Life without an ace for the Miami Marlins could be seen as a big problem for 2024, after not being able to count on the CY Young of the 2022 National League, Sandy Alcántara. However, it is quite the opposite, there are no headaches for a team that fully trusts in the left-footed player. Venezuelan, Jesús Luzardo to guide them.
The 26-year-old pitcher is the one chosen by manager Skip Schumaker to start the opening game of the 2024 season, on March 28 against the Pittsbergh Pirates, as reported by the media El Extrabase.
Luzardo earned the credit, not because Alcántara is out for all of 2024, after Tommy John surgery he underwent last October. The Venezuelan took a step forward last season, establishing himself as the best shooter in the organization.
The left handed He left a mark of 10 wins with 10 losses, but with an ERA of 3.58, WHIP of 1.21 and 208 strikeouts in 178.2 innings pitched in 2023, also being the third pitcher in franchise history to fan more batters in the same year, only behind José Fernández (253) and Ryan Dempster (209).
“He deserves it, let’s hope it’s the first of many for him. He has become the ‘ace’ of our rotation, he is a leader and no one deserves it more than him,” Skip Schumaker told El Extrabase. “ It was very easy to make this decision. We saw what he did last year and how he got to this year. He has a different mentality. He was our starter in the first game of the postseason, so no one deserved it more than him. “Don’t get me wrong, we had good options.”
For 2024, Luzardo has already shown that he is even better for the Marlins, because in his first preseason outing, the pitcher covered two innings perfectly, striking out three of the six batters he faced. And, to make matters worse, no one lifted the ball out of the box; which is always a good impression for your first spring outing.
In total, the Venezuelan executed 23 pitches; 17 of them in the strike zone. His four-seam fastball, which he used 11 times, reached 96.8 miles per hour and averaged 96.2mph.
