“We decided a few weeks ago we were going to skip a start here and there (with Heaney),” said Marty Scott, the Marlins’ vice president of player development. “This is the first of several. We’ll probably do this again in July and one more time in August.”
“This way, we don’t have to worry about shutting him down in September,” Scott said. “If we don’t let him skip a couple of starts and rest up and guard these innings, we’d have to shut him down in September, and that’s something we don’t want to do. We don’t want to have to shut him down in the middle of a pennant race.”
Heaney, selected No. 9 overall in 2012, was limited to just 95 1/3 innings last season between High-A and Double-A due to a lat strain. The Marlins expect to shut him down after 160-170 innings this season. The 23-year-old has already thrown 76 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this season while posting an excellent 2.47 ERA to go along with 79 strikeouts and 15 walks. His recent promotion to Triple-A hasn’t phased him, so look for him to reach the majors soon.
Don’t laugh about the thought of the Marlins contending this season. Even though ace Jose Fernandez is done for the season after Tommy John surgery, Miami owns a surprising 34-31 record and currently holds one of the Wild Card spots in the National League. This year, it feels like anything is possible.