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The pitchers in the Miami Marlins farm system are really coming along greatly. In a few years, the Marlins will be set in the pitching rotation and may even use some of the pieces to acquire big-name targets. However, that is still far down the line. Another pitcher who is making waves in the organization is right-handed pitcher Jose Urena.
Since starting in the Marlins’ organization as a 17-year-old, Urena has improved tremendously and is climbing the organizational ranks quickly. In 2013, Urena spent the entire season at High-A Jupiter. He started 26 games for the Hammerheads and went 10-7 with a 3.73 ERA, striking out a career-best 107 batters with a 6.4 K/9.
With the way Urena has pitched in the minors, it would not be surprising if h started the season at Double-A Jacksonville trying to get his feet wet striking out the young talent in the Southern League. It will be the best test to see if he can handle some of the players he will be potentially pitching against in the bigs.
Some people think Urena can eventually become an effective reliever for the Marlins. With the way the team’s bullpen has been in the past, it would be nice to see him either setting up Steve Cishek one day or even taking over the closer role for himself. However, he’s still got a long way to progress before thinking about that.
