Could Lake Bachar be stretched out to a starter?

Lake Bachar has been successful out of the Marlins bullpen for parts of three seasons since being claimed off waivers from San Diego. Bachar has been one of the steadiest arms out the ‘pen in 2026. Through 39 ⅓ innings, he has a 2.97 ERA, 3.68 FIP, 20.5 K-BB%.

With regular rotation members Eury Pérez and Janson Junk sidelined by injuries, the Marlins have tried to patch things together without a full group of conventional starters. Bachar, for example, has served as an opener three times this month, completing as many as three innings in those situations.

The right-hander hasn't pitched consistently in a starting role since early in the 2022 season when he was still at the Double-A level. Would the Marlins dare experiment with stretching him out to fill one of their rotation voids?

Bachar has seen his pitch mix expand every season with the Fish. Coming into 2025, he only threw a four-seam fastball, split-finger, and sweeper. Adding a slider in 2025, and now both a curveball and sinker this year has expanded his mix from three pitches to six. 

Baseball Savant’s movement profile illustrates how Bachar can throw many different shapes and attack batters in a plethora of ways. This is how many of today's top MLB starting pitchers approach the game as well. 

Bachar ideally fits into how the Marlins approach pitching: off-speed and breaking ball heavy. All of Bachar's non-fastballs have an xAVG under .208 with a xWOBA under .260 and 37.5 whiff% or more. He usage each of those pitches 10% or more, evenly distributing his mix to keep hitters off balance.    

The addition of the sinker may be pivotal for Bachar's development as a pitcher. Bachar's four-seam struggles against vs. lefty batters as reflected in its hard-hit rate allowed and called strike plus swinging strike rate. The addition of the sinker will be strong vs. RHB, like his four-seam.

Experimenting with a cutter, like many other pitchers have, may be a ideal addition for Bachar to have a variation of fastball to attack lefties with. Adding a cutter would continue a league-wide trend of three fastball shapes for pitchers—49% of the league has three fastballs they utilize, compared to 32% ten years ago. 

Due to Bachar's lack of extension and league-average velocity on the four-seam, it will be more likely to regress in an expanded role. The longer Bachar's outings are, the more plausible that his velo will drop, which is common when players move from the ‘pen to the rotation.   Lastly, like with any starter, Bachar's command would be tested. So far, Bachar has a 8.3% BB%. The FanGraphs Location+ metric, gives Bachar overall a 99 Location+ score (100 being average), although this score is severely hindered by his split-finger which registers a 52 Location+. 

(Heat map via Fangraphs)

Overall, Bachar's expanded pitch mix, lack of physical exertion when pitching, and ability to utilize all his pitches in different quadrants of the zone, could allow him to move to the rotation for the Marlins if needed as the 2026 season continues.