Volstad Era Begins Tonight!

Ok, so maybe I'm a little premature in labeling it an "era," but 21-year-old Palm Beach Gardens native Chris Volstad will make his first major league start tonight in Los Angeles. This won't be his first appearance, however, as he pitched 2 scoreless innings against the Rockies on Sunday.

Josh Johnson also made his first start last night, and while he didn't get the win, he did pitch well. With Johnson and now Volstad being added to the Marlins starting rotation, there is great potential in South Florida. There is also potential for a great collapse. The oldest pitcher on the rotation is Ricky Nolasco, who is all of 25 years. Scott Olsen and Josh Johnson are both 24, while Andrew Miller is 22. Miller, Nolasco, and Olsen have pitched decently. But the fact of the matter is that this is an inexperienced staff. No pitcher has more than 3 full seasons as a starter. When the latter half of the season rolls around, this might hurt us. Then again, the Marlins did have a couple of 20 something year old kids on the 2003 team named Dontrelle Willis and Josh Beckett, and they seemed to pitch alright (Game 7 in Yankee Stadium anyone?).

Expectations are high for Volstad. The Marlins drafted him at 18 right out of Palm Beach Gardens High, and he's made 15 starts for Double-A Carolina this season, going 4-4 with a 3.36 ERA. The Fish have made it known that they intend for Chris to play an important role on the team for years to come.

Tonight's first pitch is at 10:40 ET, but it's Friday night. So stay up late, come home from the bars early, watch our new kid, and hope for the best.