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Marlins Opening Day

Marlins Opening Day: 5 Reasons to Watch

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The Miami Marlins begin their 2022 season schedule in San Francisco on Friday afternoon. Following a disappointing 67-95 season, Miami upgraded its lineup, locked in their top starter long term, and added to their bullpen. Although other teams in the division improved as well, the Marlins Opening Day lineup will be the team’s best in recent years.

Although if you’re reading this, you’re likely going to watch anyway, here are five reasons to watch the Marlins on Opening Day.

1. Offseason Improvements

The Marlins spent this offseason, as principal owner Bruce Sherman promised. Miami shelled out $165 million over various contracts, including avoiding arbitration, extensions, and free agent signings. According to Spotrac, only 10 teams spent more than the Marlins this offseason.

These additions, as well as the development of the young talent already in the organization, has many excited. Including Ochocinco:

 

The Marlins brought in established veterans via free agency and trade, most notably, World Series MVP Jorge Soler. Following his impressive postseason run last season, Soler signed a three-year, $36 million deal in Miami, making him the first Cuban-born player on the active roster since Odrisamer Despaigne in 2018 and 10th all-time.

Miami also brought in Jacob Stallings from the Pittsburgh Pirates this offseason. He’ll be the Marlins Opening Day catcher and is poised to help propel these pitchers to the next level. A Gold Glove winner last year, Stallings racked up 42 Defensive Runs Saved over the last three seasons, including 21 DRS in 2021. Marlins starters will benefit from his framing and game-calling abilities.

2. Versatile Roster

The Marlins sought to upgrade up and down the roster, especially considering only four players played more than 100 games last season. And one of those was Magneuris Sierra. Injuries submarined Miami’s efforts throughout 2021. So, adding depth and versatility to the Marlins Opening Day roster was a must.

 

The Marlins Opening Day roster this season stands out as the deepest the club’s had under in the Sherman era. With all due respect to the 2016 team, this could be the deepest roster top-to-bottom with Don Mattingly as manager.

Miami added versatile utility player Joey Wendle to take over at third base. Wendle can also play at second and shortstop, allowing Mattingly to rest some of his most important players regularly. That’s particularly valuable considering the condensed nature of Spring Training this season.

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Avisail Garica provides another proven bat to the lineup who can play multiple positions in the outfield. Brian Anderson moves from Gold Glove-caliber third baseman to potent utility player. Anderson worked in the outfield this spring and could see some spots starts out there. Jon Berti remains on the roster as a super utility option off the bench with blazing speed.

Additions to the bullpen also give Mattingly options in high-leverage situations. Anthony Bender will get the first turn as closer this season since Dylan Floro landed on the 10-day IL to start the season, but there are other relievers who can step in as well. Floro traveled with the team to San Francisco. He’s expected to throw bullpen sessions under the watchful eye of pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr.

The taxi squad for this trip includes utility player Willans Astudillo and right-handed pitcher Tommy Eveld, who by all reports was a backfield star at Marlins camp this spring.

3. Marlins Opening Day Lineup

Miami needed to upgrade their lineup in order to conceivably contend in 2022. Marlins general manager Kim Ng said multiple times this offseason that the team sought to add bats, taking an offense-first approach. The result? The Marlins projected Opening Day lineup will be the team’s best, most potent collection of hitters since the 2017 season.

 

Miami languished near the bottom in most offensive metrics last season. The Marlins ranked 29th in RBI (594), Runs (623), Slugging Percentage (.372), and OPS (.670). Miami finished 28th in Home Runs (158) and 27th in Doubles (226).

What’s more, the Marlins managed the second-highest strikeout-rate (26.2 percent) and ranked 24th hitting with Runners-In-Scoring-Position (.239 batting average). The team ranked 16th with RISP and two outs (.224).

The four bats Miami added this offseason look to be significant offensive improvements. Garcia hit .413 with RISP and two outs. Wendle’s managed a .262 average over his career with RISP. Stallings has a .260 batting average with RISP, and Soler sports a career .250 batting average in that situation.

These additions lengthen a lineup that too often featured too many subpar producers last season.

Miguel Rojas led the team in games played (132) and plate appearances (539). Only two other players (Jesus Aguilar, 510, Jazz Chisholm, 507) had more than 500. The next five players on that list now play for other clubs: Adam Duvall (339), Jorge Alfaro (311), Lewis Brinson (290), Isan Diaz (278), and Starling Marte (275).

4. Alcantara Starts Cy Young Case on Opening Day

Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara stands to make his third consecutive Opening Day start. He joins Josh Beckett (03-05) and Josh Johnson (10-12) as the only other players in franchise history to do so. Alcantara enters this one 1-0 on Opening Day, combining for 12.2 innings pitched, with just five hits and one earned run while striking out 14 batters over those two games.

Last season, Alcantara surpassed the 200-innings pitched plateau for the first time in his career. He’s the first Marlins pitcher to do so since Mark Buerhle did it in 2012. He was one of three pitchers in MLB to post over 200 innings pitched and over 200 strikeouts. Alcantara became just the fifth pitcher in franchise history to hit those numbers, joining Al Leiter (1996), Kevin Brown (1997), Ryan Dempster (2000), and A.J. Burnett (2002).

Alcantara made a team-leading and career-high 33 starts in 2021, finishing with a 9-15 record. His 3.19 ERA ranked 15th in MLB last season. Take out the 18 earned runs he surrendered in two starts (5/14 at Dodger Stadium and 8/6 at Coors Field), and Alcantara would have finished with a 2.47 ERA. That figure would’ve tied for the third-best in baseball.

The improved lineup should help Alcantara in one very specific metric: run-support. Last season, Alcantara received 3.09 runs-per-game from his offense. That was the lowest figure of any pitcher with at least 30 starts last season. It was the second-lowest among pitchers making at least 20 starts.

Alcantara has a career record of 17-10 when receiving three or more runs in support of his starts. Unfortunately, he’s received two or fewer runs in 35 of his 78 career starts.

5. Playoffs Within Reach

Marlins fans should be excited on Opening Day because this team is built to make a run at the 2022 playoffs. With an improved lineup, bolstered bullpen, and excellent starting pitching, this team features all the necessary components to make the postseason.

It helps that MLB expanded the playoffs to feature 12 teams (six from each league) instead of the 10 of years past. That leaves three Wild Card spots to fill, and, given relative health, Miami’s built to compete for one of those.

Should the Marlins make the playoffs, their starting pitching should provide the team with an advantage in a shortened three-game series. Miami upset the Chicago Cubs thanks, in part, to solid starting pitching in the 2020 Wild Card round. With a rotation that features Alcantara, Pablo Lopez, and Trevor Rodgers on the front end, the Marlins will be a tough out in any three-game series.

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Here’s More on the Marlins Opening Day Roster:

 

Marlins vs Rays Takeaways

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Miami Marlins baseball is back! On Opening Weekend, the Fish found themselves slated against the defending AL Champion Tampa Bay Rays. Although the Marlins dropped 2 of the 3 games at home, there is a lot to be excited about in Miami going forward in 2021. Here are my main takeaways from the first weekend of Marlins baseball:

 

Marlins Pitching

With high amounts of well-deserved hype surrounding the Marlins young pitching staff, they somehow exceeded expectations. Let’s take a look at the 3 starters who got the ball this weekend and the revamped bullpen.

Sandy Alcantara

Sandy proved his ace status this weekend, pitching 6 strong innings giving up just 2 hits and no runs. He dominated an extremely potent Rays lineup on Opening Day, leaving the game tied up 0-0 going into the 7th. He looked to be in midseason form, as he generated 7 strikeouts during his outing and 15 strikes swinging. It’s a shame such a masterpiece had to go down as a no-decision, but his counterpart Tyler Glasnow pitched just as well. If Sandy continues to pitch on this level, the Marlins will be in great shape going forwards

Pablo Lopez

Pablo Lopez is not a flashy pitcher, but he gets the job done continuously. Much like Sandy, Pablo shut down the Rays over his 5 innings of work, allowing 0 runs on 2 hits with 4 strikeouts. I would have liked to have seen him work for another inning or two, but with the Marlins held scoreless through 14 innings at the time, the pinch hitter seemed almost necessary. If Pablo can pitch past the 5th inning consistently this season, he will show his continued development as a number 2 man on a playoff team in the future. 

Elieser Hernandez

Hernandez allowed 2 runs in his 2.1 innings on a 2-run bomb off the bat of Mike Zunino. A simple cross up between Wallach and Hernandez allowed this to happen the pitch before, so his actual pitching isn’t too worrisome. What is worrisome is that he left the game early due to bicep inflammation. It is unclear how long he will be out due to this injury, but hopefully he can get back to his normal form soon.

Bullpen

Oh boy. The “revamped” Miami bullpen is the sole reason this team is not 2-1. In their combined 10.2 innings of work, they have allowed 11 runs, including the 4-run blown save by Anthony Bass in game 2. Look, these numbers aren’t great, but it is not too alarming. It takes time for a bullpen to become a cohesive unit, especially when most of the guys are in new situations. On a positive note, after poor performances in their first outings, Yimi Garcia and Anthony Bass bounced back in their next games. As they settle in, this bullpen will get more and more stable as time progresses.

 

Marlins Hitting

In what seemed to be a flashback to the early Miami days, the Marlins were shutout for the first 14 innings of the 2021 season. Their offensive struggles seemed to carry right on over from 2020. In the 6th inning of Friday’s ballgame they finally woke up. So much so, that the Marlins actually outscored the Rays 16-14 through the 3-game series. Starling Marte, Jazz Chisholm, and Garrett Cooper led the way. 

Marte

After going 0-4 with 4 (!!!) strikeouts on Opening Day, Starling Marte showed why he is the main bat in this lineup. In games 2 and 3 he went 7-10 striking out 0 times. A full season of Starling Marte means a full season of games like these. He has been this player his entire career and will be the backbone of this offensive force going forwards.

Chisholm

The blue-haired phenom. The face of a young Marlins team. Jazz Chisholm may be 2 for 10 to start the season, but his impact is much greater than what is visible on the stat sheet. He brings energy to a lineup that was previously lacking. He fits in with the small ball mentality Mattingly continues to utilize (evident through his magical trip around the bases on Saturday night). As he continues to get more at-bats and become more and more comfortable as an every day MLB player, the sky’s the limit.

Cooper

After all of the controversy regarding how Cooper would fit in the lineup going into this season, he made his name known on Saturday. A very poor performance Friday night in which he left 5 runners on-base going 0-4 with a K started his season on a bad note; however, on Saturday we saw the real Garrett Cooper: 3 for 5 with 3 RBIs and a solo homer. The decision at first base may get tougher and tougher if he continues to produce like this. 

 

Outlook for Marlins

 

Regardless of the result, the Marlins look better than expected. The lineup looks strong, the starting pitching is as advertised, and the bullpen is developing. They went head-to-head with one of the best teams in baseball and completed all 3 games.

 

Now, the Marlins look forward to a 3-game set against the Cardinals. The Fish start Trevor Rogers, Sandy Alcantara, and Pablo Lopez versus the Cardinals’ Ponce de Leon, John Gant, and Jack Flaherty. With an extremely tough schedule lined up at home versus Saint Louis, and away against the Mets and Braves, this will prove to be the first test of many. The “Bottom Feeders” will be ready.

 

Follow me on twitter @chasechrisjr for more Miami Marlins coverage.

Marlins Season Preview

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Spring Training is finally coming to a close, and the fresh breath of new life enters MLB clubs around the league. The Miami Marlins enter April baseball with chips on their shoulders. Each player has individually expressed that this squad has something to prove: that they are here to contend. The atmosphere around Major League Baseball suggests that no one believes the Marlins were quite good enough to be in a legitimate NLDS series. Last year, those claims were well-founded, as a young Marlins roster overperformed statistically and utilized a small sample size of games to sneak into the playoffs. With a revamped roster, Miami looks to stun the baseball world again, or at least prove that they aren’t one-hit wonders. 

 

Here is a preview of what Miami will bring to the table in 2021:

 

Electric Young Arms

It is no surprise that this tops the list. The Marlins look to bring a top-5 rotation into the 2021 season, headed by Sandy Alcantara. With Sixto Sanchez starting his year in the minors, the definitive rotation consists of Sandy, Pablo Lopez, Elieser Hernandez, Trevor Rogers. These exceptionally talented young arms improve with each outing and will be the most well-rounded pitching core the Marlins have seen in years. With 3/4 of these arms (and 4/5 once Sixto is back) coming off fresh Postseason experience, there is even more experience to go on. Sandy, Pablo, and Sixto are all dark-horses to win the NL Cy Young and look poised to lead the Marlins to many victories throughout the season. Expect an electric win-filled year from these arms.

 

Stable Backend Bullpen Arms

 

The Marlins have not had a surplus of arms in years. With timely trades and signings, the Miami bullpen is a force to reckon with going into this season. Anthony Bass and Yimi Garcia, two solid righties, cement the backend of the rotation, and hope to be as effective as the Garcia/Kintzler combination was last year. Unlike 2020, however, there is a solid middle of the bullpen to look forward to. Dylan Floro, John Curtiss, and Richard Bleier provide stability in the middle innings in games where the young arms reach their pitch limit. With multiple members of this bullpen posting sub-3 ERAs throughout their careers, expect the bullpen to be one of the most successful Miami has seen.

 

High Potential Bats

 

Since the illustrious trades of Stanton, Yelich, and Ozuna, it has been no secret that the Marlins couldn’t contend on the offensive end. Last year, although successful, was no different. This year may be different. The Marlins field 8 guys, 6 of whom have had above-league-average years at the plate. Starling Marte, Corey Dickerson, Adam Duvall, Jesus Aguilar, Miguel Rojas, and Brian Anderson make up this list, with each trending upwards throughout their respective careers. Jorge Alfaro and Jazz Chisholm are the two bats in the everyday lineup without past success, but both have high upsides that can push them over the top. Also keep in mind that the Marlins first man out, Garrett Cooper, is statistically this team’s second best hitter. For the first time since the trades, the Marlins have an above average offensive core.

 

Overall for Marlins

 

This Marlins team will surprise some people. I predicted halfway through Spring Training that this Marlins team would make the playoffs, and I am sticking to my guns. After a month of watching and covering this team, it is clear that last year was no fluke. Whether or not they make the playoffs this year, there will be exciting baseball and many wins in Miami for years to come.

 

For more, check out “Marlins on Tap” sponsored by Biscayne Brewing Company on the Five Reasons YouTube channel.