Marshall, who turned 28 last month, has had a marvelous season in the Cubs' bullpen in 2010.
His 6-5 record reflects the confidence both Lou Piniella and Mike Quade have shown in Marshall, using him in tie games 21 times and on back-to-back days 25 times.
Yet there are numbers in Marshall's stat line this season that leap off the page unexpectedly.
He has nearly 11 strikeouts per nine innings, good for 13th in baseball. Largely because of that newfound whiff ability, Marshall also boasts a 2.37 FIP—tied for ninth in the league.
The strikeouts are well documented: a career-high 85 of them, despite having thrown fewer than 70 frames so far this year. Many fans, however, have not yet taken note of Marshall's much-improved ground-ball rate.
Until 2010, Marshall had been susceptible to the long ball, ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - MLB By Matt Trueblood