Marlins' Pitching Staff Ranked Among Teams With Brightest Future
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The Miami Marlins are hoping to continue taking steps forward. The Marlins finished last season on a hot streak, but fell short of the playoffs. One of the main reasons for their failure to make the postseason was the pitching staff.
Last season, Miami finished with a 4.60 ERA, which was the sixth-worst in the MLB. Additionally, per FanGraphs, the Marlins ranked 29th in quality starts, allowed the ninth-highest opponent batting average, and allowed the third-highest hard-hit percentage.
Despite their struggles last year, the future in Miami is bright, according to some coaches and executives around the league.
Marquee Sports Network's Lance Brozdowski sent a survey out to 68 coaches and executives in the MLB. 54 of them responded. One of the questions was which team would see the biggest improvement over the next two seasons with their pitching and development. The Marlins ranked second in that category, indicating people around the league expect them to become a great pitching staff.
I sent a survey on pitching development and acquisition to 68 #MLB coaches and executives.
— Lance Brozdowski (@LanceBroz) March 11, 2026
Who is the best? Who is the worst? Who will rise?
Results are below. What stands out?
More in thread... 👀 pic.twitter.com/MnmgeAF8a4
Marlins Pitching Staff on the Rise
The Marlins will have some work to do this season. Sandy Alcantara will remain the ace of the staff, while Eury Perez enters 2026 with high expectations. The next three pitchers (Max Meyer, Chris Paddock, Braxton Garrett) still have something to prove, but there is potential.
With the departure of Edward Cabrera, Miami is looking for a few pitchers to step up. Those arms could still be in the minor leagues.
The two biggest names are Thomas White and Robby Snelling. White has been dealing with an injury this spring and should start the season in Triple-A. At that level in 2025, White made two starts and struck out 17 batters in 9.1 innings pitched. The left-hander has a great chance to make an impact at the big league level this season.
Snelling had a solid first outing of spring training, but has ultimately struggled. He does not seem to be Major League-ready at the moment, but his ceiling is very high. The lefty had a 1.27 ERA over 63.2 innings pitched in Triple-A last season, which is where he will most likely start the season.
White and Snelling are the two biggest names in Miami's farm system. However, Kevin Defrank and Karson Milbrandt are top ten prospects in the organization. Noble Meyer is another name who could make his way up the ranks this year.
With those three prospects, along with White and Snelling, it is easy to see why executives around the league are high on the Marlins. Adding in other young arms like Perez and Max Meyer should give Miami a lot of excitement about the future of their pitching staff.
Cameron Zunkel is a sports writer from the western suburbs of Chicago. He played Division-II baseball at the University of Illinois at Springfield where he earned a masters degree in Communication. Cameron also played independent league baseball for the Joliet Slammers and Schaumburg Boomers of the Frontier League. He has been in journalism since 2022 and has a passion for baseball specifically, but he enjoys all sports. His other work includes writing sports betting articles for ClutchPoints. In his free time, you can catch Cam at the gym, on the golf course, or coaching the youth in the beautiful sport of baseball.