After proving himself in 2019, Marlins’ Caleb Smith has a simple spring approach this year
Caleb Smith is in a much better position to start spring training this season than he was last year.
For one thing, he already has a spot established in the Miami Marlins’ starting rotation. Smith was one of Major League Baseball’s top pitchers for the first two months of last season before a hip injury limited his effectiveness down the stretch. Regardless, he still won a team-high 10 games and led the pitching staff with 168 strikeouts.
For another thing, Smith came into spring training healthy this year. He came in ahead of the 2019 season recovering from a Grade 3 lat strain and spent the first half of spring working in the back fields before getting minimal action in live Grapefruit League games.
Smith’s awareness of his situation makes it easier for him as he heads into his third season with the Marlins. He made his spring training debut in the Marlins’ 6-4 loss to the Houston Astros on Friday at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. He tossed two scoreless innings, giving up one hit and two walks while striking out three against an Astros lineup that featured six hitters who will likely be everyday starters for Houston.
“I feel like last offseason, coming back from the lat injury, I had to prove myself again,” Smith said. “... I had to work twice as hard last year to show them I’m here. I was definitely more focused coming into last spring training because I felt like I had to be ready to go right away. This spring training, I feel like I’m able to ease in and focus on a few things.”
Smith’s strength comes with his swing-and-miss ability with all three of his pitches — his four-seam fastball, slider and changeup. Hitters whiffed on 27.9 percent of their swings against Smith last season. That was the sixth-highest rate among left-handed starting pitchers in 2019, behind only Robbie Ray (32.9 percent), Chris Sale (32), Patrick Corbin (31.8), Matthew Boyd (31.2) and James Paxton (30.7).
Smith had a 3.10 ERA, an 11.8 strikeout per nine inning rate and a .189 batting average against through his first 11 starts in 2019 (61 innings), which included a string of six consecutive quality starts.
He missed a month after that initial run of success with a left hip injury, and his performance took a hit after that.
The lefty had a 5.46 ERA in his final 17 starts and gave up four earned runs or more in seven of his final 10 starts. He lasted more than five innings in just half of those final 10 games but never made it past the sixth.
“I think we’ve seen when he’s healthy what he looks like,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “After the hip thing, it seemed like he just never got back on track the same way. ... We’re confident that with a full winter of health and now getting him into the season, hopefully we’re going to get that healthier guy all year long.”
Friday provided a glimpse of Smith when he is having a good day. He needed 12 pitches to record a clean first inning. Jose Altuve hit a first-pitch fastball for a flyout to left. He followed with strikeouts against Michael Brantley and Carlos Correa.
In the second, Smith worked around a bases-loaded, two-out jam by striking out Ronnie Dawson. He threw 35 pitches in the two innings, 19 of which went for strikes. Two of the three strikeouts came with his slider.
“It’s a nice challenge,” Smith said. “As a pitcher, you like to compete. It’s a good lineup regardless of what anyone says. They can swing it. You’ve got to give credit to them. It feels good to go out there and compete and get back at it.”
Smith is expected to open the season in the front-end of the Marlins’ starting rotation along with Sandy Alcantara. Pablo Lopez is likely the next closest to being a lock, with Jose Urena, Jordan Yamamoto, Elieser Hernandez, Robert Dugger and Nick Neidert competing for the other two spots. Sixto Sanchez, Edward Cabrera, Braxton Garrett and Trevor Rogers constitute the next wave of starting pitching in Miami’s minor-league system.
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