Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara continues to be one of the most puzzling players in baseball this season.
The reigning NL Cy Young winner with a brilliant 2.28 ERA in 228.2 innings last year, Alcantara had a 4.64 ERA when he took the mound on Wednesday afternoon against the St. Louis Cardinals.
More of a 3.00-ish ERA pitcher over the course of his career, it’s clear that Alcantara’s 2022 was a best-case scenario for a groundball pitcher with good, but not elite strikeout ability.
He is still an ace, though, and he showed that not only in 2022 but also in previous seasons.
It’s still very odd to see him struggling so much this year, especially in an area where he had excelled in the past: command.
“In a game where the Marlins badly needed Sandy Alcantara to give them a quality start, he is blitzed for 4 ER in the first. This is unfamiliar inconsistency from him. It seems like each time he makes a good pitch, the next one misses badly. Can’t leave a changeup there,” analyst Aram Leighton tweeted with a video of a three-run home run he conceded to Cardinals slugger Nolan Gorman.
In a game where the Marlins badly needed Sandy Alcantara to give them a quality start, he is blitzed for 4 ER in the first.
This is unfamiliar inconsistency from him. It seems like each time he makes a good pitch, the next one misses badly. Can't leave a changeup there. pic.twitter.com/rSOCpKPPRv
— Aram Leighton (@AramLeighton8) July 19, 2023
MLB hitters usually don’t miss a hanging changeup like that.
They are actually paid not to.
It was right in the middle of the zone, and Gorman, a powerful hitter, sent it to straightaway center field.
Alcantara proceeded to post multiple scoreless innings, but he had already put his team in an uncomfortable position: down 4-0 in the first inning.
It has been the story of his season, unfortunately.
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