Is Miami Marlins Pitcher Nathan Eovaldi Ready for a Breakout Season?

Nathan Eovaldi might not be a name that people outside of the Miami Marlins fan base recognize. He is a young pitcher than came from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Marlins last season. His combined numbers were not great. He won only four games while losing thirteen and posted a 4.30 ERA over that span. His strikeouts per nine innings were 3.5. All in all it wasn’t a good showing for a promising young arm.

This Spring Training season has seen an entirely different pitcher however. Eovaldi has seven strikeouts in four and two-third innings going into today’s game. That works out to a 13.5 strikeouts per nine inning ratio. To say the least, that is much better. So, to borrow a phrase, will the real Nathan Eovaldi please stand up? What will the Marlins fans see from him this season? Is he actually improved and ready for a breakout year or is it a spring anomaly?

If you look back to what he has done during his minor league career the actual answer is somewhere in-between. He certainly is a better pitcher than he displayed last season and yet he has never been as good during a season as he is this spring. While it is possible that Eovaldi could spring forward and place himself as a leading pitcher on this staff, the likelihood of that is not good. He should have a decent third or fourth starter type of season.

David Miller is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google₊.