Alcantara called up for debut
Prospect will pitch against Mets on Friday
MIAMI — The wait is over for the Marlins and one of their top prospects. Sandy Alcantara is coming back to the big leagues.
Alcantara, the centerpiece of the Marcell Ozuna trade to St. Louis this winter, will start Friday against the Mets in his Marlins debut, Marlins CEO Derek Jeter announced Wednesday evening. Alcantara was ranked as the team’s No. 2 prospect by MLB Pipeline.
The 22-year-old Dominican possesses a blazing high-90s fastball to go with a low-90s changeup and a biting slider.
“Where do you start?” Jeter said. “He’s got a great arm, obviously. We wanted to take our time with him, give him an opportunity to continue to develop. One thing I've said is the best players in this organization are going to get an opportunity to play.”
The Marlins acquired Alcantara in December with Zac Gallen and Daniel Castano for Ozuna as part of Miami’s offseason sweep of its entire outfield that also included Christian Yelich and Giancarlo Stanton. Alcantara was a consensus top-70 prospect across all of baseball and ranked behind only Lewis Brinson and Monte Harrison as the Marlins’ best acquisitions this winter.
With Triple-A New Orleans this season, Alcantara has a 3.71 ERA in 14 starts. He’s struck out 6.8 batters per nine innings and owns a 1.271 WHIP.
“He was a big part of that Ozuna [trade], probably the key piece,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “Just a chance to see him. We see him in spring training, obviously a good-looking kid, smart, great body, now we get a chance to see him continue his development.”
The Marlins passed on numerous opportunities to promote Alcantara to the majors this season, recalling players like Dillon Peters, Ben Meyer, Trevor Richards and Tyler Cloyd before they gave Alcantara a shot.
Earlier this week, Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill said the team was taking a patient approach to Alcantara and that other factors (like availability) also contributed to roster decisions. Jeter said the Marlins wanted to put Alcantara and other prospects “in a situation where they can have some success.”
Alcantara will take the spot of Caleb Smith in the rotation. Smith is likely out for the season with a Grade 3 lat strain, but has not decided if he will have surgery to repair the injury. Either way, Smith does not expect to return to action until spring training.
The Marlins still need a starting pitcher for Saturday night against the Mets, with Dan Straily serving his five-game suspension for hitting Buster Posey with a pitch after a warning was issued. SiriusXM reported the Marlins were calling up right-hander Pablo Lopez to make a start this weekend, but Mattingly declined to name a starter.
Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto was scratched from the Miami lineup Wednesday night as he deals with a sore left wrist. Realmuto was penciled in as the starting first baseman, but Derek Dietrich started there instead.
The Marlins hired D.J. Svihlik as their director of amateur scouting, the team announced Wednesday morning, stepping into the role once held by Stan Meek.
Svihlik is the latest member of the Marlins front office who spent time with the Yankees after working 14 seasons as an area scout and crosschecker with New York. He spent one season with Vanderbilt as a hitting coach and recruiting coordinator before joining the Marlins in November as an adviser in baseball operations.