Marlins to Promote Prospect Pitcher for MLB Debut on Saturday

The Miami Marlins need a spot starter for Saturday's doubleheader and they're giving someone his MLB debut

The Miami Marlins, by virtue of last night's rainout, will need an extra starter for Saturday's doubleheader.

And so they're giving a recently acquired prospect an opportunity to make his MLB debut.

RHP Roddery Muñoz is scheduled to be called up and make his debut on Saturday against the Chicago Cubs, per reports.

Muñoz, who turned 24 last Sunday, was acquired this offseason by the Marlins for cash considerations after being designated for assignment by the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was a whirlwind 2023 for Muñoz, who joined the Washington Nationals in mid-season after being designated for assignment by the team that signed him as an amateur, the Atlanta Braves. Muñoz finished the season with Washington but was waived to open December and claimed by Pittsburgh.

In 2023, divided between three levels with Washington and Atlanta, Muñoz went 4-6 with a 5.42 in 34 appearances (14 starts). Pitching 78 innings, he struck out 81 and walked 53. He's had a rough go of it for AAA Jacksonville in 2024, with a 0-3 record and 10.97 ERA in his first three appearances (two starts), with more walks (12) than strikeouts (7).

Digging into Statcast for the 2023 season, the arsenal of Muñoz is interesting - his four-seam fastball averages 95.1 mph, with the pitch touching 98.1 last season. He also throws a 90 mph slider, a 94 mph sinker, and a 90 mph changeup, with the occasional 90 mph cutter. It's an interesting lack of velocity bands, potentially resulting in his CSW% of only 26.7% and a combined Stuff+ of only 90.3.

Saturday's two games are scheduled for 2:20 PM ET and 7:40 PM ET, with the originally scheduled game being the first matchup and the late game as the rescheduled Thursday series opener.