Marlins pitchers faced hitters to open spring training. Naturally, Alcantara led the way
The Miami Marlins upped the intensity for their pitchers on the first day of spring training.
Instead of having the pitchers scheduled to throw bullpens Wednesday do so off to the side, they were on game mounds on the back field of Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Batters were in the box, with some swinging and others just tracking pitches.
And fittingly, Sandy Alcantara, the Marlins’ ace who is just over 18 months removed from Tommy John surgery and missed all of the 2024 season, was the first pitcher out there to begin the rotation.
“We’re doing something different this year,” Alcantara said, “to be more aggressive.”
Alcantara threw 21 pitches, mixing in both of his fastballs, slider and changeup with his velocity topping out around 95 mph. Catcher Nick Fortes was behind home plate. Infielder Connor Norby, catcher Liam Hicks and outfielders Albert Almora Jr., Derek Hill and Griffin Conine were in the box. Pitching coach Daniel Moskos was giving instant feedback between pitches.
The reviews were as expected.
“He was throwing hard,” Fortes said. “They told him he had to dial it back a little bit a couple times, but he looked really good. Pitches were moving like crazy. He looked like his old self.”
That’s easier said than done with Alcantara, though.
“It’s hard,” Alcantara said, “because when you have batters out there, you generally go up [in intensity and velocity]. Today was a little hard for me because I’m trying to control it, but I think it’s great.”
As for the hitters who stood in the box against him?
“He’s one of the best pitchers in the baseball. You want to face him,” Norby said. “And obviously it’s even harder on the first day of seeing live pitching, but that’s when the competitor comes out of you in those those situations.”
First-year Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said before the workout he wanted to see “a big smile” on Alcantara’s face once he finished throwing. He got his wish, but Alcantara made sure to temper McCullough’s expectations for how often he will be flashing that grin.
“You will see me smile in the bullpen,” Alcantara said. “In the game? I’m a bad dog.”
Added McCullough: “We know that he’s very competitive, and I think this was just a little snapshot. But really solid first day back out there. The guy’s putting the uniform on again and the little bit of extra adrenaline that comes with that. I think it was all around Sandy and the rest of the guys watching him out there and throw it was a really, really productive day of work for our group.”
How the idea came about
The Marlins’ decision to have pitchers face hitters right out of the gate in spring training is a brain child of the team’s player development department. They had instilled the process on the minor-league side last year and liked what they saw.
Naturally, the next step was to implement it in big-league camp.
“This offseason, as our group got together, we just felt like this would be a chance to be a really impactful way to change up training,” McCullough said.
Players perspective
The focus of the new regiment didn’t solely prioritize pitchers. Hitters, Norby said, have benefits from it as well.
“That was a lot of the conversation today,” Norby said. “I think it’s really good because whether you’re you’re swinging or just trying to see pitches and you’re not taking swings, it’s beneficial for us as hitters to see shapes again, see movement, see velo. You want to try to get as many of those reps as you’ going to get before the season. But it was a good day try to get many more of those in, hopefully, whether we’re in game or on a side field or whatever, backfield, you try to see as many shapes and pitches from different guys.
Injury update
McCullough said left-handed reliever Andrew Nardi is dealing with low back inflammation that flared up on him over the offseason.
“He’s gonna be behind the rest of the group right now,” McCullough said.
Nardi made 59 appearances last season, pitching to a 5.07 ERA with 70 strikeouts over 49 2/3 innings while mostly working in high-leverage situations.
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