Alcantara struck out four over three perfect innings in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against Houston.

EDGE Analysis

The right-hander fired 31 of 43 pitches for strikes in an impressive performance against an Astros lineup that featured most of the team's likely Opening Day lineup, including Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez. Alcantara has a 5:1 K:BB through his first four spring innings, as he looks to rebound from a disappointing 5.36 ERA and 1.27 WHIP over 174.2 frames in 2025.

Alcantara is incorporating a sweeper into his pitch mix, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

EDGE Analysis

The 30-year-old righty began working on the pitch this offseason, and Alcantara is already comfortable enough with it that he threw nine of them during a pitch-design session Thursday, getting a swing and miss from Javier Sanoja on one sweeper. "Me and [pitching coach Daniel Moskos] had a conversation last year about that," Alcantara said. "We need a pitch that breaks more and is more slow. Finally, we have it." Alcantara has a strong finish to 2025 even without the new offering, going 5-1 with a 2.68 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 52:10 K:BB in 53.2 innings over his last eight starts -- numbers comparable to his 2022 campaign, when he won the NL Cy Young Award.

Alcantara is the favorite to get the Opening Day start for the Marlins, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

It's an honor the right-hander has been given five times previously, and after he surprisingly was one of the starting pitchers Miami didn't trade this offseason, Alcantara's only real competition for the assignment is Eury Perez. Alcantara also believes he's much more prepared to regain his top form in 2026 than he was last season in his return from Tommy John surgery. "Coming back from TJ, you're not going to do great since the first day," he said Friday. "You've got to be step by step. Mentally, I was thinking too much, people talking negative about myself... I've just got to be able to be healthy this year, showing the people in Spring Training that I can do great and just got to keep believing." Alcantara did seem to turn a corner over the final six weeks of 2025, posting a 2.68 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 52:10 K:BB over his last eight starts and 53.2 innings.

Alcantara (11-12) earned the win Friday against the Mets, allowing two runs on six hits and one walk in six innings. He struck out three.

EDGE Analysis

It might have been too little too late for the Marlins' playoff aspirations, but Alcanatara really rediscovered his ace form for fantasy managers following the All-Star break. Friday was his eighth quality start in 13 outings since mid-July, a stretch where the right-hander submitted a 3.33 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 71:20 K:BB across his last 83.2 frames to improve his ERA from 7.22 entering the break to 5.36 to end the year. Although he struggled mightily during the first half, Alcantara's second-half surge certainly raised his stock significantly both in real life and in fantasy ahead of the offseason.

Alcantara (10-12) earned the win Thursday against the Rockies, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out eight over 6.2 innings.

EDGE Analysis

Alcantara gave up two runs in the second inning, including a solo homer to Blaine Crim, before surrendering another long ball to Yanquiel Fernandez in the seventh but ultimately limited Colorado enough to earn the win. The right-hander was one out shy of logging his fifth seven-inning outing in his last six starts, a stretch in which he's delivered a 2.88 ERA and an excellent 42:7 K:BB across 40.2 innings while picking up four victories. The 30-year-old is scheduled to take the mound next against the Phillies.

Alcantara (9-12) came away with the win in Friday's 8-2 victory over Detroit, surrendering two runs on four hits while striking out eight batters over seven innings. He did not issue a walk.

EDGE Analysis

Alcantara gave up a solo shot to Riley Greene in the fourth inning and threw a wild pitch in the seventh to allow another run to score. However, a three-homer effort from Miami's offense gave the right-hander more than enough run support to claim his first win of September. Alcantara's 5.53 ERA for the season still doesn't look pretty, but he's begun to look more like his old self recently while posting a 2.48 ERA and 0.78 WHIP alongside a 41:6 K:BB across 40 frames over his last six starts. He'll have plenty of momentum on his side during what figures to be a favorable matchup against Colorado next week.

Alcantara (8-12) took the loss against Philadelphia on Saturday, allowing four runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out four batters over six innings.

EDGE Analysis

Alcantara gave up a two-run homer to Bryce Harper in the first inning and yielded two more runs in the fourth. That was more than enough to send him to his 12th loss of the campaign. Alcantara did, however, manage to finish six frames for the fifth consecutive outing, his longest such stretch of the season. While his 5.67 ERA is on pace to easily be the worst of his career, the veteran right-hander has at least shown positive signs late in the campaign -- during the aforementioned five-game span, he's posted a 2.45 ERA with a 33:6 K:BB over 33 innings.

Alcantara (8-11) yielded one run on four hits and a walk over seven innings Sunday, striking out six and earning a win over the Mets.

EDGE Analysis

Alcantara fired seven shutout frames before the Mets finally put a run on the board in the seventh inning. He's completed seven innings in three straight outings and has produced four consecutive quality starts. Alcantara produced a season-high 17 swinging strikes -- including seven each with his fastball and changup -- on 104 total pitches. He's registered a 1.67 ERA with a 29:5 K:BB over his last four outings, dropping his season ERA to 5.66 through 148 innings. Alcantara is lined up to face the Phillies at home next weekend.

Alcantara didn't factor into the decision in Tuesday's 11-2 loss to Atlanta, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks over seven innings. He struck out seven.

EDGE Analysis

The right-hander produced his third straight quality start and racked up 34 called or swinging strikes among his 104 pitches (72 total strikes), but Alcantara left the mound with the score tied 2-2 and watched the Marlins' bullpen implode in the ninth inning. Over those three outings he's regained his Cy Young form, posting a 1.80 ERA, 0.70 WHIP and 23:4 K:BB through 20 innings. If he keeps delivering results like that through September, Miami might be able to get the kind of trade package for him over the winter that the team couldn't find at this year's deadline. Alcantara will look to stay focused in his next start, which is scheduled to come on the road this weekend against the Mets.

Alcantara (7-11) earned the win over the Cardinals on Wednesday, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and one walk while striking out nine over seven innings.

EDGE Analysis

The veteran right-hander turned in another excellent outing, generating 20 swinging strikes on a season-high 114 pitches and setting another season best with nine punchouts. Alcantara has now yielded one run or fewer in four of his last six starts, including three starts in which he finished the seventh inning, offering glimpses of the Cy Young-level dominance he displayed in prior seasons. Alcantara will take a 6.04 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 106:49 K:BB into his next scheduled start against Atlanta.