Jul 27, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Eury Perez (39) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

Who Is The Miami Marlins Ace Right Now?

Originally posted on Miami Marlins on SI | By Tommy Wild | Last updated Aug 17, 2025 2:15 PM ET

Some organizations are well-known for their ability to draft and develop young arms, giving them the name pitching factories.

While the Miami Marlins may not be the first team that comes to mind when thinking of “player development” or “pitching factory,” they’ve done their fair share of creating some of the game's top arms.

There are actually a number of quality pitchers in Miami's rotation right now. But while Sandy Alcantara was arguably the best pitcher in baseball two years ago, he’s not in the ace conversation right now.

That debate is between two players: Edward Cabrera and Eury Perez. However, of this duo, who is the ace?

Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

Only the numbers can settle this debate, so let’s blindly take a look at some to settle the argument once and for all.

Player 1: 3.34 ERA, 1.165 WHIP, 3.56 FIP, 25.5 K%
Player 2: 3.58 ERA, 0.978 WHIP, 3.77 FIP, 25.2 K%

Player 1 must be the ace; he has the lower ERA. Sure, but Player 2 has a lower WHIP, and they have nearly identical strikeout percentages.

Without even looking at the names, it’s evident that both Cabrera's and Perez’s season stats are incredibly close.

Part of this debate is to figure out who is the best pitcher right now, so let's take a look at each pitcher’s numbers over the last five starts.

Player 1: 2.61 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 3.14 FIP
Player 2: 4.10 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 4.93 FIP

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Here’s where we see some separation. The numbers are still close, but even in the last few weeks, Player 1 clearly has the better stats than Player 2, meaning Player 1 earns the title as the ace of the Miami rotation.

So, who is Player 1? Those numbers belong to Edward Cabrera.

Cabrera entered the season with some serious question marks attached to him. He needed to find more consistency around the strikeouts and limit some of the hard contact. The 27-year-old has improved in many areas and is definitely the best pitcher the Guardians have right now.

Now, this doesn’t mean Perez doesn’t have ace potential, because he sure does. However, he’s still trying to find his footing after missing all of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and that hasn’t shown in a few of his starts.

Cabrera may be the top arm in Miami’s rotation right now, but it will be interesting to have this conversation next spring.

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