Peters ready for shot at rotation
JUPITER — A big-league clubhouse always resembles a casting call at the beginning of spring training.
That is particularly true in Miami Marlins camp this year with about a dozen of the 38 pitchers auditioning for three openings in the starting rotation and a few other long shot candidates angling for a big break.
Amid an influx of new faces, left-hander Dillon Peters has an advantage of not needing a nametag reading, “Hello, my name is …”
Peters got his first taste of the majors last September when he was called up from Double-A and made six starts for Miami. He will get first chance to make an impression when he starts the Grapefruit League opener Friday against the Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.
“Pretty excited to get the ball,” said Peters, who will be slated for two innings. “Just to get out there and compete again; it’s been a long time.”
The Marlins’ 10th-round draft pick in 2014 opened eyes with a solid showing a year ago in his first experience in big-league camp. In his only Grapefruit League start he tossed three hitless innings against the Nationals.
But a promising beginning to the season was shortcircuited in mid-April when a comebacker to the mound fractured his left thumb. That kept Peters out for three months, but he showed enough in 13 starts in High-A and Double-A to get the call-up from Miami.
“Sitting in rehab for a few months is tough on anybody. So, it was a lot of ups and downs last season that finished positively,” said Peters.
Peters made one of the most memorable big-league debuts in Marlins history with seven shutout innings against the Phillies on Sept. 1. His eight strikeouts tied the late Jose Fernandez for most in a Marlin’s first game. The seven innings matched Justin Nicolino and Brad Penny for longest outing in a Marlin’s first game.
He also held the Braves without a run on two hits for 5 2⁄3 innings in his final outing. In between there were some rough patches that led to a 5.17 ERA and 1.63 WHIP.
So, the results were mixed, but Peters has the advantage of coming into this camp as a known quantity while many others vying for recognition are a blank slate.
“It definitely helps to have a little history with a guy,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “We’ve seen some good and we’ve seen some bad, quite honestly. But then we’re able to see the improvement from last year to a couple of the [recent bullpen sessions], which don’t necessarily mean a whole lot.
“But he’s throwing well. You see he’s in great shape this year.”
In an age when pitchers tend to be oversized and the emphasis is on velocity, Peters is a bit of an anomaly at 5 feet 9.
There is enough zip on his fastball at 92-94 mph, particularly when he keeps it on either edge of the plate.
That sets up an effective curveball, which has an above-average spin rate of 2,695.87 rpm (the MLB average last season was 2,500.35), according to Statcast. Breaking balls with higher spin rates tend to yield more movement and are tougher to hit.
But as Mattingly noted, command and location of pitches will be big determining factors in how Peters and others fare in this starting rotation sweepstakes.