Sandy Alcantara was the Miami Marlins' lone All-Star as a rookie in 2019. In 2020, he'll be their Opening Day starter for the first time.
Don Mattingly named the starting pitcher as his team's Opening Day starter Tuesday on "Line Drive," the team's in-house YouTube show. The right-handed pitcher will take the mound July 24 when the Marlins open the season against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
"I think that's the biggest thing in my life, being the Opening Day starter. I feel great about that," Alcantara said. "I'm ready. I'm ready all the time. Everybody knows that. Opening Day could come tomorrow and I'm ready to go."
In his first full season in the Majors, Alcantara went 6-14 with a 3.88 ERA, 151 strikeouts and 81 walks. The right-handed pitcher also led MLB with two complete-game shutouts. His ERA led the team, as did his 197 1/3 innings pitched. He was the Marlins' only starting pitcher with an ERA better than 4.00 in 2019 and he was at his best down the stretch. In August and September, Alcantara posted a 2.78 ERA and held opponents to a .207 batting average in 74 1/3 innings.
"A lot of the conversations we've had over the last couple of years, he's taken to heart," Mattingly said. "This guy's work is way better, his attention to detail. Every time he throws a bullpen, he's paying attention to every pitch and what it does. He's in great shape and we feel like he's earned this, the way he pitched late last year to all the work that he's done. He's backed up everything he says he wants to be and so we're pretty comfortable giving the ball to Sandy.
Mattingly said the decision came about through conversations with pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. and general manager Michael Hill. Alcantara, who came to Miami from the St. Louis Cardinals in 2018 as the centerpiece of the Marcell Ozuna trade, has the physical makeup to be an ace in MLB and the Marlins hope he'll take another step forward in 2020 after a promising rookie season.
"You know what it's like to be a young pitcher to come up, and you question whether you belong here and get out of that survival mode. Sandy has always been kind of searching for that and we're really ready for him to take a leap forward," Stottlemyre said. "I'm not a manager, and I can only imagine what it feels like to pencil your guy in every five days knowing what you're going to get out of that guy. I think we're really getting close to knowing what Sandy is going to give us."
