Alcantara named Opening Day starter for third straight year

JUPITER, Fla. -- Three years ago, Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara was a top prospect finding his way in the Majors. On Friday, Alcantara will become the third pitcher in franchise history to start three consecutive Opening Days, joining Josh Beckett (2003-05) and Josh Johnson (2010-12).

His opponent will be right-hander Logan Webb and the Giants, who lost to the Dodgers in the 2021 National League Division Series after winning 107 games and the NL West. First pitch is scheduled for 4:35 p.m. ET at Oracle Park.

• Sandy doles out advice ... and burgers

In Alcantara's previous two Opening Day starts, the Marlins have gone 1-1; he has allowed one earned run over 12 2/3 innings. This time around, Alcantara will return to the site of his Major League debut (Sept. 3, 2017), when he recorded two outs in relief as a member of the Cardinals.

"First game, Opening Day in San Francisco, that's going to be amazing," said Alcantara, who has a 2.84 ERA at Oracle Park in three career outings. "A lot of fans. It's going to be cold, too, but it doesn't matter to us. We get to be outside and compete."

Hours before the announcement, Alcantara completed his final tuneup Saturday afternoon on a backfield at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. He struck out nine and gave up four runs over 5 1/3 innings against members of the Astros. More importantly, he built up his pitch count to 82.

The 26-year-old right-hander serving as Miami's Opening Day starter was a foregone conclusion. Since his All-Star campaign in 2019, when he turned a corner, Alcantara ranks seventh in the Majors in innings (445) despite missing time in '20 because of COVID-19. His 7.3 WAR over that span is 16th, according to FanGraphs. Prior to this evolution, he was known for being a flamethrower with little command. Over the past three years, his walks have gone down and his strikeouts have gone up.

“It's been fun to watch, actually,” manager Don Mattingly said. “I think it's one of the things in coaching that you really do like, to see guys grow, get better, starting to reach their full potential. I think it's fair to say that we don't feel like he's reached that yet. I think he's still getting better, and he's got room to continue to get better.

“Just the whole part of Sandy's game -- from his routines, his work in between starts, his bullpens, everything's become more precise. He has a lot of expectations for himself, and really naturally without even having to try. I know he talks about it a little bit -- has become the leader of that starting pitching staff. He's a great example for our young guys as well.”

That consistency and production made the decision to sign Alcantara to a five-year, $56 million extension with a team option for 2027 an easy one for the Marlins over the offseason. He will front their talented rotation, which is the root of the club's contention hopes for the foreseeable future. The starting staff after Alcantara hasn’t been announced, but it projects to be Pablo López, Trevor Rogers, Elieser Hernandez and Jesús Luzardo. Last season, the starting staff ranked 13th in the Majors in ERA despite using 18 different arms.

Alcantara took his game to another level in 2021 as one of three Major Leaguers to record 200 strikeouts and 200 innings. The other two, Walker Buehler and Zack Wheeler, finished in the Top 4 of NL Cy Young Award voting. Alcantara also paced MLB with six games of eight innings and one run or fewer allowed and tied for the most starts (33).

Mattingly believes Alcantara can get even better by fine-tuning and perfecting his craft. That includes reading swings, checking himself on the mound faster and limiting the run game. At this juncture of his career, Alcantara has a handle of what he wants to do.

"I feel bad sometimes, because I don't get too much credit, but I don't have to worry about it," Alcantara said. "I've just got to keep showing them that we have talent to compete, to show them that we can do anything like they do. I've just got to keep focused. It doesn't matter if they give me credit or not, I've just got to keep competing and do my best. They don't know who is Sandy Alcantara. The job that I've been doing, that shows them that I'm here."