Jose Fernandez looking forward to 2014 Marlins
By Matt Fisher
Jose Fernandez won the Rookie-of-the-Year vote in 2013 as a member of the Miami Marlins, and all signs point to him being the future face of the club. He went on MLB Network Radio to discuss how the 2014 Miami Marlins look.
In the off season, Fernandez worked with Orlando Chinea, a pitching coach who has worked extensively with talent in Cuba and Japan, and was asked what specifically he worked on. “We’re going to keep what we have…we hope we’re going to have a few more innings to work with. We’re trying to get a good foundation for the whole season.” Chinea does have some quirky training regimens, having Fernandez ride 400-600 miles on a bike per week and having him push cars.
As the young ace on a young staff, Fernandez was asked how he feels about the way the Marlins are shaping up for the coming year.
"It’s not just how it looks on paper, it’s just the way that we talk. The chemistry we got, two days, three days in the club house…those guys are winners and that’s what we want…we’re incredibly blessed. We got a lot of younger guys with a lot of talent, and how those guys talk to us is really special."
Fernandez also says that so far in camp, Jared Saltalamacchia and Jeff Mathis have been the players who have provided the most leadership on the team. The rest of the veterans (Furcal, McGehee, others), he says, have meshed very well with the younger talent on the team.
Have he and the other Cuban players talked about a future process to make it easier to come over and play baseball? “Hopefully it can be done, but you never really know.”
Has he talked to general manager Dan Jennings about an extension? “I got 173 big league innings, so I can’t really talk. I have a real good relationship with him and Mike…I don’t think I’m to that point, I’m not sure.”
The 21-year old Fernandez went 12-6 over 28 starts, being shut down at just over 170 innings. He struck out 187 batters with a 2.19 ERA and a .979 WHIP as he earned a place on the National League All-Star team and finished third in the Cy Young vote.