitch, a slider well outside the strike zone against Gerardo Parra, before being evaluated and removed from the game.
“I wanted to try to keep going to get through that inning,” Smith said.
The diagnosis: A grade 3 lat strain. The muscle had practically ripped off the bone.
Surgery took place two weeks later, followed by seven months of rehab.
Uncertainty swirled, with everyone wondering if Smith would be physically ready for Opening Day, let alone ready to compete for a spot in the starting rotation.
For everyone except Smith.
“There was never a doubt in my mind,” Smith said. “I knew physically I would be ready. It was just up to the Marlins if they were going to let me be on the Opening Day roster.”
He was, and Smith proved enough, even with missing a month, to get on other teams’ radar ahead of the Wednesday’s trade deadline. The Marlins, however, went into the deadline knowing they would need to be blown away by an offer to consider moving Smith.
“We’re going to make smart decisions,” Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill said. “From the outset of this trade deadline season, we were going to do what we felt was right for the Miami Marlins. Caleb Smith has done a tremendous job.”
Smith plans to keep that up as the season nears its conclusion.
“I’m going to keep doing the things I’ve been doing,” Smith said. “We’ll see where the next step comes.”
This story was originally published August 2, 2019 at 1:33 PM.
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