Sandy Alcantara is already one of the most electric arms in baseball, but on Thursday morning at the Marlins’ Jupiter Academy, he added another weapon to his already loaded arsenal - and it had immediate impact.
During a pitch design session, Alcantara unveiled a brand-new sweeper - and Marlins infield prospect Javier Sanoja found out the hard way just how nasty it can be. When Sanoja swung through the pitch without making contact, pitching coach Daniel Moskos couldn’t help but let out a gleeful “DR 1-0!” - a nod to Alcantara’s Dominican roots and the scoreboard-worthy moment in a friendly intra-squad showdown.
Alcantara, who already commands a five-pitch mix (sinker, changeup, four-seamer, slider, and cutter), threw the sweeper about nine times in his first bullpen of camp. The early returns? Promising - and then some.
“I think it’s a pitch that came from a long way,” Alcantara said after the session. “Early when I started, I was having trouble with it.
But today was good. So I’ll focus on location with it.
Hopefully during the season, we can do some damage with it.”
Alcantara’s motivation to add the sweeper was part necessity, part evolution. Around the league, more pitchers are incorporating the pitch - a slower, more horizontal-breaking variation that plays off the slider. For Alcantara, who throws hard across the board, the idea was to develop something with more shape and a different speed profile to disrupt hitters’ timing.
Let’s break that down: In 2025, Alcantara’s average velocities were tightly grouped - four-seamer at 97.7 mph, sinker at 97.1 mph, changeup at 90.4 mph, slider at 89.4 mph, and cutter at 85.3 mph. While that’s a nightmare for hitters in terms of velocity, it also allows them to sit on a certain speed range. The sweeper changes that calculus.
“Because I throw hard, and everything I throw is hard,” Alcantara explained. “So me and Mos had a conversation last year - we need a pitch that breaks more, and more slow.
And finally we get it. So hopefully we do a great job throwing in the season.”
It wasn’t a quick fix, either. Alcantara spent a portion of his offseason bullpen sessions experimenting with grips, trying to find a feel that worked. The breakthrough came when he approached it with a curveball mindset - letting the pitch work more east-to-west instead of relying on his usual high-velocity, north-south movement.
That kind of adjustment speaks volumes about Alcantara’s growth and willingness to adapt. At 30 years old, he’s not just resting on his Cy Young-caliber repertoire - he’s actively looking for ways to stay ahead of hitters in a league that’s constantly evolving.
If this new sweeper becomes a consistent part of his mix, it could be a game-changer. Alcantara already keeps hitters off-balance with his elite velocity and late movement. Now, with a pitch that adds a different shape and tempo, he’s giving them one more thing to think about - and one more reason to swing and miss.
The Marlins have a lot riding on Alcantara anchoring their rotation again this season. If Thursday’s bullpen was any indication, he’s not just ready - he’s reinventing.