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Monday, April 1, 2013

Just two years ago, Jose Fernandez was pitching for Alonso HS in Tampa, Florida.

By Sam Evans (Baseball Writer):  Follow @RJA206

Jose Fernandez is one of the top ten prospects in all of baseball for a variety of reasons. He has a fastball that can touch 98 MPH and a nasty curveball that will baffle hitters at any level. This weekend, the Miami Marlins promoted to their starting rotation after he continued to impress their front office in Spring Training. Having never played above High-A, Fernandez will suddenly be forced into the spotlight in the N.L. East. While it may seem that the Marlins are making the right choice in bringing him up because of how awful and unexciting their team will be in 2013, the reality is the Marlins are making a massive mistake.

Marlins-Jose Fernandez talks Spring Training 2013:

Jose Fernandez will be counted on to anchor the Marlins staff for years once he is ready to make the jump.

Jose Fernandez was born in Cuba in 1992. He won’t turn 21 until after the All-Star break. After fleeing the country in 2008, Fernandez shined playing high school baseball in Florida. The Marlins made a questionable move at the time, by drafting Fernandez 14^th overall in the 2011 draft. However, that move has been one of the lone bright spots in General Manager Michael Hill’s last couple years. Fernandez spent the 2012 season putting up fantastic numbers in the Sally League and in the Florida State League. He left no doubt that he was the best pitcher below Double-A in 2012. 

The only ways Miami can justify this move are by saying that he will put more fans in their seats, he will be challenged by MLB hitters, and their rotation is depleted. It will be interesting to see whether attendance at Marlins Park actually does rise when Fernandez is pitching. With the way the Marlins have succeeded in driving away baseball fans in Miami, having a new, exciting prospect pitching every fifth day could potentially help bring them back. The hitters Fernandez will face every start will be much more talented than what he would see in Double-A. Also, Miami’s rotation has taken some hits recently, as both Nate Eovaldi and Henderson Alvarez were placed on the disabled list. Still, other than these three debatable reasons, the Marlins don’t have many other motives to back up this promotion.

As someone who loves watching pitcher’s grow and mature, I hate to see a pitcher’s development comprised by a team. By not letting Fernandez start in Double-A, he won’t be growing as a 20-year-old pitcher as he should be. Pitching in the Southern League, Fernandez would be able to make adjustments and work on his changeup. Not to mention, I do think that he would have trouble with some of the Double-A hitters. The jump from High-A to Double-A has given a lot of top prospects trouble in the past. Fernandez will likely be on an innings limit in the Majors, but he should be pitching in Double-A, where he could take his time in developing into a future ace. 

Another reason the Marlins should have kept Fernandez in the Minors to start the season is because of his service time. Why should Miami sacrifice the number of years he will have in Miami to see him up in the Majors, during what will be a losing season, a few months earlier? Jacob Turner and Brad Hand deserved a chance to pitch in the rotation to start the year, and one could argue that both of them are more ready for the big leagues. There’s no excuse for Miami forgoing future years of Fernandez’s service just to have him a few months earlier in 2013. Overall, this is the lead reason in why Miami made a rotten choice in having Fernandez start the 2013 season in their starting rotation. 

Jose Fernandez will start April 7th against the Mets.

***The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com***

Today’s feature was prepared by our Baseball Writer Sam Evans.  We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers.  You can also follow Sam on Twitter Follow @RJA206

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