Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara went from winning the NL Cy Young award to being an afterthought and booed by his own fans just one year later. What happened to Sandy Alcantara? And can he still recover?
How was Alcantara such an effective pitcher during previous seasons?
Sandy Alcantara entered the league in 2018 and was a solid pitcher during his first four seasons. But he became a superstar in 2022, appearing in his second all-star game and recording an earned run average of 2.28. This elite performance was good enough to win the NL Cy Young Award, a prestigious award awarded to the best pitcher in each league.
Alcantra has four pitches, a four-seam, sinker, changeup, and slider. The changeup has been his most prominent pitch, followed by his sinker. Through the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Alcantra's changeup massively improved, which is a prime cause of his top-tier 2022 season. Another of Alcantra's advantages is his insane velocity. His fastball averages 98 mph, and his changeup and slider average 91 mph. A faster breaking pitch is often sharper, which explains his immensely high chase rate. But Alcantra's best attribute is his efficiency. He throws a low amount of pitches and takes little time between pitches. Besides his changeup, Alcantara didn't bring any new skills to the table in 2022 but amplified his existing ones.
Why did Alcantara sharply decline?
If Sandy Alcantara played so well during the season prior, what can explain his sharp decline during this season? His first start of the season was mediocre, allowing three runs through 5.2 innings, but reverted to his vintage self in his second start, shutting out the Twins. But matters only went downhill from there, as he recorded an earned run average north of 5 after his next three starts. During these three starts, Alcantra wasn't going as deep into games as he used to and was throwing more pitches per inning. But on May 7th, vintage Alcantra returned, allowing just two runs through 8.1 innings. That vintage pitching did not last, as he continued to be a shell of his former self through his following two starts. June 4th was rock bottom for Alcantra. He allowed a whopping five runs through 7 innings against the Athletics, the worst team in baseball. Usually, Yankees fans are the only fans to boo their own players, but Alcantara got booed by a capacity of 12,000 at his own stadium.
Alcantara's only major statistical decline besides ERA was hits per nine innings, going from 6.8 to 8.5. These increased hits per nine innings have caused Alcantra to be less efficient. The cause of allowing more hits is a lack of deception and spin. His pitches may be fast, but they may not have a good spin. Alcantara's slider has tended to hang over the middle of the plate, resulting in plenty of long balls hit by the opposition.
Can Alcantara recover?
Fortunately, there is plenty of hope for Sandy Alcantara to return to his Cy Young form, or at least all-star form. Since his disastrous start against the A's, his pitching has improved. His earned run average is now 4.28, and has recorded an earned run average of 3.31 through July and a 2.57 ERA through his last two starts. A lack of spin and deception is a fixable problem, as it often only takes readjusting grips and arm actions. Alcantara may not be a superstar next season, but he will likely be a solid, consistent, and efficient starter.
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