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Miami Marlins New Addition Struggles in Debut

Jason Burke

Feb 13, 2025; Jupiter, FL, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Cal Quantrill (40) plays catch during spring training at the Miami Marlins player development & scouting complex. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Feb 13, 2025; Jupiter, FL, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Cal Quantrill (40) plays catch during spring training at the Miami Marlins player development & scouting complex. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
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Former Stanford Cardinal starter Cal Quantrill made his spring debut with his new team, the Miami Marlins, on Thursday, and it did not go well. The 30-year-old right-hander lasted just 2/3 of an inning, giving up two hits and two walks, which led to four earned runs. He also struck out one.

The game didn't start off great, with Quantrill giving up a leadoff walk to Victor Scott II, who would proceed to steal second. Lars Nootbaar singled to bring home Scott, and two batters in Quantrill was down 1-0.

He would then walk Willson Contreras, puting two on, then served up a three-run homer to Nolan Arenado. After getting Nolan Gorman to strike out, and Pedro Pagés to line out, an Otto Lopez error at second kept the inning alive. It was at that point that Quantrill was pulled.

That line is not good. That said, it's still his first spring outing and it doesn't count towards his regular season stats. In looking at his pitch mix, it appeared as though he was working on things, rather than trying to go straight for outs.

Last season, Quantrill utilized a total of six pitches according to Statcast. On Thursday, he used just four, while primarily focusing on his cutter and his sinker.

In 2024, his splitter was his most frequently used pitch, and it was arguably his most effective, racking up a .206 batting average (.238 xBA). He threw that splitter 32% of the time a year ago. On Thursday against St. Louis, it accounted for just three of his 28 pitches (11%).

The sinker, which was his worst pitch from 2024 with a .415 batting average against (.313 xBA) accounted for 43% of his pitch mix yesterday. The same goes for the cutter, which he used 36% of the time against the Cardinals, while it produced a .296 average against last year.

It should also be noted that Statcast had him down about a tick on his sinker and splitter, though with this being his first game of camp, that will likely work itself out as he ramps up.

These are all fairly logical reasons for why he struggled in his Marlins debut, and while it's not ideal to have this kind of an outing your first time out with a new club, it's certainly better to get it out of the way now, rather than tinkering during the regular season.

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Jason Burke
JASON BURKE

Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.