All-Time Marlins Countdown: Chapter 33

The Marlins have seen 630 players take the field through their first 28 seasons of their existence.

This series aims to tell just a little bit about some players that you maybe haven’t heard much about. The six players in today’s story had between 75 and 249 plate appearances/batters faced, and are ordered by brWAR per PA/BF.

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423. Ron Villone

Ron Villone is a six-foot-three left-handed pitcher from Englewood, New Jersey. In 1992, the Seattle Mariners chose him in the first round of the draft, 14th overall off the board out of the University of Massachusetts.

Before making his way to the Florida Marlins in 2005, Villone played at the major league level for Seattle, the San Diego Padres, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Cleveland Indians, the Cincinnati Reds, the Colorado Rockies, and the Houston Astros. Through those first 10 seasons of his major league career, he was 47-49 with a 4.80 ERA, and 675 whiffs in 882 ²⁄₃ innings.

After spending the first half of the 2005 season back with the Mariners for a second go-round, Seattle traded him to the Marlins for Mike Flannery and Yorman Bazardo.

Villone appeared in 27 of Florida’s final 60 games of the year. He pitched 23 ²⁄₃ innings, and finished with a 3-2 record and a 6.85 ERA. He gave up 24 hits and 12 walks, striking out 29 and finishing with a 1.52 WHIP. His 3.44 FIP indicates that he was maybe the victim of what they call in hockey “bad puck luck.”

Villone’s best appearance with the Marlins, going by WPA, was in the final game of the season. He pitched the ninth and 10th innings of a 7-6 win over the Atlanta Braves, striking out a pair and allowing only a walk. He put 61 percent of his 457 total pitches in the strike zone, and generated ground balls on 74 percent of balls-in-play. He struck out in his only plate appearance, and made one error out of five total fielding chances.

After the season, the Marlins traded Villone to the New York Yankees for Ben Julianel. Villone went on to pitch major league ball for another four seasons, two with the Bombers and one each with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Washington Nationals.

422. John Mabry

Wilmington, Delaware native John Mabry was a six-foot-four left-handed hitting and right-handed throwing outfielder. In 1991, the Cardinals drafted him in the sixth round out of West Chester University.

Mabry made his major league debut with the Cardinals in 1994, and over the next seven seasons, appeared in 726 games between St. Louis, the Mariners, and the Padres, putting up a .275/.328/.400 slash line and 49 homers with 265 RBI.

Mabry started out the 2001 campaign by going 0-for-7 for the Cardinals. On April 9, St. Louis traded him to the Florida Marlins as part of a conditional deal. He went on to appear in 82 games for the club, going 32-for-147 with seven doubles and six home runs. He collected 20 RBI and scored 14 runs, drawing 13 walks and striking out 44 times.

Mabry also pitched a third of an inning for the Marlins, and gave up five earned runs for a club-record 135.00 ERA. In 238 ²⁄₃ innings of outfield work, he made 44 putouts along with two assists and two errors.

The Marlins granted Mabry’s free agency following the season. He went on to play another five major league seasons between the Philadelphia Phillies, the Oakland Athletics, the Mariners, the Cardinals, the Chicago Cubs, and the Rockies.

421. Héctor Noesí

Héctor Noesí is a six-foot-four pitcher from Esperanza, Dominican Republic. In 2004, he signed his first professional contract with the New York Yankees at the age of 17.

Noesí made his major league debut with the Yankees in 2011, and also played with the Mariners, the Texas Rangers, and the Chicago White Sox. He pitched in 107 games over the first five seasons of his career, starting 53 of them and going 12-31 with a 5.30 ERA. He struck out 279 in 395 ¹⁄₃ innings, with a 1.465 WHIP. After his appearance on June 15, it would be over four years before he made another.

David Santiago/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Noesí signed with the Marlins prior to 2019 Spring Training. On August 6, he took his first of four turns in the rotation. Over those four games, he went 0-3 with an 11.29 ERA, allowing 23 runs on 20 hits and 12 walks in 18 ¹⁄₃ innings.

Once he moved into the bullpen, Noesí was much better. In 9 ¹⁄₃ innings, he only allowed three runs and struck out nine. Despite that, he didn’t make an appearance with the Marlins in 2020, and was granted free agency on November 2, just two weeks ago.

420. Brian Flynn

Brian Flynn was a six-foot-eight left-handed pitcher from Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 2011, the Detroit Tigers took him in the seventh round out of Wichita State University. In two seasons with the Shockers, he was 8-9 with a 4.78 ERA and nearly a strikeout per inning.

A season after the Tigers drafted him, Flynn was traded with Rob Brantly and Jacob Turner to the Marlins for Omar Infante and Anibal Sanchez.

Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Flynn spent two seasons in the Marlins organization, making 52 minor league starts between the New Orleans Zephyrs and the Jacksonville Suns. In six appearances with the Marlins, including five starts, he was 0-3 with an 8.64 ERA, a 2.20 WHIP, and 21 whiffs in 25 innings. Flynn posted a negative WPA in each of the six contests. He also went 2-for-7 from the plate with a sacrifice hit, and took two fielding chances without an error.

After 2014, the Marlins sent Flynn along with Reid Redman to the Kansas City Royals for Aaron Crow. In four seasons with the Royals, Flynn went 6-9 with a 3.76 ERA.

419. Yusmeiro Petit

Maracaibo, Venezuela native Yusmeiro Petit is a six-foot-one right handed pitcher. In 2001, he signed with the New York Mets just prior to his 17th birthday.

After four years in the Mets system, they traded Petit to the Marlins with Grant Psomas and Mike Jacobs to Florida for Carlos Delgado. 2006 would see Petit’s major league debut.

Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Petit made 15 appearances for the Marlins, including one start. he struck out 20 in 26 ¹⁄₃ innings, but also allowed 46 hits, including seven homers. He put up a 1-1 record and a 9.57 ERA with a 2.09 WHIP. At the plate, he was one-for-five with an RBI and two strikeouts, while making two clean putouts without an error on defense. At the end of Spring Training in 2007, the Marlins sent Petit to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Jorge Julio.

Since then, Petit has played for the D-Backs, the San Francisco Giants, the Nationals, the Los Angeles Angels, and Oakland. He’s 42-41 with six saves and a 3.93 lifetime ERA, and led the American League with 80 games pitched in 2019 with the A’s.

418. Ryan Tucker

Ryan Tucker is a six-one right-handed pitcher from Burbank, California. In 2005, the Florida Marlins took him in the first round of the draft, with the 34th overall selection. Three seasons later in 2008, Tucker got to the majors with the team.

Photo by Ronald C. Modra/Getty Images

Tucker pitched in 13 games for Florida, including six starts. He struck out 28 in 37 innings overall, and racked up an 8.27 ERA by surrendering 34 runs on 46 hits and 23 walks. He landed 59 percent of his 707 offerings over the plate, went 0-for-7 from the plate with four strikeouts, and made seven defensive plays without an error.

Tucker’s best game with the Marlins, going by WPA, was his major league debut. He got the win in a 9-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, striking out six and allowing only one run in five innings. After spending the entirety of the next two seasons in the Marlins minor league system, the Texas Rangers claimed Tucker off waivers. He pitched five major league innings for them, and didn’t get back to the majors after that.