Marlins Young Pitcher Listed as Top Homegrown Player Entering 2026
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When it comes to the Miami Marlins over the last year, one of the biggest questions facing the front office is the future of their starting pitching rotation. They have some young arms that contenders were interested in, but through the trade deadline and Winter Meetings, the president of baseball operations, Peter Bendix, did not make a move.
It would not have been surprising to see the Marlins run it back in spring training with their entire pitching staff in place and see how things go until the trade deadline before deciding on the future of their rotation. On Wednesday, Miami traded one of its top arms, Edward Cabrera, to the Chicago Cubs for a package of prospects heading to South Florida.
Trading Cabrera was possible for the Marlins because of the depth of their rotation and some promising young pitchers. One of those pitchers is Eury Pérez, and Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report listed each MLB team's top homegrown player entering 2026, and Miami's was not surprising.
Marlins Pitcher Eury Pérez Listed as Organization's Top Homegrown Player
Pérez missed all of 2024 and the early part of the 2025 season because of Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, but when he came back last season, he gave the Marlins a look at how good he can be and a future top-of-the-rotation starter.
"After missing all of the 2024 season and the first two months of the 2025 season, Pérez steadily shook off the rust and looked more and more like the potential Cy Young contender he was as a rookie. The towering 6'8" right-hander struck out 11 batters in 5.1 innings against a Mets team desperately trying to make the playoffs in his final start on Sept. 27, and that could be the springboard to a huge 2026 season,'' wrote Reuter.
Once he returned in 2025, Pérez made 20 starts, going 7-6 with a 4.25 ERA in 95.1 innings with 105 strikeouts and 32 walks. He only had a 1.2 WAR, but that number should go up in 2026 after a full offseason to train normally.
Trading Cabrera was made possible with Pérez's 2025 season and coming back from surgery. With Sandy Alcantara at the top of the rotation, Pérez slotting in as the No. 2 is the move for manager Clayton McCullough to make, and if that's the case, and Ryan Weathers can solidify a spot in the rotation, the Marlins staff should still be good enough to contend for a playoff berth next fall.
