Vladimir Gutierrez saw his first action of the season two days and looked very comfortable in an unfamiliar role, closing a game. The right-hander from Pinar del Río tossed a scoreless ninth and fanning a batter to preserve Miami’s 2-0 shutout of Houston. The flamethrower could be the answer for Miami’s biggest hole in the bullpen.
For a pitcher who has been a starter most of his professional career, he looked very comfortable in his latest role,”I go out to pitch and I don’t think about speed because I have it, I only focus on locating my pitches,” was what Gutierrez revealed to me after I asked him about him being a closer in the near future.
Coming off Tommy John rehab late in the season and pitching unspectacularly in the minors motivated the hurler to work hard with renowned pitching guru Héctor Berríos. The righty had this to say about his work with Héctor Berríos, “I have a heck of a lot of trust in him, I only work with him in the offseason.”
Gutierrez caught Miami’s eye during his showcase for various MLB ballclubs on January 24th where he threw 25 pitches to various current MLB and ex-MLB hitters, looking marvelous in the process. The Cuban’s fastball was consistently between 94-96 mph, topping out a 97 and his off-speed pitches stood out as well, most notably his changeup.
The @Marlins have signed pitcher @vladimi83418418 to a minor league contract. #Marlins #CubanBaseballDigest #MLB pic.twitter.com/6L3OfP3y8w
— Cuban Baseball Digest (@CBaseballDigest) February 23, 2024
The native of Pinar del Río, Cuba worked out freakishly this offseason and this led him flash his electric repertoire for MLB ballclubs during his showcase. Gutiérrez aside from a mid-90’s fastball and also has an array of sharp breaking pitches in his arsenal. His slider and curveball are good setup pitches for his heater, while his changeup is elite.
In his two year big league career he sports a record of 10-12, 5.44 earned run average and has struck out 117 batters in 150 ⅔ innings of work. The 28-year-old righty still shows a lot of promise and if he returns to his 2021 form could be a future anchor for a bullpen with a lot of holes.
During that 2021 season Gutiérrez posted a 9-6 record, 4.74 earned run average and 88 strikeouts in 22 starts. His performance netted him some votes in the Rookie of the Year balloting during that campaign. Look for this signing to an under the radar acquisition that pays big dividends for Miami in the not so distant future.
Vladimir Gutierrez first game with the Marlins in Spring Training 2024:
1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 SO.
He reached 95 MPH. pic.twitter.com/4w7xkM3Mvz
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) March 5, 2024