This story was excerpted from Christina De Nicola¡¯s Marlins Beat newsletter, where MLB.com reporter Paige Leckie filled in this week. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The Marlins are still looking to get back their situational hitting prowess, but they're in a pretty good spot pitching-wise.

With Johnny Cueto?(viral infection) primed to return from the 15-day injured list over the weekend and rosters expanding on Friday, Miami has a plethora of decent pitching as it eyes a stretch run. Cueto threw live batting practice on Tuesday ahead of the series opener vs. the Rays, and while his stuff wasn¡¯t top-notch, it¡¯s not a concern for the Marlins. After all, Cueto is on a different level when he¡¯s in true competition.

Cueto's return signals a potential for the Marlins to carry a six-man rotation through the end of the season. It's not a sure thing, but as manager Skip Schumaker said on Tuesday, "it's definitely possible."

¡°There¡¯s talks. We haven¡¯t come to a conclusion just yet," Schumaker said. "Pushing Sandy [Alcantara] to every six days doesn¡¯t make much sense, so if it does become a six-man, I don¡¯t envision him missing starts or anything like that. But we do have to navigate carefully with all these guys¡¯ innings to make sure they¡¯re healthy. We¡¯re still trying to win but making sure they¡¯re healthy for their careers as well.¡±

¡°We know what [Cueto] brings: Experience,¡± pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre said. ¡°He takes the rubber, never turns down taking the ball. He¡¯s always ready. Bringing that to the rotation is important. We are in a position to where our younger starters, there¡¯s obviously some limitations, and we have to watch recovery and hard pitches with those guys. So the importance of having Johnny in there is much needed.¡±

The Marlins are paying special attention to Braxton Garrett (134 IP), Jes¨²s Luzardo (149 1/3) and Eury P¨¦rez (110 2/3), who have each far surpassed their career highs in innings pitched this year.

If Miami went with a six-man rotation, it would include (in no particular order): Alcantara, Perez, Cueto, Luzardo and Garrett. Who would that sixth member be? Potentially Edward Cabrera, who was demoted after a rough start to the season. The Marlins could have made a move on the waiver wire for reportedly available starters -- Carlos Carrasco, Mike Clevinger, Jos¨¦ Cisnero and Lucas Giolito.

But the Marlins could still go with a six-man rotation if they choose to keep utilizing an opener ahead of Bryan Hoeing, who has been impressive in two bulk inning appearances for the Marlins during bullpen games in August.

¡°He¡¯s been great,¡± veteran catcher Jacob Stallings said. ¡°He and [George] Soriano?have both provided that for us. They've done spot starts, they've been the long guy in a bullpen game. They¡¯ve been really good, and as two guys who are trying to solidify themselves in the league, I mean, if you can be versatile like that, that just provides so much value to the team. ... They've both really stepped up and done a great job -- they've been really impressive this year.¡±

Part of what has helped Hoeing has been his split-changeup. When he was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville on July 29 after posting a 4.57 ERA over 23 appearances (six starts), Hoeing buckled?down. He started working on his off-speed offering and the impact has been big.

¡°The split-change has been big for me,¡± Hoeing said postgame Sunday. ¡°Earlier this year, I was only throwing my changeup to lefties and so I was kind of handcuffed out there, only going to it against the lefties. So the fact I was able to throw a changeup to righties [Sunday], it opens up my arsenal a lot, and it makes my other pitches play better.¡±

Hoeing has been notably better out of the bullpen than in his starts, but that doesn¡¯t rule out the bullpen game being a key feature in the Marlins¡¯ hunt for a spot in the?National League Wild Card race?as the clock ticks down. Anything is possible, and Miami can use all the momentum it can get.