Germán Márquez - Piles up punchouts again Monday Marquez hurled 4.2 innings in an exhibition start against Seattle on Monday, allowing one run on four hits and two walks while striking out eight batters. Impact Marquez actually worked as a reliever Monday, though he followed opener Kyle Hart after just one inning. Marquez logged a starter's workload with 81 pitches, and he racked up a whopping 22 whiffs -- 18 of which came on his knuckle curve. The veteran pitcher hasn't been a big strikeout guy in recent seasons, and he's averaged less than a punchout per inning every year since 2019, but over his final two spring outings he's racked up 17 strikeouts across 9.2 frames. It remains to be seen if Marquez has rediscovered something in his arsenal or if he's just thriving in the atmosphere of exhibition games, but he seems to be headed for a role in San Diego's Opening Day rotation, and there's suddenly a reason to at least consider his name at the end of fantasy drafts in deep leagues.
1 DAY AGO • ROTOWIRE