Rookies Dugger, Neidert move past struggles in 2019
Robert Dugger tried not to dwell too much this offseason on the seven games he started for the Marlins down the stretch last season.
He posted an unmemorable 5.77 ERA in entirely meaningless games. His average fastball velocity was a few ticks lower than he was used to. He closed out the season with a two-inning, six-run dud against the New York Mets.
Burn the film became the starting pitcher’s offseason plan of attack.
“To be honest, I watched some film from the last seven starts, but I didn’t watch too many because that really wasn’t me,” said Dugger, still a rookie going into the pandemic-shortened
2020 season. “I had to kind of go to a different approach as my [velocity] was down, my stuff wasn’t as sharp, so I don’t really want to take things from it.”
With Opening Day less
Starting pitchers Robert Dugger and Nick Neidert both had disappointing 2019 seasons for varied reasons, but the rookies are both engaged in the competition for the Marlins’ final rotation spot.
than two weeks away, the competition to be the fifth starting pitcher in the rotation is one of the most crowded position battles on the Marlins’ roster, and Dugger is one of at least two rookies in contention to win the job. On Monday, they battled in a simulated game at Marlins Park — Dugger and fellow starting pitcher Nick Neidert each firing four shutout innings at Marlins Park.
While pitchers Jordan Yamamoto and Elieser Hernandez likely have the inside track in the battle for the fifth spot, the two rookies have both impressed in the first few weeks of training camp.
“Both of those guys, obviously, are moving,” manager Don Mattingly said.
Dugger, the organization’s No. 30 prospect in the MLB.com rankings, has more experience to lean on. The right-hander made one spot start early in August, then came up for good at the end of the month. His fastball velocity — usually hovering around 92 or 93 mph — averaged just 90.3 mph and he allowed multiple earned runs in six of his seven appearances.
He couldn’t identify what caused the drop in velocity, but he said it’s back to where he expects it now. Even though he didn’t feel like himself in 2019, he still felt he could learn from the experience and routine of pitching in the majors.
Neidert, the club’s No. 10 prospect, had a similarly rocky season, albeit for Triple A New Orleans.
He was recovering from a knee injury, which led to a 5.49 ERA in nine starts for the Baby Cakes. By the time he was done in the Arizona Fall League, he was back to normal. In 212⁄3 innings for the Salt River Rafters, Neidert allowed just 16 hits and two walks, and struck out 19 batters. His ERA was 1.25.
Neither ranks among the Marlins’ top-four pitching prospects, but they’re probably the next two rookies in line to get a spot on the MLB roster, largely because they’ve moved past shaky 2019 seasons.
“This talent here is incredible. The guys in the minors — it’s a lot of potential. The guys here — it’s amazing, but for me it’s all about attitude, man,” catcher Francisco Cervelli said. “Baseball now is about numbers, stats and whatever, so I don’t care what they did last year. What I’m seeing this year is most important. The attitude, the body language on the mound is the most important for me and these guys are learning fast, and I think it’s going to be really good.”
Mattingly said the team is in the throes of sorting out the final roster spots with the July 24 opener against the Philadelphia Phillies rapidly approaching. This includes figuring out who will be the fifth starter, likely to debut July 28 against the Baltimore Orioles.
At the start of the season, teams will be allowed to carry 30 players before rosters are trimmed to 28 and eventually all the way down to 26. The opportunity is there for Miami to flesh out its roster with some of its talented pitching prospects, even if they’re not quite ready to crack the rotation.
“I definitely feel ready. Whenever they need me to contribute at the bigleague level, I’ll be ready for it,” Neidert said. “I believe that when I come up I’ll be confident that I can help the team win in any capacity that is. I can only control how I do, how I prepare — stuff like that. It’s just about getting an opportunity and making the most of it.”