Marlins’ Lewis Brinson ‘looks like a different guy’ this spring. Will it translate?
The Miami Marlins’ starters began trickling into their clubhouse at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on Friday night as shortstop Miguel Rojas brought the team to attention.
“Everyone,” Rojas shouted to those in the room, “give it up for Lewis Brinson!”
Minutes earlier, Brinson had hit a towering go-ahead two-run home run to left field against the Washington Nationals, his third home run in 20 Grapefruit League at-bats. The outfielder is hitting .409 this spring training, with a double and triple also among his nine hits.
We’ve also heard this story before. Brinson also knows about the “Mr. March” narrative that has been pinned on him. He has put up gaudy numbers in spring training each of his three seasons since the Marlins acquired him from the Milwaukee Brewers as part of the Christian Yelich trade.
His results at the Major League Baseball level? That’s been another story entirely. Brinson has posted a combined .189 batting average over the past two seasons with more strikeouts (194) than hits (115). He was demoted to Triple A for three months last season after his struggles seeped past his first full MLB season.
Brinson is running out of time to prove he can mirror his spring training production once the regular season begins.
And, at least to Marlins manager Don Mattingly, there is reason for optimism that this could be the year Brinson turns the corner.
“He looks like a different guy, to be quite honest with you,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “Brins has looked really good.”
Mattingly’s assessment of the outfielder extends beyond the batting average, a statistic which can be misleading good or bad during spring training.
The manager is looking at Brinson’s plate discipline, evidenced by his one strikeout this spring (compared to 18 last spring training and 17 two springs ago) and ability to extend at-bats by fouling off pitches and . In Saturday’s 2-2 tie to the Nationals, Brinson fought out a 10-pitch at-bat against Washington reliever Sean Doolittle. Brinson fell behind 1-2 in the count, fouled off three consecutive pitches, took a low ball, fouled off another pitch, took another pitch to make the count full and then hit a hard groundball to third base.
He’s looking at the quality of Brinson’s contact even if the results end in outs. Mattingly admitted that while Brinson’s numbers from previous springs were good (.328 in 2018, .278 with five home runs in 2019), the hard-contact rate wasn’t the same as what he’s seeing from Brinson this spring. Brinson himself has put an emphasis on simply trying to hit the ball hard.
“You’re looking at that whole package from the point of not just that he’s getting hits, but he’s hitting the ball hard and what it looks like,” Mattingly said. “You’re seeing the [batting practice] and the games looking the same. You’re kind of looking at that whole package, the quality of the at-bat, what the swings look like, what the takes look like. Those all tell you a story.”
Brinson fighting for a spot
Brinson hopes the end of his spring training story this year results in a spot on the Marlins’ 26-man roster when the season begins against the Philadelphia Phillies.
He feels confident with how he has performed at this point but knows a roster spot isn’t a guarantee like it was the past two years. The Marlins have more talent in camp this year and only so many spots left to fill.
Corey Dickerson, Jonathan Villar and Matt Joyce are penciled in as regular outfield contributors at this point. Factor in the starting infield and roster spots for the backup catcher and super-utility backup Jon Berti, and there are theoretically three spots on the roster remaining for likely some combination of Brinson, Harold Ramirez, Matt Kemp, Garrett Cooper and Magneuris Sierra. Top outfielder prospects Monte Harrison and Jesus Sanchez will likely make their MLB debuts at some point in 2020 as well.
“Never take a break just because I’m hitting good right now,” Brinson said. “I’m going to get here early and get ready for [the next] game. That’s my biggest thing. I have to not relax when things are going good and when things are going bad not to get over anxious. Just trust in everything I’m doing every day and that’s what I’m doing so far.”
Brinson, a Fort Lauderdale native and Coral Springs High alumnus, also spent time at the team’s training complex in Jupiter during the offseason, working with hitting coach Eric Duncan and a slew of players in the cages to be ready for spring training.
“Just to hit with the guys, see the guys, talk a little smack, seeing how everyone’s swing’s doing giving each other pointers on what we see versus what we saw last year,” helped his preparation, Brinson said.
‘You’ve got to perform’
With the preparation in place and his mind set unwavering, Brinson now needs to translate his production onto the field when games count.
He’s competing to get his job back and show he can play at the MLB level.
Time is running out to show that.
“You like seeing that kind of attitude, ... but you’ve got to perform,” Mattingly said. “It’s really about getting ready and the biggest thing for me with Brins is that his swing looks good. He’s had good swings. He’s hitting the ball hard. It’s just different than before.”
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