The Miami Marlins are in the midst of yet another long season. Entering play Tuesday, the Marlins were once again under .500 at 38-40. Considering the relative lack of talent, that's actually not too bad. The biggest reason for that is starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara.

On Tuesday, Alcantara continued his dominant season. He tossed eight shutout innings against the Los Angeles Angels, striking out 10 in a 2-1 victory. The win moved Alcantara's mark to 9-3 on the season with a 1.83 ERA and a minuscule 0.91 WHIP. Those are National League Cy Young type numbers as the All-Star break approaches. Yet, he is still considered to be second in that race to Los Angeles Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin. But he probably shouldn't be.

Tuesday's performance was the eighth time this season the Marlins ace has pitched at least eight innings. The second most in all of baseball has just three such games. No one had more than his eight in all of 2021 either. So, clearly Alcantara has been a work horse.

He has been one of the biggest surprises in baseball this season, alongside Gonsolin. But let's examine the resumes of both the starter in Miami and Los Angeles a bit closer.

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Gonsolin is yet to lose a decision, as he is 10-0 with a sparkling 1.54 ERA, which leads the majors. But he has only thrown 81 2/3 innings with 77 strikeouts. He also is pitching with one of the best offenses in all of baseball backing him up. He generally has not faced opposing aces as he did not begin the season as the team's top starter. In fact, he wasn't even near the top.

Meanwhile, the Marlins ace has only ever faced opponents' top pitchers. He is playing for a much worse team with a significantly worse offense. Yet, he has thrown 123 innings this season, striking out 110 batters. Both pitchers have been phenomenal this season, but the one in Miami has had a much harder path to greatness.