Confidence was key for Sandy Alcantara in 2019. The Marlins hope it carries over to 2020.
Sandy Alcantara was upbeat even as he was self-critical Monday in the moments after his spring training debut. The pitcher struggled with his command — throwing 18 balls and 18 strikes — and gave up a couple runs because of an error he committed.
He was an MLB All-Star for the first time in 2019, so his first Grapefruit League start of 2020 was a little different than it had been in past years, when he was either fighting for a roster spot or just jockeying for his place in the starting rotation. In all likelihood, Alcantara will start Opening Day or Game 2 for the Miami Marlins this season. Still, he knows what he did in Monday’s 6-3 win against the St. Louis Cardinals — three walks and just one strikeout — is the exact opposite of what let him thrive in the final two months of last season.
“I felt good, but at other times I felt really bad. I don’t want that to happen to me,” Alcantara said. “A couple walks, and I don’t want that to happen to me again.”
It was also, of course, just one spring training start in Jupiter. He was upset with himself, but it won’t dent his confidence. Alcantara found the template to get the best out of himself in the last two months of his rookie season, and manager Don Mattingly doesn’t think he has strayed from it, even Monday, when he wasn’t throwing pitches in the strike zone with the same frequency he did at the end of last year.
“I thought his intent was OK. There’s a difference for me when Sandy’s like picking at the zone, but today it looked like he’s trying to attack the zone and just didn’t have command today,” Mattingly said. “... So more than anything I think a lack of command. I didn’t think a lack of intent, so I was OK with it.”
In all, Alcantara’s first full season in MLB was impressive. He made 32 starts and pitched 197 1/3 innings, plus an inning in the All-Star Game. He posted a 3.88 ERA with 151 strikeouts and 81 walks, and opponents hit .241 against him. He was one of only three pitchers in the majors to throw two shutouts.
“He’s amazing, man,” said catcher Francisco Cervelli, who caught Alcantara for the first time at Roger Dean Stadium. “This guy has stuff to be No. 1 and one of the top pitchers in the MLB.”
In his final 11 starts, he put all of his ability together to rip off a confidence-inspiring run. In those 11 outings, Alcantara had a 2.78 ERA in 74 1/3 innings with 62 strikeouts and 21 strikeouts, and opponents batted just .200.
As his strikeout-to-walk ratio rose — from 1.483 in the first four months, to 2.25 in the penultimate month of the season and to 3.889 in the last — his ERA plummeted. Miami spent all season urging Alcantara to trust his stuff and attack the zone. When he finally started to trust himself, he became one of the best pitchers in the National League.
“We could see it, we say it, we talk about it, but [it wasn’t] until he makes that decision like, ‘Hey, my stuff’s good enough,’” Mattingly said. “It should’ve taken him into the offseason where he comes back with the mind-set and knows what he wants to do exactly, and he’s starting to get his routines. You’re hoping that just kind of builds right into the next layer and he keeps growing.”
More Miami Marlins takeaways
▪ Brian Anderson left the game in the bottom of the fourth inning after being hit by a pitch on his left hand. The slugging third baseman said he feels fine — the ball hit a protective pad Anderson wears on his glove.
▪ The Marlins have some serious speed this season and put it on display so far in spring training. Jonathan Villar manufactured Miami’s first run in the first inning almost entirely with his legs. The middle infielder walked, then stole his first base as a Marlin. He then took third when a pick-off attempt by Cardinals relief pitcher John Gant sailed and scored when St. Louis outfielder Lane Thomas bobbled the ball in center field. Through three games, Miami has eight steals — one by Villar, one each by outfielders Victor Victor Mesa and Matt Kemp, two by shortstop Jazz Chisholm and three by outfielder Monte Harrison.
▪ Sterling Sharp was up and down in his Marlins debut. The sinker-ball specialist worked a 1-2-3 sixth inning with the help of an inning-ending double play by St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina. In the seventh, the relief pitcher issued a lead-off walk and the Cardinals made him pay by scoring one run on a pair of singles. Sharp, who is Miami’s No. 22 prospect in the MLB.com rankings, was picked in the Rule 5 draft this offseason, meaning he either has to be on the big-league roster to start the year or he will be sent back to the Washington Nationals.
▪ Nick Neidert is expected to make his MLB debut this season, and the starting pitcher made his spring debut Monday. The Cardinals hit him a bit, but the righty made it through the third and fourth innings unscathed. The pitcher gave up a two-out single to Molina and a double to St. Louis utilityman Brad Miller in the third before getting out of the jam by forcing a groundout, then worked around a pair of singles in the third by picking off one runner and getting Cardinals outfielder Dexter Fowler to fly out to end the frame. He threw 35 pitches with 24 for strikes.
▪ A group of Marlins prospects led their come-from-behind win in the seventh inning. Miami was being no-hit until outfielder Brian Miller hit a one-out triple to start a five-run rally in front of 3,068. Miller scored on a balk, then fellow outfielder JJ Bleday drove in a run with a single off lefty Matthew Liberatore. Bleday later scored on a wild pitch, as did Mesa. Infielder Gosuke Katoh also scored in the inning on a sacrifice fly by catcher Chad Wallach.
▪ Pitcher Jose Urena will make his spring debut for the Marlins on Wednesday against the Houston Astros at 1:05 p.m. at the FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach.
This story was originally published February 24, 2020 at 5:12 PM.
