Fishology Episode 14: How Sandy Alcantara Can Regain 2022 Form

Kevin Barral, Louis Addeo-Weiss and Ely Sussman analyze Bryan Hoeing’s return to the Miami Marlins active roster, why Sandy Alcantara’s month of April didn’t meet his Cy Young standards and the sustainability of the club’s bullpen. For the Stathead Segment, Ely shows how little offensive production the Marlins are getting from catcher and third base relative to the rest of the majors.

Enjoy Episode 14 of Fishology!

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Last season, Hoeing’s sinker was among the worst in Major League Baseball on a run-value-per-pitch basis. However, an uptick in velocity and a willingness to lean more heavily on his slider should yield significantly better results this time around. Hoeing will start again for the Marlins on Sunday against the Cubs.

Alcantara appears fully healthy despite his biceps tendinitis scare. Even so, there’s an alarming difference from 2022 in terms of how opposing hitters perform the third time through a lineup. He allowed a .239/.279/.359 slash line (.638 OPS) in those situations en route to the NL Cy Young award. Here in 2023, their production has skyrocketed to .440/.516/.760 (1.276 OPS). Also, Alcantara’s pitches are not getting as much vertical break, perhaps contributing to the increase in line drives and fly balls that he’s surrendering.

Miami’s offense continues to produce poorly, largely because the lineup is lacking length. Jean Segura (third base) and Jacob Stallings/Nick Fortes (catcher) need to do more damage at the plate, or else the team should look into creative replacement options.

Follow Kevin (@kevin_barral), Louis (@addeo_louis00), Ely (@RealEly) and Fish Stripes (@fishstripes). Check out our full Miami Marlins coverage here at FishStripes.com.

The Fish Stripes podcast channel has rebranded to Fish on First! Our programs include The Offishial Show, Fish Stripes Unfiltered, Fishology and State of the Fish. 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.