Dylan Floro completes hidden no-hitter

Above all else, Major League Baseball celebrates relievers who have nasty, overpowering stuff. That’s not Dylan Floro. His average fastball velocity has perennially hovered around the league’s average for right-handers and his strikeout total has never quite eclipsed his innings total over the course of a single season. Even his physical stature—listed at 6’2”, 203 pounds—is merely “normal” relative to his peers.

Floro may not look like a dominant bullpen arm, but he’s performing like one in 2023. When he induced a double play to extinguish the Cleveland Guardians’ seventh-inning scoring threat on Saturday night, he had multiple reasons to rejoice. The Miami Marlins maintained their lead in an eventual victory, and it gave Floro the final two outs he needed to secure an individual feat.

Three weeks earlier, Daniel Vogelbach blooped a double into center field against Floro. Leading off the eighth on Saturday, José Ramírez lined a solid single up the middle. But in between? Floro, over the span of nine relief appearances, recorded 27 consecutive outs without allowing a hit.

Here they are:

1. Brandon Nimmo flew out

2. Starling Marte lined out

3. Byron Buxton popped out

4. Carlos Correa lined out

5. Joey Gallo struck out

6. Francisco Lindor struck out

7. Pete Alonso struck out

8. Mark Canha flew out

9. Eduardo Escobar flew out

10. Francisco Álvarez struck out

11. Trea Turner lined out

12. & 13. J.T. Realmuto grounded into a double play

14. Trea Turner grounded out

15. Kyle Schwarber struck out

16. Nick Castellanos struck out

17. Ketel Marte flew out

18. Josh Rojas flew out

19. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. struck out

20. J.D. Davis lined out

21. David Villar struck out

22. Mike Yastrzemski grounded out

23. Thairo Estrada grounded out

24. Mike Yastrzemski lined out

25. J.D. Davis struck out

26. & 27. Myles Straw grounded into a double play

There’s a whole lot of star power on Floro’s list of victims. The only batters to reach base against him during the streak were Jeff McNeil (fielding error), Brandon Marsh (walk) and Kyle Schwarber (walk).

Even without missing many bats, Floro is earning his results. The command of his pitches, particularly his sinker, is putting him in advantageous counts and forcing defensive swings, leading to weak contact. His willingness to throw four different pitch types to both lefties and righties makes him extremely unpredictable. Nobody has “barreled” the ball against Floro so far in 2023.

Baseball Savant

Perhaps Floro would be getting more attention for his excellence if he wasn’t surrounded by several similarly effective teammates. Miami closer A.J. Puk leads all qualified MLB relievers in win probability added. Andrew Nardi is three outs away from his own hidden no-no (sorry for jinxing it!).

Well, if Floro keeps this up, he’ll be getting plenty of attention from the people who matter most in MLB front offices. The pending free agent is poised to receive lucrative, multi-year offers...assuming the Marlins let him reach the open market without extending him beforehand.