Declan Cronin continuing to impress, maintain trust

In his first year as Marlins President of Baseball Operations, Peter Bendix has been the target of some scrutiny for how he handled both the offseason and his first couple months of in-season maneuvers. The team has disappointed to this point with a 21-38 record following Saturday's shutout loss, but Bendix has made his share of valuable low-cost acquisitions that could prove to be impactful long term. Declan Cronin, for example, had a 9.00 ERA in his brief MLB career when the Houston Astros designated for assignment shortly before spring training. Remarkably, he has been lights out in relief for the Marlins and just completed a nearly perfect month of May.

Coming into May with an already impressive stat line, Cronin was very impressive despite being limited to two pitches. In 12 ⅔ innings, Cronin allowed two runs including one earned run. He’s one of 19 relievers in Marlins history to pitch at least 10 innings and allow just one earned run in the month of May.

Cronin works with a sinker/slider combo that he commands very well low and out of the zone. His ability to get quick outs has allowed him to earn the trust of manager Skip Schumaker. On the year, Cronin has a 61.4% groundball rate, which ranks in the 97th percentile amongst MLB pitchers. His stuff has also been some of the best at limiting barrel contact—his 2.9% barrel rate is in the 94th percentile. Cronin's control has also improved, yielding only nine unintentional walks in 26 ⅔ innings pitched compared to seven in his nine frames of MLB action in 2023.

On Friday postgame, Schumaker spoke about how Cronin has impressed him in high-leverage situations.

“Today, nobody out, first and third, big part of the order, got ground ball after ground ball,” Schumaker told the media, including Just Baseball’s Ethan Budowsky. “That game could’ve gone away quickly. They could have tied it up quick.”

Cronin’s game hinges his ability to change eye levels and get swings over the top of the ball. His best pitch is a slider that averages 87 mph and tops at 90. With 38.7 inches of vertical break this season, it’s 3.2% above league average. Similarly with his sinker, Cronin is coming by 29.8 inches of drop. That’s 18% above league average, making it one of the best in baseball. Amongst pitchers who have thrown 100+ sinkers, Cronin’s vertical break profile ranks 15th.

“What I love about him is I know I’m gonna get it on the ground,” Schumaker said. “Even the base hits he gives up are on the ground, they just happen to get through. It could be the 5th, the 7th or 8th, because I know it’s gonna be on the ground and we have a chance to turn a double play in a big spot.”

With a 1.3 Baseball-Reference WAR already this season, Cronin ranks third amongst Marlins pitchers and second amongst relievers. He and the man who ranks just above him Tanner Scott (1.4 bWAR), just became the third Marlins relief duo in team history to go a combined 20+ IP on just one earned run. Cronin’s effectiveness has started to earn him the same level of trust as Scott. He’s already pitched in high leverage on seven separate occasions this season. Cronin is continuously validating Schumaker’s trust, which Skip says hasn’t wavered since Opening Day when he worked three innings (the 10th through the 12th), yielding just one unearned run.

“I trust him," Schumaker said. "We trust him.”

With two pitches that fall off the table and generate weak contact on a very consistent basis both from a funky arm angle and the ability to mix in a four seamer that touches 97, Cronin is starting to carve out a very important role in the Marlins’ bullpen. If the aforementioned Scott—rumored to be a trade candidate this summer—is indeed dealt, Cronin could soon play himself into consistent save opportunities.

The 26-year-old is currently making the league minimum, not even arbitration eligible until 2027. He is on track to reach free agency in 2030. Bendix's modest waiver claim might turn into a long-term contributor.