Early on, Surprising Marlins are Passing Some Tests

The Miami Marlins are supposed to be bad. Not just bad, but the Miami Marlins are supposed to be historically bad. So bad, in fact, that the mere fact that they are .500 in their first 12 games of the season can be seen as something of a small miracle.

After losing 100 games last season, the Marlins lost three crucial contributors over the offseason. Two coming via trade in the form of star lefty Jesus Luzardo, and the 2024 home run leader in Jake Burger, and one via injury being steady left handed starter Braxton Garrett. The team hadn’t done much in the way of adding pieces to replace these players, either, as the Marlins spent no money on MLB free agents over the course of the offseason, instead opting until the Spring to agree to terms with free agent pitcher Cal Quantrill on a one year, $3.5M deal. To make matters even worse, the Marlins then lost five players thought to be crucial pieces of the MLB roster in the last week and a half of Spring Training such as starters Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers, reliever Andrew Nardi, Third Baseman Connor Norby, and Right Fielder Jesus Sanchez, all suffered injuries resulting in them starting the season on the injured list.

The stage was set for the team to roll over and die. After all, the 2024 squad, which was undoubtedly more impressive on paper on opening day last season, started by losing nine of their first ten contests, ultimately resigning the team to a season that would see them hit the reset button once more with a fire sale that would linger into the following offseason.

Through 2025’s first dozen, however, it’s been a bit of a different story for this year’s team. The Marlins are far, far, far from contenders for a playoff spot still in anyone’s mind, but, a 6-6 start is cause for a slight eyebrow raise, especially considering the players that are still on the shelf for Miami early on this season.

The stats don’t jump off the page necessarily, but the pitching staff has been at the heart of the early season perseverance for the fish, with the starters posting a steady 3.72  ERA through the first ten and the relievers just slightly better with a 3.63 ERA early on themselves. There have been outlier performances, though.

If one removes just one blow up outing by Cal Quantrill versus the Mets that saw the veteran surrender eight runs over four frames, that ERA for the starters dips to 2.44, which would be the second best mark in all of baseball. The same can also be said for the bullpen, with Luarbert Arias giving up five in just one third of an inning of work last Friday in Atlanta. If one were to remove that appearance off the ledger, the bullpen ERA would sink to 2.64, which would be number four in baseball. There are still a ways to go before the staff receives their much needed reinforcements, but it’s been players like Connor Gillispie, Valente Bellozo, and Max Meyer who have provided Sandy Alcantara with crucial support in the rotation, as well as Ronny Henriquez, Anthony Veneziano, Tyler Phillips, Anthony Bender and Lake Bachar out of the bullpen who have helped to hold down the fort for the Fish. At the plate, it’s been a bit more of a struggle for the Marlins, as many would have expected to start the season, however, it hasn’t all been without positives.

The outfield, which had been panned by many, myself included, has largely been the most consistent source of production to this point in the Marlins lineup. Dane Myers, Derek Hill, Griffin Conine and Kyle Stowers have combined for a modest, yet much needed .718 OPS through ten games for the club, mix this with hot starts from second baseman Otto Lopez (though he has cooled significantly of late) and Catcher Nick Fortes, and the Marlins have been able to cobble together just enough offense despite slow starts from the likes of Jonah Bride and Xavier Edwards, along with the absences of Connor Norby and Jesus Sanchez.

The schedule for the Marlins to this point, hasn’t necessarily been a cake walk, either. Sure, the Pirates aren’t likely to be postseason contenders, but those are series’ the Marlins will have to win if they intend to keep their head above water through April, and largely treading water versus two of the better teams in the National League in the Mets and the Braves can at least keep Miami from falling too far behind in the standings before receiving much needed help in the coming weeks. The test is far from over for the Marlins, as they will have to continue on without the aforementioned injured players for at least a little while longer with three of the next four series being intra-divisional matchups versus NL East foes, but so far, the Marlins are surviving, and that alone, under these circumstances, for this team, is commendable on its own. 

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