Is A Once Promising Marlins Starting Pitcher Back?

The Miami Marlins are seeing a long-missing starting pitcher improving with every outing

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sixto Sánchez has been getting better with every single appearance / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Marlins have struggled at times to find starting pitching options this season. 

Owing to season-ending injuries to both Sandy Alcantara and Eury Perez (Tommy John surgery) and injured list placements for Jesús Luzardo (forearm), Edward Cabrera (shoulder), and Braxton Garrett (shoulder), Miami’s used ten different starting pitchers this season. 

One unexpected starter has been Sixto Sánchez, who was originally in the bullpen for the Marlins but has made four consecutive starts, each an improvement on the first. 

Sixto being in the rotation is a big deal because we didn’t know if he’d ever get back to this point in his career. 

Sánchez was the centerpiece of the return from the Philadelphia Phillies when the Marlins moved catcher J.T. Realmuto in February of 2019. Coming over with catching prospect Jorge Alfaro, lefty pitching prospect Will Stewart, and international bonus pool space, Sánchez is the only remaining piece of the package for Miami.

It looked to be a good trade for both teams, initially - Sixto made his major league debut for Miami in 2020, going seven scoreless innings with ten strikeouts against the Tampa Bay Rays in just his second career start. He went on to put up a 3-2 record and 3.46 ERA in seven starts down the stretch in 2020 followed by starts in both the NL Wild Card series and the NL Divisional Series before Miami was eliminated by the Atlanta Braves. 

Then the injuries came. 

Early in 2021’s spring training, Sixto was shut down with a shoulder issue. He didn’t pitch again - at all - until he got one inning for Double-A Pensacola in September of 2023. 

So Sixto making the major league roster this season was a surprise in and of itself. Out of options but coming off of a promising yet short spring training (no runs allowed, but only nine innings pitched), Miami put him in the bullpen. 

It didn’t go great. 

Sixto allowed runs in each of his first four appearances, with seven in the first 4.1 innings, and Miami lost each of the first seven games he pitched in. But something changed: he started getting strikeouts. After not getting a single one in those first four appearances, he struck out Atlanta Braves centerfielder Michael Harris II on April 14th as part of a scoreless 6th inning. Then he struck out both Nick Ahmed and Tyler Fitzgerald of the San Francisco Giants as part of a scoreless eighth inning on April 17th, following that up with a scoreless eighth against the Chicago Cubs just three days later. 

Needing a spot starter, Miami turned to Sixto. He made it only 2.2 innings against the Braves with three runs allowed, but he stuck around in the rotation. He made starts against the Colorado Rockies and Oakland Athletics prior to last night when he was scheduled to take the mound against the Detroit Tigers. 

Last night was the best so far - Sixto gave Miami his longest and best start of the season, going 4.2 innings and allowing three runs (all unearned). He pushed his pitch count up to 81, a season-high, and gave up five hits but didn’t allow an extra-base hit in the contest. 

So, is Sixto back? 

It’s not quite that simple - he struck out only two Tigers last night (while walking two) and still has a 5.96 ERA on the season. But, just as he acclimated to major league hitters again while working out of the bullpen, he’s started to acclimate to life in the rotation again, navigating lineups multiple times and pushing deeper into games. 

The “stuff” still isn’t back - Sixto averaged only 94.4 on the fastball last night (although he was able to reach back and get 96.2 in his final inning) and picked up only three whiffs, but he also had a close-to-average 28% CSW and is improving each outing. 

While it’s pretty normal to wonder if we’ll ever get 2020 Sixto Sánchez back, the guy who averaged 98.5 on his fastball with a devastating changeup, the 2024 version of Sixto Sánchez is turning out to be good enough.