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If you had to pick one of the five Marlins starters to demote, I don't think there would be a consensus on Chris Volstad. His ERA is only 0.09 worse than Ricky Nolasco's and is 0.16 better than Nate Robertson's, so the front office isn't only looking at ERA. He's given up 10 home runs after the 2 he gave up against the Dodgers on Tuesday - not the prettiest number, but it's half of what Nolasco has given up and a drastic improvement from Volstad's line a year ago. The WHIP isroughly the same as Anibal Sanchez's and, like the ERA, is better than Robertson's. And it's hard to pin a starter's record on him when you consider the way the bullpen has pitched, so it's doubtful that his 4-8 record had THAT much impact on the decision.
While none of the individual parts are terrible, the sum of the parts makes Volstad an irritating pitcher. It's certainly possible that the front office believes it has a better chance at winning games with rookie Alejando Sanabia, weeks removed from AA, starting every fifth day than it did with Volstad, just as it's possible they thought that a staff full of minor league coaches could give them a better chance to win than Fredi Gonzalez, Carlos Tosca, Jim Presley, et al. I don't think either is likely.
I do believe that the Marlins, regardless of what they say publicly, know that this team is not going anywhere this year. They are officially looking to the future. And they believe that Volstad has more talent than he's shown thus far in his career. They believe that he can be better than a 4th or 5th starter. He's struggled to last more than 6 innings all season. Lately, he's been struggling moreso than usual: in his last 6 starts, he's given up 5, 1, 4, 3, 3, 5 earned runs, respectively, and he's lasted past 6 innings in none of them. Volstad would have made just one start between now and July 20th, thanks to the All-Star Break. By demoting him to AAA, the Marlins can get him at least two starts, and possibly three if Sanabia performs well enough to warrant another go-round on the 20th. Those starts at AAA could help Volstad tune up whatever it is that has been haunting him. Today, the Tigers did the same thing with Armando Galarraga - and he pitched a perfect game* a month ago. He's been struggling and pitching like a 5th starter, but the team expects more. Now he'll be able to tune up in AAA with some extra supervision.
At the same time, the team gets to see what Alex Sanabia has to offer. If the Marlins do decide that they're sellers, one or both of Nate Robertson and Ricky Nolasco could be moved. Given the way Andrew Miller has struggled in the minors, Sanabia is now the second-most-ready behind Sean West. If Sanabia performs well and the team decides to sell, Sanabia could grab a rotation spot.
While none of the individual parts are terrible, the sum of the parts makes Volstad an irritating pitcher. It's certainly possible that the front office believes it has a better chance at winning games with rookie Alejando Sanabia, weeks removed from AA, starting every fifth day than it did with Volstad, just as it's possible they thought that a staff full of minor league coaches could give them a better chance to win than Fredi Gonzalez, Carlos Tosca, Jim Presley, et al. I don't think either is likely.
I do believe that the Marlins, regardless of what they say publicly, know that this team is not going anywhere this year. They are officially looking to the future. And they believe that Volstad has more talent than he's shown thus far in his career. They believe that he can be better than a 4th or 5th starter. He's struggled to last more than 6 innings all season. Lately, he's been struggling moreso than usual: in his last 6 starts, he's given up 5, 1, 4, 3, 3, 5 earned runs, respectively, and he's lasted past 6 innings in none of them. Volstad would have made just one start between now and July 20th, thanks to the All-Star Break. By demoting him to AAA, the Marlins can get him at least two starts, and possibly three if Sanabia performs well enough to warrant another go-round on the 20th. Those starts at AAA could help Volstad tune up whatever it is that has been haunting him. Today, the Tigers did the same thing with Armando Galarraga - and he pitched a perfect game* a month ago. He's been struggling and pitching like a 5th starter, but the team expects more. Now he'll be able to tune up in AAA with some extra supervision.
At the same time, the team gets to see what Alex Sanabia has to offer. If the Marlins do decide that they're sellers, one or both of Nate Robertson and Ricky Nolasco could be moved. Given the way Andrew Miller has struggled in the minors, Sanabia is now the second-most-ready behind Sean West. If Sanabia performs well and the team decides to sell, Sanabia could grab a rotation spot.
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