The Miami Marlins have spent this season making people revise their expectations, and the biggest reason is sitting right in front of them: the rotation.
Miami’s starters finished August with the best ERA in the National League and the second-best mark in Major League Baseball, trailing only the Los Angeles Angels, according to Marlins Communications on X. And when the calendar flipped to September, the group kept rolling.
Tyler Phillips set the tone by working five scoreless innings against the Kansas City Royals, allowing just one hit in a much-needed win. That outing helped push Miami to 70-69, leaving the club 12 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East but still only three games back of the San Diego Padres for the final Wild Card spot.
The margin is still thin enough to keep the conversation alive.
A big part of the story is how many different arms have contributed. Eury Perez has delivered a 3.44 ERA across 24 starts, striking out 142 batters in 130.2 innings while holding opponents to a .198 average.
Sandy Alcantara has been just as central to the effort, posting a 3.46 ERA in 29 starts and logging 189.2 innings, the most in Major League Baseball by 14 innings. He has 140 strikeouts and a 1.19 WHIP.
Phillips has also become a real piece of the puzzle. After Monday’s five shutout frames, his ERA sat at 3.43 over 110.1 innings. He has made 16 starts and appeared in 33 games, a workload that was not on anyone’s radar when the year began.
What makes Miami’s run even more striking is that it has come without Max Meyer for a large chunk of the season. Meyer was 9-1 with a 2.68 ERA in 20 starts before his year was interrupted. He struck out 121 batters in 111 innings and limited opponents to a .207 average before going on the injured list with a neck strain on July 19.
Instead of collapsing without him, the Marlins kept getting stronger. Their rotation absorbed the loss and delivered its best month of the season.
Janson Junk has also been part of the mix, piling up 103 innings, while Miami has leaned on Phillips’ emergence as a dependable starter. No single pitcher has carried the whole operation; the success has come from the group working together.
The Marlins entered September at 69-69, and the playoff climb is still steep. But they have at least secured one thing every team wants heading into the final month: a rotation they can trust.
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Joe Mack Is Giving The Marlins More Than Anyone Expected
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He has already thrown out 20 baserunners and has won 61.4% of his ABS challenges, while the Marlins have also seen their wild pitches drop from 65 in 2025 to 43 this season with him handling the staff. Add in the fact that the organization controls him through at least the 2032 season, and Macks early stretch in the majors is starting to look less like a pleasant surprise and more like a foundational piece the club can build around. [Read more 🡒]