What a Relief with Andrew Nardi

Continuing a series of exclusive interviews with members of the Miami Marlins bullpen, our fourth guest is rookie left-hander Andrew Nardi. He took us through his baseball journey, including:

• Making his MLB debut on Tuesday
• Being drafted three separate times
• Coaches who have influenced him and teammates he’s grown close with
• A ridiculous fan interaction
• Which other Marlins minor league relievers deserve call-ups
• Preparing to pitch in front of family and friends in Los Angeles

Enjoy Episode 4 of What a Relief!

Signed by the Marlins as a 16th-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, Nardi has pitched exclusively out of the bullpen since turning pro. In parts of three seasons with six different minor league affiliates, he posted a 2.64 earned run average while striking out 35.4% of opposing batters.

He is ranked as a Top 30 prospect in the Marlins organization by MLB Pipeline, FanGraphs and Fish Stripes’ own Ely Sussman.

The Marlins called up Nardi on Sunday, he made his debut on Tuesday and celebrated his 24th birthday on Thursday.

Baseball-Reference

In that first major league appearance against the Padres, Nardi showed all of his pitches (four-seam fastball, slider and changeup). His fastball velocity topped out at 96 miles per hour.

Nardi’s family and friends weren’t able to attend his debut at LoanDepot Park, but it will be a much different story this weekend in Los Angeles. He tells Fish Stripes that he has reserved around 20 tickets per game for the Marlins’ upcoming series against the Dodgers.

Follow Andrew on Instagram (@a.nardi22). Follow Noah (@Trainboy100) and Fish Stripes (@fishstripes). Check out our full coverage here at FishStripes.com.

Fish Stripes is ranked by Feedspot as the world’s No. 2 Miami Marlins podcast (trailing only the pod that’s produced by the franchise itself). Our programs include The Offishial Show, Big Fish Small Pod, Fish Stripes Unfiltered and Earning Their Stripes. All new episodes are posted to FishStripes.com/podcasts. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Podbean, Megaphone or wherever you normally get your pods from.