Five questions as the Miami Marlins prepare to begin spring training games
The Miami Marlins begin their Grapefruit League schedule on Saturday when they face the New York Mets in Port St. Lucie.
Here are five story lines to watch as spring training games begin.
Which prospects make the most of their time?
Twelve of the Marlins’ top 13 prospects and 19 of their top 30 according to MLBPipeline are taking part in spring training with the big-league club this year. Most will be sent to minor-league camp after a couple weeks, but the Marlins are hoping to get extended looks at a few players who are close to being MLB ready.
Among that group: Outfielders Monte Harrison and Jesus Sanchez; pitchers Sixto Sanchez, Edward Cabrera and Nick Neidert; shortstop Jazz Chisholm; and first baseman Lewin Diaz.
Barring big camps from Harrison or Neidert, it’s likely none will break camp on the Marlins’ 26-man roster. But these five weeks of games will give the Marlins front office and coaching staff ample time to see what these players have to offer.
Where does Jonathan Villar play?
Jonathan Villar will be in the lineup almost every day barring injury.
The question remains: Where?
He’s a natural middle infielder, but the Marlins this spring are experimenting with Villar playing in center field, a spot where he has six career starts.
If the project doesn’t work out, the Marlins can still use Villar in the infield, likely at third base. Should Isan Diaz start the season in the minor leagues, Villar could also slide back into his natural second base spot.
How will the bullpen shake out?
The Marlins made almost a complete overhaul of their bullpen this offseason. Only four relievers who threw more than 10 innings for Miami last season remain with the team: Adam Conley, Ryne Stanek, Jeff Brigham and Drew Steckenrider.
Meanwhile, the Marlins have added a host of strike-throwing veterans to compete with that quartet for their eight-man bullpen. Brandon Kintzler, a 10-year MLB veteran and 2017 All-Star, headlines the list and is seen as the front-runner to be the Marlins’ closer. Yimi Garcia, Sterling Sharp, Stephen Tarpley round out the relievers added to Miami’s 40-man roster. Switch-pitcher Pat Venditte and one-time All-Star Brad Boxberger, among others, are in camp as well as nonroster invites, as is in-house prospect Alex Vesia.
No matter how the spots shake out, the Marlins know their relief pitchers need to be more effective than they were in 2019.
The collective 4.97 ERA from Marlins relievers last season was the fifth-worst in MLB. They were also the fifth worst in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.11), save percentage (55.1) and wild pitches (39) while having a 1.45 walks and hits per innings pitched ratio that ranked in the bottom 10 of the league.
Can a nonroster invite impress enough to secure a roster spot?
Veteran Curtis Granderson went from a nonroster invite to a member of the Opening Day roster last season. The Marlins have another candidate to fill that spot in camp this year, too, in 14-year MLB veteran and three-time All-Star Matt Kemp.
Kemp, 35, was limited to 20 games last season, but was an All-Star as recently as 2018. He’s a career .285 hitter with 281 home runs, 1,010 RBI, 932 runs scored and an .822 on-base-plus-slugging mark.
Kemp would most likely be a reserve left fielder and pinch hitter should he make the roster.
“I’d say a limited role would be the easiest way to put it if he can show us he still has juice left in the tank,” Mattingly said. “He’s a guy that has always hit. ... This is an athletic guy when he’s healthy.”
Sean Rodriguez, a Miami native and Braddock High alum heading into his 13th MLB season, is another candidate. He’s a super-utility player with starting experience at every position except pitcher and catcher.
How will Lewis Brinson fare?
Lewis Brinson enters a critical third season with the Marlins, one where he will likely be on an extremely short leash.
The 25-year-old outfielder and Fort Lauderdale native acquired as part of the Christian Yelich trade has posting a combined .189 batting average during the past two seasons with more strikeouts (194) than hits (115).
Miami was patient with him as a rookie in 2018 and sent him down to Triple A for a couple months last year with the hopes he would begin turning the corner.
It hasn’t shown up yet, and time is running out especially with the outfield depth the Marlins have this year.
If Brinson doesn’t impress this spring and has a slow start once the season begins, it might signal the beginning of the end for his time in Miami.
This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 12:09 PM.
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