Where Marlins’ Edward Cabrera stands after spring debut and the new pitch in his arsenal
Edward Cabrera knew he was behind when he arrived at spring training both in terms of his actual arriving time and his throwing program.
He didn’t get to the Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium complex until after the afternoon following the Miami Marlins’ first full-squad practice and he didn’t rush his throwing program while in the Dominican Republic — an understandable decision considering the uncertainty of when spring training was going to start because of MLB’s lockout.
But Cabrera, the top-ranked pitching prospect in Miami’s system and No. 34 prospect in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline, is finally in his groove.
After two weeks of building up on the back fields, Cabrera made his 2022 Grapefruit League debut on Monday. He threw three scoreless innings against the Washington Nationals at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, allowing just one walk and striking out three against a lineup that is close to what Washington could roll out on Opening Day. Of Cabrera’s 45 pitches, 29 went for strikes.
“I was a little bit excited,” Cabrera, who turns 24 on April 13, said, “but I was able to handle my emotions and the emotions of the game and control the game.”
However, because of his slower start relative to the rest of the Marlins’ starting pitchers, Cabrera has an uphill battle when it comes to cracking Miami’s Opening Day roster.
“Without having to make a decision today,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said, “it’s a tougher path just because he’s a little bit behind.”
Cabrera is at an interesting juncture this spring training.
He made his MLB debut last season and pitched to a 5.81 ERA with 28 strikeouts against 19 walks and a .247 batting average against over 26 1/3 innings spanning seven starts. The results were not ideal, but the Marlins and Cabrera both said they believe his time in the big leagues last year will be beneficial long-term. It’s similar to the development path of fellow starting pitcher Trevor Rogers, who struggled when he debuted late in 2020 but excelled in 2021 to become an All-Star and the National League Rookie of Year runner-up.
“Being there,” Cabrera said, “I got a lot of experience with some major league players. [I] mostly learned not to make too many mistakes. The margin for error is very low.”
“But that’s how you grow,” Mattingly added. “Looking forward to seeing the adjustments he’s making.”
The biggest adjustments are coming with a couple of his pitches. Cabrera is adding a sinker to his repertoire that also includes a four-seam fastball, changeup, slider and curveball. He is also trying to build on the success of his slider. Opponents were just 2 for 24 against the pitch last season and it resulted in 10 of Cabrera’s 28 strikeouts. The ability to mix pitch speeds and catch hitters off guard is a priority.
That was on display in the first inning Monday, when he used the slider to strike out Nelson Cruz swinging.
“It’s something that I’m applying to the game,” Cabrera said of his slider. “I’m throwing a 98 [mph] sinker and then it’s something that I want to surprise some of the batters with an 88 [mph] slider, especially if it’s breaking like it was today. I can apply it and have some success here.”
Alcantara pitches on back fields
About three hours before Cabrera took the mound in West Palm Beach, Sandy Alcantara got his day’s work started in Jupiter.
Alcantara, Miami’s presumptive Opening Day starter, pitched five scoreless innings against St. Louis Cardinals players in a back field game.
There’s simple logic for why Mattingly had Alcantara pitch on a back field instead of the main game against the Nationals: Alcantara had already faced Washington, an NL East rival, in each of his first two starts this spring. Considering Alcantara will likely face the Nationals at least a handful of times during the regular season, Mattingly didn’t want his ace solely facing the Nationals during spring training.
“We just don’t want him to keep facing them over and over,” Mattingly said.
Alcantara is the most built up of Miami’s starters, already throwing 75 pitches with a little more than a week until spring training ends.
Soler watch
Jorge Soler started in left field and batted leadoff on Monday. He went 0 for 3 at the plate with a strikeout and a walk but looked sharp defensively. This included him running down a shallow fly ball from Keibert Ruiz in the second inning and diving forward to make the play.
Berti ball
Jon Berti, who started in center field on Monday, hit a three-run home run against Nationals starting pitcher Patrick Corbin and went 2 for 3 on the day.
Berti, who missed the final 64 games of the 2021 season with a concussion, is slated to continue his role as a utility backup who can also be used as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement. Berti can play all three outfield spots as well as second base, shortstop and third base.
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