'He's got a good arm': Mazur posts solid effort in Miami debut

MIAMI – Leading up to his return to the big league mound, Marlins No. 12 prospect Adam Mazur wanted more than anything to prove to himself that he can succeed in the Majors.

Mazur did just that, allowing four runs over 5 2/3 innings in a solid club debut in Wednesday night’s 4-2 loss to the Phillies at loanDepot park.

“Obviously, last year didn't go quite how I wanted it to, and so this was kind of a stronger start to it than how last year went,” Mazur said. “Just looking to build upon this and continue to go out there and get outs as much as I can.”

The 24-year-old Mazur came over from the Padres in last July’s Tanner Scott/Bryan Hoeing trade along with lefty Robby Snelling (MLB Pipeline’s No. 89 overall prospect) infielder Graham Pauley and High-A Beloit infielder Jay Beshears.

At the time, Mazur had dominated at the Double-A level (1.95 ERA) before earning a promotion to Triple-A for four starts and later making his Major League debut on June 4 after just 153 Minor League innings on his resume.

Across eight starts at the MLB level in 2024, Mazur struggled with a 7.49 ERA and a 1.812 WHIP, nearly as many walks (21) as strikeouts (22) and more hits (40) than innings (33 2/3). Following the trade, the Marlins sent Mazur to Triple-A Jacksonville, where he posted a 5.21 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP in eight starts.

That experience taught Mazur that he needed to do a better job of attacking hitters and putting them behind in counts. He did so for the most part by holding the Phillies scoreless through the first three innings until coughing up all four runs in the fourth.

Alec Bohm led off with a single prior to an unconventional 8-4-6 forceout. Following a wild pitch and a walk, Mazur permitted RBI knocks on consecutive pitches: a single to J.T. Realmuto and a three-run homer over the right-center wall to Bryson Stott.

“Just got to execute better,” Mazur said. “Felt like I was getting a little bit out of rhythm and trying to rush it a little bit, and so the arm was kind of staying behind a little bit and left some stuff up. Getting more on top of it and burying it next time.”

Mazur bounced back with a 15-pitch fifth, then fell one out shy of becoming the fourth Marlins pitcher to record six frames this season when Brandon Marsh singled to bring the top of the order up for the fourth time with a pair of runners on. At 97 pitches, Mazur had already surpassed his season high.

Righty Lake Bachar proceeded to load the bases with a walk but got an inning-ending flyout to escape the jam.

“He’s got a good arm,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said of Mazur. “He really does, and he can spin the ball. He fills the strike zone up for the most part. He gave ‘em a good start.”

Entering big league camp this spring, Mazur had an outside chance at an Opening Day rotation spot. He appeared in three Grapefruit League games, allowing one earned run over five innings. Optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville, Mazur compiled a 3.62 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP in 12 games (11 starts) for the Jumbo Shrimp.

With Wednesday’s debut, Mazur became the 11th different starting pitcher for the Marlins. He got the opportunity with both righty Max Meyer, who said pregame he will soon see a hip specialist to get an update on his status, and lefty Ryan Weathers sidelined for the foreseeable future. The last two times the fifth spot in the rotation came up, the Marlins elected to go with a bullpen game. But with the club in the midst of 10 consecutive gamedays, Miami wanted a conventional starter.

Wednesday was an encouraging beginning to Mazur’s Marlins career, one that left the club optimistic about his chances of being successful as a MLB starter.

“I think we've seen an uptick in the velo from last year, coming into spring, as well as he's added to his pitch arsenal,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “Our guys have done a really nice job with improving his breaking balls, adding a breaking ball, also giving him the two-seam to be able to use if you get behind in the count and try to get off barrels. So I think he's got a deeper arsenal now, some more weapons to go to and a little bit of uptick in velocity makes everything play up.”