Is Elieser Hernandez not good enough for the Miami Marlins rotation?

Elieser Hernandez seems to be an unpopular member of the Miami marlins rotation, with many calling for his replacement. We even suggested it ourselves. Should Elieser really be pushed out of the rotation though? Is there potential? Let’s find out…

Elieser Hernandez is somehow still in the Miami Marlins rotation.

Elieser Hernandez has so far started 7 games and pitched 33.2 innings. He has a 6.15 ERA/6.52 FIP. He has 8.02 K/9 and 3.21 BB/9. Yeah this isn’t good to say the least. The bright sides are his 4.46 xERA and 4.96 xFIP. Well bright as in better than his ERA and FIP.

He doesn’t have a track record of better results either. Elieser’s best ERA has been 3.16 in 2020 and his best ever FIP has been his 3.89 that same season. Unfortunately both came in a very short sample of 25.2 innings. These are promising results, but the short sample size is a major red flag.

Is there promise when looking at his Minor League statistics? Let’s take a look… he did well in AAA in in 2018, starting 9 games and delivering 48 innings of 1.12 ERA ball. He also had 12.9 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9. Those are impressive numbers, but so far they haven’t translated to the Majors.

What about Elieser Hernandez’s fastball velocity? He sits at 91.3 MPH. That’s not very promising either. Unfortunately the more I look at his stats, the more I feel that he just needs to be replaced at this point. I just don’t see a reason for giving him more starts.

Max Meyer? Edward Cabrera? Why not just give one of them a chance already? Find out what we really have with them? I think that at this point Elieser Hernandez is best as a swingman type, filling in when there’s an injury. I just don’t see much point in continuing to give him starts and there’s just no obvious upside to keep hoping for.