Marlins’ Mattingly explains why he waits until spring training games to evaluate players
On Tuesday, it was Stephen Tarpley. On Wednesday, Sterling Sharp.
On Thursday, the Miami Marlins’ second-to-last day of spring training practice before playing live games, it was Edward Cabrera, who received rave reviews in his outing facing live hitters.
But while Marlins manager Don Mattingly reads the scouting reports and spends a good amount of time on the backfields evaluating the players, he wants to limit the hype at least until games start this weekend.
“I read the stuff, the ‘this guy’s nasty’ and stuff like that,” Mattingly said. “I really don’t put a lot of stock into it. I just want to see if the guy’s getting the ball over the plate, what his breaking ball looks like, what the hitters look like when they’re in there. I know we want to pump everything up, but I’m going to pump the brakes a bit and watch the games and see what the opposition tells us.”
Cabrera, the Marlins’ No. 6 overall prospect according to MLBPipeline, is one player the team wants to keep an eye on this season.
He uses a fastball that sits between 96 and 98 mph and tops out around 100, a 90-92 mph change-up and an 80-82 mph curveball that all can be an effective if his command is accurate.
Cabrera said he felt “a little uncomfortable” when he first stepped onto the mound on Thursday but settled in after three pitches. He held his own against a couple of the Marlins’ top hitting prospects in shortstop Jazz Chisholm and outfielder Monte Harrison.
This and that
▪ Mattingly said the Marlins will give outfielder Lewis Brinson “every opportunity” to make the Opening Day roster despite his struggles over the last two seasons. “Teams find a hole, or find a weakness, and they’re going to expose you, until you’re able to make some adjustments back,” Mattingly said. “To this point, he just hasn’t been able to make those adjustments back. That’s what we’re looking forward to seeing.”
▪ Marlins super-utility player Jon Berti, who started at every position except first base, catcher and pitcher last season, said he is continuing to work at all six spots this spring.
▪ Garrett Cooper and Matt Joyce split time in right field during early drills that involved cutoffs from the outfield to various spots in the infield.
This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 2:24 PM.
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