After injury delay, Ryan Weathers set to begin what could be career year

Having completed his rehab from a left flexor muscle strain, Miami Marlins starting pitcher Ryan Weathers is expected to make his season debut on Wednesday in the series finale against the Chicago Cubs.

"My last four innings in my last rehab were the sharpest I've felt," Weathers told the Marlins Radio Network. "Definitely needed that third rehab outing, just for that exact reason. In that outing, I got everything fine-tuned. Four-seam is back to carrying really well, best changeup I've had throughout the rehab and both breaking balls were really good. I'm just excited to go out there and pound the zone."

A former first-round draft pick acquired from the San Diego Padres back in 2023, Weathers had a nice 2024 season, posting a 3.63 ERA and 4.11 FIP through 86 ⅔ innings pitched. A finger injury kept him out for half of that season.

Weathers' velocity has climbed since coming over to the Marlins organization. In 2023 before the trade, his four-seam fastball averaged 94.9 mph. That pitch averaged 95.9 mph in 2024. He was up to 97.7 mph during a limited spring training sample this year. His velo topped out at 99.8 mph while pitching in a Triple-A rehab game on May 2, which is faster than any fastball he has thrown in his career against big league competition.

The sweeper was Weathers' most unhittable pitch last season (.115 BAA and +3 run value). In 2025, he will also be utilizing a harder "bullet" slider more consistently. In his final rehab start, it was his third-most-used pitch (18% usage) and generated four whiffs with low 90s velo.

"It's just about keeping those shapes consistently different from each other," said Weathers. "I throw both of them really hard—one of them is about four miles an hour less than the other. From that aspect, we just have to have the movement profile different."

The expanded arsenal will be key for Weathers to miss even more bats than he did in 2024. It also helps that he dropped about 20 pounds as a result of an offseason diet change. Back in March, the 25-year-old discussed how he's now able to be "more efficient" with his delivery and recover more quickly during his starts.

In 41 games this season without Weathers, Marlins starting pitchers have worked the third-fewest innings in MLB, averaging only 4.76 IP per outing, while combining for the second-worst ERA (6.17). It should go without saying that the team is excited to insert him into the rotation again.