2025 has not been Sandy Alcantara’s year. After missing the entire 2024 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, Alcantara’s stuff was still down as he began 2025 in the Marlins’ rotation. This led to the worst stretch in his professional career, pitching to a 6.55 ERA/4.58 FIP in 23 starts.
On August 15th, however, Alcantara began a 5-game stretch of very different quality – his stuff was closer to career norms while his results followed a similar pattern. While Alcantara has felt better since the All-Star break, this stretch has seemed to take a step forward after a few rough starts in early August.
Across the board, it’s clear Sandy has found something in his stuff to get back to his past self. These fixes include adding movement, throwing better strikes, and simply throwing about a tick harder.
Unfortunately for Miami, it seems a playoff spot is all but out of reach at this point; as of September 7th, they stand 10 games back of a Wild Card spot and 17 behind the division-leading Phillies. Still, it’s worth taking a look at Alcantara’s upcoming potential opponents and seeing how he might stack up over his last few starts.
- 9/12 vs. Detroit Tigers – Alcantara first matches up against the division-leading Tigers for the first time in his career. While the Tigers have preferred hitting against lefties, this is still an unfavorable matchup as Alcantara faces the elite Tarik Skubal, who has just a 2.02 ERA on the road in 2025.
- 9/17 @ Colorado Rockies – Alcantara is then projected to pitch against the Rockies in Colorado, a risky matchup exacerbated by the unpredictability of Coors Field. Alcantara last faced the Rockies on June 3rd at home, earning a no-decision on two runs in six innings. Colorado’s meager offense has hit well in Coors, like always, yet Alcantara and the Marlins still have a mild advantage.
- 9/23 @ Philadelphia Phillies – Next, Alcantara faces off against the Phillies for the fourth time this season and second time on the road. These outings have been up-and-down, and his most recent start on September 6th allowed four runs while earning the loss. Still, his stuff looked fine, and a few mistakes here and there kept this from being an impressive outing. I would express caution with this matchup, unless Alcantara’s previous two outings come out very sharp.
Overall, Alcantara’s 2025 season numbers suggest this to be a season to forget. Still, the former Cy Young award winner has looked as sharp as ever in recent starts and could continue to be a key piece to the Marlins’ future in 2026.
