Copa América 2019: ¿Quién tiene mas presión para ganarla?

/0 Comments/in /by

Este viernes da inicio la Copa América Brasil 2019 sin Neymar, pero con grandes figuras del fútbol sudamericano, y asiático.

Catar y Japón vienen como selecciones invitadas a este certamen, tras el divorcio de México y la Concacaf con Conmebol.

Así que podríamos tener a una selección del otro lado del mundo levantar el trofeo en la cuna de este deporte.

Pero ese no es el tema de este artículo.

Argentina: la favorita silenciosa

Lionel Messi no ha podido conquistar ningún título con la selección absoluta de Argentina, perdiendo en las cuatro finales a las que el combinado albiceleste ha llegado.

La mas dolorosa, por cierto, sucedió ahí mismo, en el Maracaná de Rio de Janeiro, en la final de la Copa del Mundo ante Alemania en 2014.

La generación con la que creció jugando Messi se quedó a las puertas de varios títulos y ya entró en una fase de reconstrucción, con una convocatoria llena nombres nuevos.

Sin embargo, en un torneo corto, ¿Cómo no dar al equipo que tenga a Lionel Messi como uno de los favoritos?

En Argentina siempre se aspira a ser campeón. Y no logran ganar nada desde la Copa América de 1993 en Ecuador, cuando venció 2 a 1 a México en la final.

Brasil y la presión de responder en casa

Brasil cayó humillada 7 a 1 en las semifinales de la Copa del Mundo de 2014 y esa es una herida que está todavía abierta en el corazón del pueblo brasileño.

Era una de las favoritas en esta última Copa del Mundo en Rusia, y falló en cuartos de final al caer ante Bélgica en un partido muy emocionante, en el que merecieron mucho mas.

Ahora vuelve la competición mas antigua de selecciones a su territorio, y a pesar de no tener a Neymar, por nómina son el claro favorito para ganar el torneo.

La última vez que Brasil ganó fue en Venezuela en el 2007, precisamente ante Argentina, a la que golearon 3 a 0 en la final, la primera que perdió Messi vestido de albiceleste.

¿Quién tiene mas presión para ganar la Copa América?

Lionel Messi ha perdido tres finales de Copa América y esta sea quizás su última oportunidad de ganar algún torneo con Argentina, especialmente ahora que Brasil se ha quedado sin su principal estrella, Neymar.

Brasil no se puede dar el lujo de dejar escapar esta oportunidad como hizo con la Copa del Mundo de hace cinco años. Con la mejor plantilla, y en un gran momento, frente a su público, tiene todo para ganar su novena copa.

Los invitamos a escuchar nuestro análisis sobre este tema, incluyendo la opinión de tres expertos en el área: Roselix Ruggiero, Bruno Gómez y Raúl Zambrano.

 

Disfruta de todos los episodios de Cinco Razones Podcast haciendo click aquí. Pronto estaremos anunciando algunos cambios en nuestro contenido. No se lo pierdan

Goran Dragic, to no one’s surprise, opts in

/0 Comments/in /by

Point Guard Goran Dragic has informed the Heat of his decision to pick up his player option for the 2019-20 season.

The final year on Dragic’s contract is worth $19.2 million.

It was widely expected that Dragic would indeed opt in to the final year of his lucrative 2019-20 salary. What was much less expected is the timing related to the decision. 

Upon formally opting in, Dragic is now eligible to be traded. This is particularly interesting when you factor in the 2019 NBA draft being one week away. 

The NBA draft is typically accompanied by a flurry of trade activity and this decision by Dragic drastically increases the chances he could be dealt prior to next season. 

Dragic is still a useful veteran point guard on an expiring contract.

He will have interested trade suitors.

Have the Heat presented Dragic with trade scenarios that would require him to opt in but also give Dragic say in where he lands? Or did Dragic opt in because the Heat assured him he wasn’t on the trade block? And what does this mean for Justise Winslow, who showed promise as a point guard option, even if the Heat keep touting his versatility instead?

Plenty of questions remain as we prepare for next Thursday’s draft and free agency in July. 

So, who is the Marlins’ All-Star?

/0 Comments/in /by

Let’s be honest, the Marlins haven’t been the best team this year, but they haven’t been the worst. For having the fourth worst record in baseball, they have a few legit All-Star candidates that could represent them this year in Cleveland. Here are my three candidates, let’s start with Caleb “Doctor K” Smith.

 

Caleb Smith

Caleb Smith has been one of the biggest surprises so far this season for the Marlins. After coming off season ending surgery to repair a Grade 3 Lat strain, he holds a 3-4 record with a 3.41 ERA in twelve games started for the Marlins this season. He also ranks 26th among qualified starters in strikeouts with 82 strikeouts in 66 innings pitched with a 28% strikeout rate. Caleb Smith is ranked 6th among qualified starting pitchers in batting average against with hitters only hitting for a .198 average against him. Nobody expected him to be as good as he has been coming off that surgery, but here he is exceeding expectations.

 

Trevor Richards

Next possible All-Star candidate is another starting pitcher in Trevor Richards. Richards is quietly having a superb season this year for the Fish. In 13 games started he holds a 3.31 ERA with 68 strikeouts in 73.1 innings of work. Opposing hitters are finding a difficult time barreling up pitches or even getting hits against Richards. Hitters are putting the barrel on the ball only 6.6% of the time. His 3.31 ERA is ranked 10th in the National League among qualifying pitchers and his 6.6 Hits per 9 is ranked third in the National League. Richards is also ranked 11th in batting average against with hitters hitting only .206 against the right hander.

 

Harold Ramirez

Harold Ramirez has been an absolute steal for the Marlins since they signed him back in December and then proceeded to call him up to the big league club on May 11th. In his 26 games played and his 106 plate appearances he is batting a .327 average (entering tonights game) with one home run, and twelve RBIs. He has a hard hit rate of 39.5% along with a .784 OPS. He definitely has my vote for the All-Star game and he should have your vote as well. All three of these players deserve our vote. So go ahead and click this link to vote for your favorite Marlins into the 2019 MLB All-Star Game.

All-Star ballot: https://www.mlb.com/all-star/ballot

Photo by Cinco Razones Podcast. Follow them for all our baseball coverage (@CincoRazonesPod). 

Jordan Yamamoto shuts down Cardinals in MLB debut

/0 Comments/in /by

After a season and a half, the Christian Yelich trade looked like a one-sided landslide in favor of the Milwaukee Brewers. He won the National League MVP last season and in his first career playoff appearance, the Brewers were a game away from the World Series.

The Marlins received Lewis Brinson, Jordan Yamamoto, Monte Harrison and Isan Diaz for Yelich and prior to this week, only Brinson made it to the big leagues and was recently sent down after batting below .200.

However, there’s newfound hope that the trade return will indeed bare fruit. Yamamoto made his MLB debut on Wednesday against the St. Louis Cardinals and their ace, Jupiter native Miles Mikolas. After seven innings, the Hawaii native has his first career RBI before his first earned run. His shutdown performance helped snap the Marlins six game losing streak and gave them a dominating 9-0 win.

“At first I was really nervous,” Yamamoto said. “I’ve been sweating all day. But once I got the first guy out, I kind of calmed down.”

Yamamoto threw 95 pitches and topped out at only 93 mph but struck out five batters through changing speeds and covering the strike zone.

“He’s a fun guy to watch,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “I’m sure if he goes to a tryout, the scouts are looking at this guy and you’re probably not signing him. But he can add and subtract. He’ll throw his fastball at 86, and at 92. He just mixes and mixes. He’s unpredictable.”

From the other side, the Cardinals lineup included fellow Hawaiian Kolten Wong, whom Yamamoto struck out to end the second inning. It was Yamamoto’s first career strikeout the PA system at Marlins Park played the theme from “Hawaii Five-0.” His jersey number being No. 50 was a nice touch.

“Congratulations to Jordan,” Wong said. “I’m really proud of him. He kept his composure all night.”

His first career victory was practically assured thanks to first baseman Garrett Cooper. He hit a triple in the first inning and scored the first run of the game and hit a grand slam in the second inning to make it a 5-0 game.

Cooper got a single in his third plate appearance but struck out in his last two at-bats and fell short of a double of a cycle.

“I’m not going to lie, I was looking for that double,” Cooper said with a chuckle. “I swung a little too hard the last couple of times.”

The Marlins are continuing to deal with injuries. Yamamoto got his start because Jose Urena, who was the Opening Day starter, went to the 10-day injured list due to a lower back strain. The day after, corner infielder Martin Prado left the game with a tight right hamstring and is going to the 10-day IL. Peter O’Brien is also still in the IL with a bruised rib but is progressing well and should received his minor league assignment in the near future. Jon Berti was placed on the IL due to an oblique strain on May 21 but took infield drills and batting practice during the series.

A call-up from the minor leagues can be expected over the off day on Thursday in time for the weekend series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Latest UM Hurricanes Recruiting Outlook

/0 Comments/in /by

We are still a little more than half a year away from the first opportunity for many high school senior football players to put pen to paper and decide which school they look to advance their athletic and academic careers. Hurricanes coach Manny Diaz and the rest of the University of Miami staff find themselves in a very fortunate position as of now as they currently carry a lot of momentum on the recruiting trail and more success could be on the way should they accumulate the victories on the field. UM currently holds the 5th-best recruiting class in the nation for the class of 2020 and currently sit at 16 commits.

Here’s a look at the current state of Miami’s recruiting efforts:

 

Quarterback

At quarterback, Miami is set with Tyler Van Dyke, who hails from Suffield Academy in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Newly-hired quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Dan Enos is considered a quarterback guru due to his work with Tua Taigovailoa and Jalen Hurts at Alabama last season and was very impressed by Van Dyke’s arm. According to 247 Sports, he’s rated as the 9th-best pro-style quarterback in the country.

 

Running Back

Even with an already loaded running back room, Miami is still insistent on recruiting elite players at the position. Currently on the roster, Cam Davis and Deejay Dallas are interchangeably 1-2 on the depth chart with 2018 five-star recruit Lorenzo Lombard still recovering from injury. Miami also has former Auburn RB Asa Martin, who will sit out the 2019 season and has three years of eligibility remaining. As for recruiting, it only took three weeks on the job for running back coach Eric Hickson to secure the commitment of Don Chaney, the local five-star back from Belen Jesuit in Miami. Hickson is also competing for the services of Deerfield Beach’s Jaylan Knighton (considering UM, FSU, and Clemson) and Colombus’ Henry Parrish Jr. (considering UM, FSU, Utah, FAU, and Pitt.)

 

Wide Receiver

Without a doubt, wide receiver may be Miami’s best position depth-wise.  The future looks bright with the return of Jeff Thomas as well as guys like Dee Wiggins and Mark Pope, the two high-rated recruits they brought in during the 2018 cycle. Miami is still recruiting hard at the position and it has been reported that they’ve evaluated around 30 receivers nationwide. They currently have three commitments in four-star recruits Bryan Robinson (Palm Beach Central High/West Palm Beach), Marcus Fleming (Miami Northwestern), and most recently Xavier Restrepo (Deerfield Beach) but it is highly possible they add a couple more before it’s all said and done. Former Miami commitment and four-star receiver Leonard Manuel just listed Miami in his top 7 and the Canes also made the top 5 of high four-star athlete Mookie Cooper.

 

Tight End

Miami brought in Brevin Jordan and Will Mallory in 2018 and are set to have even bigger sophomore seasons, but that has not stopped the staff from pursuing elite targets at the position. Dominic Mammarelli, who hails from Naples, has been committed to the Canes for more than a year and seems solid in his commitment. The staff is looking to add one more tight end to the fold, and the big fish they hope to reel in is five-star Darnell Washington. Miami is competing with all of the big boys for Washington’s services but on top of Miami’s rich tradition with the position, one thing Miami has working in their favor is that Washington hails from the same city (Las Vegas) as Jordan and two other players on the team.

Offensive Line

The work and persistence of new OL coach Butch Barry paid off in the recruitment and commitment of Jalen Rivers, an offensive tackle from Oakleaf High in Jacksonville. Rivers is an athletic specimen at 6’6”, 330 lbs. and he also plays basketball and track. After one of Miami’s junior camps earlier this year, the Canes extended an offer and received a commitment from Vanguard (Ocala, FL) center Antonio Smith. There’s still many questions for the offensive line, including who the starters are when August 24th comes about but also the depth. It’s looking like Miami will probably take about 2-3 more linemen and their biggest target right now is Issiah Walker from Miami Norland. Walker is currently committed to South Carolina but he has been a frequent visitor to Coral Gables. His most recent visit was on Monday and it looks as if Miami’s biggest competition outside of the Gamecocks will be Florida and Florida State.

 

Defensive Line

Manny Diaz’s defensive lines have always rotated often as this keeps fresh legs in crucial games. Even with the departure of Jess Simpson to the NFL, newly-hired DL coach Todd Stroud has been able to keep all three of Simpson’s commitments: Trevon Riggins (St. Petersburg, FL, Lakewood High), Samuel Anaele (Miami, FL, Carol City High), and Willie Moise (Hollywood, FL, Chaminade-Madonna). Coincidentally, they are also Miami’s longest tenured commitments and all three seem very solid in their commitments.

 

Linebacker 

Linebacker may be Miami’s most important position for the 2020 recruiting cycle. Miami is looking to replace three seniors at the position and currently has one commit in three-star recruit AJ Mathis from Largo, FL. The Canes lost out to FSU for four-star Jayion McCluster, who happens to reside in the same city as Mathis, but Miami has not stopped its pursuits. Most recently, NJ-based Tirek Austin-Cave was on campus on an official visit and reports are that he was blown away, but he currently has a slate of four other official visits planned for the next few weeks. Miami is looking to take two more linebackers after bringing in two in 2019. This weekend, there will be two official visitors at the position in Texas-based Corey Flagg and Romello Height from Dublin, GA.

Defensive Back

Last but not least, most of the damage has been done reloading on cornerbacks and safeties. Depth and experience are factors affecting both positions, more so with cornerback. Miami only has four cornerbacks on the roster so it is imperative they add at least 2-3 this cycle. The Canes currently have South Dade four-star Jaiden Francois in the fold, who was arguably the best cornerback in Miami-Dade County in 2018. Cornerbacks coach Mike Rumph in also landing the commitment of Justin Hodges from Western High in Davie. And thanks to the work of defensive coordinator Blake Baker utilizing his Louisiana ties, Miami also received a verbal commitment from Daran Branch from Amite, LA and there is a small possibility that Branch could get moved to safety. One big target at corner is Keyshawn Lawrence, who hails from Nashville, TN and has a big UM connection with former Cane CB Corn Elder as his cousin. Lawrence is slated to take his official visit to Miami the weekend of Paradise Camp on June 22nd.

It’s important to note that Miami did lose two very dependable safeties in Jaquan Johnson and Sheldrick Redwine. At safety, the Canes have two commits. Francois’ teammate Keshawn Washington recommitted to the Canes not too long ago after decommitting in December. It is very likely, if not certain, that the 6’3” 190lb. Washington will get moved to the striker position, which is essentially a hybrid linebacker/safety.

An important thing to note is that in recruiting, attrition is inevitable. Miami is still after a lot of highly-rated recruits and one thing to look out down the road is a lot of lower-rated commits possibly getting “dropped” in favor of the former should the higher level recruits wait until later in the process to announce their decisions. Miami is holding their annual invite-only Paradise Camp next Saturday and there will be a plethora of recruits, both committed and uncommitted, on campus and we will provide updates as to who are the important visitors.

Paul Austria (@PaulAustria_) also contributes to Canes Insight. 

La lesión de Kevin Durant y su motivación a los Warriors

/0 Comments/in /by

Kevin Durant hizo todo lo que pudo para regresar y disputar el quinto juego de la NBA.

Los Golden State Warriors fueron ampliamente superados en el Oracle Arena en los juegos tres y cuatro, y cayeron a un solo juego de perder su segunda final en los últimos cuatro años.

La dinastía se tambalea en manos de los Raptors, que desaprovecharon una oportunidad única para titularse por primera vez en la historia.

Los Warriors eran superiores con su superestrella diezmada en cancha, hasta que llegó lo que parecía inevitable.

Kevin Durant cayó abatido, tras aportar 11 puntos, incluyendo un impoluto 3 de 3 en disparos de tres puntos, dejando a su equipo en ventaja.

En el episodio 38 Cinco Razones Podcast conversamos con Andrés Rodríguez, especialista en Strenght and Conditioning, certificado por la National Strenght and Conditioning Association, y dueño de Beast Mode Performance, sobre este tipo de lesiones y qué pudo haberla causado.

Luego, nos dedicamos a analizar qué le faltó a Toronto para coronarse esa noche, incluyendo la falta de disparos desde el perímetro, el tiempo pedido por el DT de los Raptors Nick Nurse en el momento clave del último cuarto, Kawhi Leonard y el infame disparo de Kyle Lowry.

Finalmente, tuvimos que hablar sobre la reacción de los fanáticos de los Raptors cuando Kevin Durant cayó lesionado y la posibilidad de que la NBA sancione a la organización por esta actitud.

¿No sería eso lo correcto?

Tema para otro día…

Pronósticos para la final de la NBA

En Cinco Razones Podcast dimos nuestros pronósticos hace una semana, y todos fallamos, tal y como lo hizo Kyle Lowry con el tiro ganador en el quinto juego de la final.

Lo asumimos, y lo volvemos a intentar. Vamos a ver si podemos acertar algo, alguna vez. Estos fueron los pronósticos:

Ricardo Montes de Oca

Pronóstico inicial: Golden State Warriors en cinco juegos

Segundo pronóstico: Toronto Raptors en seis juegos

Leandro Soto

Pronóstico inicial: Golden State Warriors en seis juegos

Segundo pronóstico: Toronto Raptors en seis juegos

Alejandro Villegas

Pronóstico inicial: Golden State Warrios en seis juegos

Segundo pronóstico: Toronto Raptors en siete juegos

 

En Cinco Razones Podcast por lo general no estamos de acuerdo. No es fácil lidiar con esos señores. Disfruta de todos nuestros episodios haciendo click en este link.

Juan Pierre evaluates progress of José Devers, Víctor Víctor Mesa and Lewis Brinson

/0 Comments/in /by

Juan Pierre is still a very valuable piece for the Miami Marlins leading off.

The new Minor League Outfield Coordinator is working with hitters in all different levels of the organization, trying to answer as many questions as possible for them.

Pierre is a great guy to have around the future of the franchise, a key member of that 2003 champion team, with the experience and

He is one definitively one of the most beloved players of that 2003 team. He wasn’t the superstar, but he was a great player in that roster.

Leandro Soto caught up with him during the series between the Marlins and the Saint Louis Cardinals to talk about his role with the team.

Juan Pierre on prospect Nasim Nuñez

There are many ways to work on your swing. Sometimes, you have to step out of the cages, sit down in the dugout and just talk to the guys that have been there.

Juan Pierre is that guy. And he has been that guy for the Miami Marlins minor league teams this year.

He was at Marlins Park on Tuesday to see Nasim Nuñez’ workout, and is happy about what he saw. “I heard he has been switch-hitting for just two years. The ball jumps out of his bat from both sides. His lefty swing looks good, versatile”

Nasim Nuñez is a bright guy, with a bright smile and great attitude. “I don’t want to put pressure on him, but he’s going to draw a lot of comparisons with Francisco Lindor,” Pierre told Leandro Soto.

Hours before, Nuñez said the Puerto Rican shortstop was his favorite player. Could he turn into a Marlins version of Lindor? Hopefully he has some of that power.

 

Juan Pierre: “In Jupiter they ask a lot of questions”

“Talk to them”.

That was probably the order Juan Pierre received when he was called to be part of the staff. He’s dealing with young yuys trying to get where we got. “They ask a lot of questions,” Pierre said.

How are prospects José Devers and Víctor Víctor Mesa doing in Jupiter?

José Devers is really coming to swinging, seeing the ball well, playing good defense. Mesa is still adjusting to the American lifestyle. “He shows flashes of what he can be on a consistent basis. He’s starting to get more consistent with his swing and being an outfielder, but his biggest adjustment is to adapt to the American lifestyle”

The confidence of a hitter

When will Lewis Brinson be back to the team?

Confidence is the key.

“I’ve talked to him and I’ve seen the numbers he’s putting up. He’s getting a more consistent path to the ball. That was the matter with him. Bringing his game in a consistent basis.”

He will be back pretty soon if he keeps doing what he is doing down there.

“Confidence. Believing you can be here. Relaxing and putting all his work out there on the field.”

That’s it, right? Juan Pierre makes it sound easy…

 

Leandro Soto finally didn’t ask players or coaches about the shift, and he will continue to go to Marlins Park every week, until the Marlins win the World Series, so you have a lot of time to enjoy his work

Eliser Hernandez’s solid start spoiled in loss

/0 Comments/in /by

Eliser Hernandez toed the rubber as the Miami Marlins’ sixth starting pitcher used this season.

He threw 5.2 innings with three earned runs on five hits with seven strikeouts but a bad bullpen and cold bats spoiled the effort in a 7-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday.

“I felt really good,” Hernandez said through a translator. “I was trying to go out there, have fun and mostly help the team.”

The Cardinals attacked the bullpen with five runs in the last four innings. Jarlin Garcia was the first to come in and walked the only batter he faced. Jeff Brigham replaced him but loaded the bases and walked in a run that was tacked on to Hernandez.

“Elieser pitched really well,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “Gives us a chance and then after that we didn’t seem to get any outs.”

The last four runs the Cardinals scores came against Adam Conley in the eighth and ninth inning, including a solo home run by former  Marlin Marvell Ozuna. Conley now has an ERA of 8.17 on the season.

“He has been out of sync,” Mattingly said. “And kind of the reason why we let him go tonight was we were talking about kinda changing his role for now, trying to put him more at length, middle type role to use more pitches.”

Hernandez’s appearance ends a long run of the Marlins using the same five starters throughout the season. They went with Jose Urena, Trevor Richards, Pablo Lopez, Sandy Alcantara and Caleb Smith through the first 63 games of the season, longer than any other team in baseball. As a group, they posted a 3.88 ERA, which puts them fifth in the National league behind only the Reds (3.68), Nationals (3.68), Cubs (3.67) and Dodgers (2.73). They also posted a 1.82 ERA in the last 14 home games.

“It’s been a pretty good run,” Mattingly said. “You hope that continuities on.”

Hernandez earned his next start but Wednesday will see another new Marlins starter. Pitching prospect Jordan Yamamoto was called up to take Jose Urena’s spot in the rotation and will pitch against South Florida native Miles Mikolas.

Jalen Rivers signing could be Hurricanes turning point

/0 Comments/in /by

Those that follow college football closely know that Florida is one of the top states year in and year out for elite recruits.

Programs such as Clemson and Alabama have disregarded our home field advantage in their pursuit of their top prospects.

Recent National Championship rosters are littered with athletes from the 305 and 954 area codes.

In better times locally those rosters resided in the Orange Bowl on Saturdays.

Back when Howard Schnellenberger established the unofficial “State of Miami”, which extended through most of Florida, the path was inevitable.

Is wasn’t so much the players choosing Miami, it was the Hurricanes choosing them.

Now with another key signing Miami continues their efforts to reverse the trend of interstate defection.

The Miami Hurricanes scored a major coup this week by landing five-star offensive tackle Jalen Rivers from Orange Park, just outside of Jacksonville.

Right in Dan Mullen’s backyard.

Down the road from Willie Taggart’s place.

Rivers had offers from the usual suspects in Tuscaloosa and Clemson among many others but decided to take his talents to Coral Gables instead.

On the surface one signing does not imply greatness or contention is to follow, but looking deeper at the offers Rivers had to debate it gains significance.

Besides the aforementioned teams, Rivers had offers from Florida, Florida State, and USF among many other Power 5 programs.

To land a player of this caliber against this competition shows there is some swagger in our recruiting efforts.

Rivers wants to be here.

For that to translate to consistent roster depth full of four and five star players is one step.

Getting them to buy in is next.

Manny Diaz and his staff have begun the process of establishing a solid foundation to build upon.

Even prior to the Rivers signing.

Now they must avoid it becoming an outlier.

 

David Eversole runs the site MiamiSportsWave.com and will be contributing stories on the University of Miami here, as we expand our Hurricanes coverage.  Illustration by Beau Bradbury. 

With Elieser Hernandez starting, a run of continuity is over

/0 Comments/in /by

Throughout the Miami Marlins’ ups and downs during the season, the starting rotation has the been the rock of this team.

Through 64 games, it’s been Jose Urena to Trevor Richards to Pablo Lopez to Sandy Alcantara to Caleb Smith. Those five have put the Marlins in the top ten of all of baseball in ERA among starting pitching. It’s also the longest an MLB team has gone this season with only five starting pitchers.

Due to Smith going to the 10-Day IL with left hip inflammation, the Marlins will start Elieser Hernandez in his place on Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Marlins had the full five days to decide on how to replace Smith in the rotation. If it wasn’t going to be Hernandez, one option was throw in Wei-Yin Chen as either a starter or even use an opener for a bullpen day which would likely include Chen.

“We’ve talked about a number of different things,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said on Friday. “Where our rotation is in Triple-A. We’ve talked about possibly doing an opener game, using our bullpen more. Chen could be part of that in some fashion.”

Smith has been the Marlins best candidate to represent the team in the MLB All-Star Game. He has recorded a 3.41 ERA over 12 starts while striking out 82 hitters and walking 20 over 66 innings. He also has a 31.5% strikeout rate ranks fifth among qualified starters behind stars Gerrit Cole, Blake Snell, Chris Sale and Max Scherzer. Hitters have swung and missed on 32.3% of the total swings against him this season, which has him eighth among 106 qualified starters (min. 400 total swings generated) according to Statcast.

However, the 27-year-old had seemed to have regressed over his last three starts, allowing 11 earned runs over 13 innings and surrendering six home runs. The hip injury may be the reason why.

As for Hernandez, the Marlins acquired him from the Houston Astros in the 2017 Rule 5 draft. As a rookie he went 2–7 with a 5.21 ERA in 65.2 innings, primarily in the bullpen.

As a starting pitcher in the minor leagues, Hernandez went 3-1 with a 1.19 ERA in nine starts at Triple-A New Orleans, overshadowed by the hype surrounding Zac Gallen like an aura.

Hernandez gave up two runs on four hits in two innings without a strikeout against the San Francisco during his lone big league appearance inn 2019. He’ll get an opportunity for a full audition this time around.