Being ‘super versatile,’ excelling in big spots have been key for rising Marlins reliever
Over a span of 21 pitches in the Miami Marlins’ 5-2, 11-inning loss to the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, right-handed pitcher Huascar Brazoban provided a cross-section of the roles he brings to the bullpen.
He recorded five outs over a span of three innings, showing his ability to provide length.
The first out stranded a pair of inherited runners, displaying his ability to stay calm and get out of jams.
And all five of his outs — from entering with two outs in the seventh and exiting with one out in the ninth — came in the midst of a tie game, showcasing the coaching staff’s trust that he can pitch in big moments,
“Just super versatile,” Marlins pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. said earlier this week.
Brazoban has had to pitch in all three of those roles — length, cleaning up messes, high-leverage situations — at various points so far this season, his second overall with the Marlins since making his MLB debut in July 2022.
He pitched in his share of high-leverage situations last year, mostly out of necessity due to injuries and trades.
This year, he’s earned the late-inning, big-responsibility jobs after impressing the coaching staff in spring training — and Brazoban isn’t take it lightly.
“This is something that any pitcher looks for. You want to pitch when the game really matters,” Brazoban said. “Get in, keep the team in the game. It’s very exciting to be on the mound in those situations, especially when the fans get involved. That makes it even more exciting.”
Especially considering Brazoban’s path to get to the big leagues, a long-awaited step in his career that was never guaranteed.
Prior to the Marlins signing him to a minor-league deal ahead of the 2022 season, Brazoban hadn’t played for an MLB-affiliated team since 2017. That four-season gap included two stints in the independent Atlantic League and time playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Venezuela.
Wellington Cepeda, the Marlins’ bullpen coach, got an up-close-and-personal look at Brazoban in the winter ahead of the 2022 season when Brazoban played for the Gigantes Del Cibao in the Dominican winter ball league. Cepeda was their pitching coach. Brazoban pitched 19 2/3 innings over 21 relief appearances that winter, allowing just one earned run on 11 hits and five walks while striking out 25 of 76 batters he faced.
“Confidence is the biggest thing,” Cepeda said. “I gave him probably his first real opportunity in winter ball. He just took advantage of it.”
The same can be said about Brazoban’s time with the Marlins.
After making his MLB debut on July 24 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Brazoban went on to make 27 total relief appearances, many in high-leverage spots, and pitched to a 3.09 ERA with 40 strikeouts against 21 walks and holding opponents to a .222 batting average against over 32 innings.
He was delayed getting to Jupiter for spring training this year due to a visa issue, but still impressed the new coaching staff led by first-year manager Skip Schumaker enough to earn an Opening Day roster spot in a relatively retooled bullpen.
Brazoban’s role initially was as a pseudo-long man. If a starter couldn’t pitch deep into a game, Brazoban would be one of the guys to eat up innings to serve as a bridge to the rest of the bullpen.
But when JT Chargois, one of the Marlins’ setup men, landed on the injured list with an oblique strain, Brazoban found himself taking over more high leverage roles.
He has filled in admirably. Overall, Brazoban has held opponents to one run or fewer in seven of his eight outings — four of which have lasted longer than one inning — and has 14 strikeouts against three walks in 10 innings of work.
He has stranded six of eight inherited runners and has thrown 64 percent of his pitches for strikes.
“I’m watching his stuff and you’ve got to trust your eyes and trust your pitching staff that he can do it,” Schumaker said. “He’s not just a long man, but he can come in and get tough righties out and the ability to get lefties out. The ability to start doing that in spring training opened our eyes a little bit. ... Now that JT went down, Braz is gonna pick up some big-leverage innings for us. He showed me he can do it.”
How does he do it? His cutter is his go-to pitch, with 10 of his strikeouts this season coming against that pitch and opponents getting just three hits of it. His changeup has been a reliable secondary pitch and he is getting more comfortable and consistent with his fastball.
“The guy doesn’t scare,” Stottlemyre said. “It just seems like whether you bring him in with traffic or there’s self-inflicted traffic, he never really wavers away from attacking and pitching. I like that.”
Iglesias opts out
Shortstop Jose Iglesias is opting out of his minor-league deal with the Marlins, a source confirmed to the Miami Herald on Thursday. Iglesias will be a free agent.
The Marlins signed Iglesias and Yuli Gurriel to minor-league deals on March 10. Gurriel made the Opening Day roster. Iglesias did not but
Iglesias, 33, was technically assigned to Triple A Jacksonville but stayed behind in Jupiter at extended spring training.
This story was originally published April 20, 2023 at 10:54 AM.
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