Cabrera dominant in 1st two starts this year by just ‘trusting his stuff’
How to evaluate Edward Cabrera’s first two starts with the Miami Marlins this season?
The simple way would be to look at his statistics and their place in Marlins history. Cabrera, who was the No. 47 prospect in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline before graduating from prospect status following his latest start on Tuesday, has allowed just one run on three hits, six walks and three hit batsmen while striking out 13 through 12 total innings. He became the first pitcher in Marlins history to pitch at least six innings and allow two hits or fewer in each of his first two starts of a season.
Cabrera, however, isn’t merely looking at the results he has accrued to this point. He’s trying to figure out how to take those results and make himself better moving forward.
“It’s been a learning process up here, mostly through this path,” Cabrera said after Tuesday’s 12-2 win over the Washington Nationals. “The most important thing has been to learn how to study players, how to prepare before the game.”
It has paid off so far in a limited sample size. He followed up six shutout innings against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on June 1 with six innings of one-run ball against the Nationals on Tuesday — the lone run surrendered being a solo home run when Miami was already up by 12 runs. His next start is scheduled for Sunday to cap a three-game series with the Houston Astros.
There’s a newfound confidence in the 24year-old, one that wasn’t always there when he struggled at times during his first stint in the big leagues last season (5.81 ERA over 26 innings in seven starts in 2021).
“He’s a guy that was here and had limited success, but also gets to walk away at the end of the year knowing next time he comes up, he knows what it takes,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said.
Cabrera being able to sustain success could be instrumental for a Marlins team looking for consistency in the back end of its rotation. Miami’s top two starting pitchers in Sandy Alcantara and Pablo Lopez have been among MLB’s best. The rest of the rotation has been a question mark. Trevor Rogers has struggled coming off a runner-up finish for National
League Rookie of the Year. Jesus Luzardo has been on the injured list for nearly a month with a left forearm strain and still has not begun throwing. And Elieser Hernandez was optioned to Triple A Jacksonville on Saturday, with Braxton Garrett serving as a placeholder in the rotation.
So what’s the difference between last year and this year?
It starts with his command and willingness to be aggressive with his pitches. While he is still averaging the same amount of strikes thrown this season as he did last season — 59 percent — Cabrera is throwing strikes earlier in the count in 2022. He had first-pitch strikes on just 52.5-percent of opposing batters last season, compared to 62.5 percent so far in 2022.
As for his actual pitches, Cabrera’s arsenal is undeniable. His fourseam fastball is averaging 97 mph but it’s his changeup that has been the key pitch so far for him. The pitch’s average velocity is 93.5 mph and has touched 96 mph — yes, Cabrera can throw a 96 mph changeup. Eight of his 13 strikeouts have ended with that pitch. He rounds out his repertoire with a mid-80s slider he throws to right-handed hitters, a low-80s curveball he uses against lefties and a sinker he has begun experimenting with.
“If he stays the way he is, being aggressive in the zone,” Mattingly said, “his stuff’s gonna play.”
It has played so far, and it has helped that he has had a familiar face behind home plate as well in Nick Fortes.
Fortes has been catching Cabrera for four seasons now, going back to when the two were both with the Jupiter Hammerheads when it was the Marlins’ High A affiliate. Fortes was behind the plate for both of Cabrera’s starts this season.
“It’s a lot of fun catching guys like that,” Fortes said. “I mean, he’s one of the elite pitchers when it comes to, like, stuff. He’s got so many weapons. There’s so many different options and places to go to with his arsenal. The main difference that I see with him is he’s just attacking more. He’s throwing a lot more strikes. He’s getting ahead of guys. He’s just trusting his stuff more. He’s letting his elite stuff work over the plate, which is what has gotten him success.”