Corbin Burnes won the National League Cy Young in 2021 and is pitching well this year; the whole New York Yankees rotation is running for the AL Cy Young in 2022, Martin Perez is having a dream season, and Kevin Gausman leads MLB in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) among pitchers.
Yet, Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara might be the best pitcher alive at the moment.
After completely dominating the Washington Nationals on Wednesday, the tall right-hander has a 0.56 ERA in his last six starts.
Last night, he blanked the Nats for nine innings, but couldn’t get the win since the Marlins won in extras.
“Sandy Alcantara in his last 6 starts: 48 IP 0.56 ERA. He’s averaging 8 IP per start in that span! Last pitcher to throw at least 48 innings in a 6-outing span: 2017 Max Scherzer, also 48 IP (5/26-6/21),” MLB statistician Sarah Langs tweeted.
Sandy Alcantara in his last 6 starts:
48 IP
0.56 ERAHe's averaging 8 IP per start in that span!
Last pitcher to throw at least 48 innings in a 6-outing span: 2017 Max Scherzer, also 48 IP (5/26-6/21)
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) June 9, 2022
Alcantara Is A Unicorn
Alcantara has shown in his young career that he is a rarity in today’s game.
Whereas today’s starting pitchers often work four or five innings tops, Alcantara is at his best when he works deep into games.
He often goes seven or eight innings; even nine like he did yesterday.
The Marlins have done a tremendous job developing him: at the moment, he is third in MLB in WAR with 2.1, behind Gausman and Detroit Tigers lefty Tarik Skubal.
Alcantara has a solid 1.61 ERA in 83.2 innings: the latter number is perhaps the most impressive of all, as he leads all MLB.
Alcantara can get strikeouts in bunches, but since he gets so many groundouts, too, his pitch counts allow him to work deeper into games than the average MLB starter.
He is an extremely valuable commodity, one that will be the face of the Marlins’ pitching corps for years to come.
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