Pablo López

Pablo Jose Lopez

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 200 lb.

• Debut June 30, 2018

• Born March 7, 1996 in Cabimas, Zulia Venezuela

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Biographical Information

On July 2, 2021, Pablo López of the Miami Marlins was ejected after throwing just one pitch in a game against the Atlanta Braves. The pitch was aimed straight at Braves leadoff hitter Ronald Acuna and hit him, some thing to which home plate umpire Andy Fletcher objected. The last starting pitcher to suffer this ignominious fate has also been a member of the Marlins, Jose Urena, who had been tossed on August 15, 2018, also for aiming his first offering at Acuna. In any case, Acuna came around to score what turned out to be the only run of the game, so Lopez was charged with the loss for his one-pitch effort. On July 11th, he made the news again, but for positive reasons this time, as he struck out the first nine batters he faced in a start again against the Braves. Three pitchers had previously opened a game with eight strikeouts: Jim Deshaies, Jacob deGrom and German Marquez. Incredibly, he needed just 35 pitches to accomplish the feat. Ehire Adrianza ended the streak by grounding out to open the 4th.

López was originally signed by the Seattle Mariners in 2012, and before he reached the majors, on July 20, 2017 was traded to the Marlins along with three other minor leaguers in return for P David Phelps. He reached the majors a little under a year later, on June 30, 2018. he made 10 starts that first season, going 2-4, 4.14 and followed that in 2019 with a 5-8 record and a 5.09 ERA. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he had a very good year, finishing at 6-4, 3.61 in 11 starts as the Marlins surprised everyone by reaching the expanded postseason. He started one game against the Braves in the Division Series, Game 2 on October 7th, and pitched 5 innings, giving up 2 runs and being charged with Miami's 2-0 loss. He struck out 7 and walked none that day, consistent with a season in which he struck out over a batter per inning.

In 2021, apart from his rogue attempt at meting out vigilante justice, he made 20 starts and finished at 5-5, 3.07, good numbers on a team that finished well below .500. His ERA+ was 136 and he struck out 115 batters against just 26 walks in 102 2/3 innings. He was far from a household name, but insiders had identified him as one of a number of young starting pitchers worth watching on the Marlins. He then started 2022 on a roll, as after his first three starts, he was leading the majors with an ERA of 0.52, having given up just one run in his first 17 1/3 innings. He went 3-0, 0.39 in April to earn Pitcher of the Month honors in the National League, his first time winning the award. While he couldn't keep up that pace, he still had a strong season, finishing at 10-10, 3.75 in 32 starts, with 174 strikeouts in 180 innings pitched.

The Marlins' biggest problem was a lack of adequate hitting to support their strong pitching, so they decided on January 20, 2023 to pull off a big trade of the king rarely seen in baseball anymore: dealing from an area of strength to improve an are of need, with financial considerations not being the prime driver of the deal as it usually is. So they gave up one of their good young pitchers in Lopez to acquire a good young hitter in reigning American League batting champion Luis Arraez. They threw in a couple of prospects in the deal, minor league IF Jose Salas and OF Byron Chourio. Lopez was joining a team with a strong offense, especially after re-signing Carlos Correa, but that needed help with its starting pitching - in effect, a perfect situation for him.

He had his best season in his first year with the Twins in 2023, going 11-8, 3.66 in 32 starts. His 194 innings were the most he had pitched in his career, as were his 234 strikeouts. He was named to the All-Star team for the first time and earned the Twins' first postseason victory in eons when he defeated the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-1, in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series on October 3rd, giving up just 1 run on 5 hits in 5 2/3 innings. He also started Game 2 of the Division Series against the Houston Astros on October 8th and won that one as well, 6-2, as he held Houston scoreless over 7 innings.

Notable Achievements

• AL All-Star (2023)
• 15 Wins Seasons: 1 (2024)
• 200 Strikeouts Seasons: 1 (2023)

Further Reading

• Dawn Klemish: "López impressing Twins with first outings of spring", mlb.com, March 5, 2023. [1]
• Paige Leckie: "Batting champ Arraez traded to Marlins for López, more", mlb.com, January 20, 2023. [2]
• Matt Monagan: "He could've been a doctor, now he's a star pitcher: Pablo López may be the most interesting man in baseball", mlb.com, May 10, 2023. [3]
• Do-Hyoung Park: "Helping others instilled in Pablo López from early age", mlb.com, August 16, 2024. [4]

Related Sites

• Pablo López on mlb.com