With Adam Duvall signing, Miami Marlins’ outfield is improved — and getting crowded
With the Miami Marlins set to begin spring training practices on Feb. 18, it’s time to start evaluating who the Marlins will have in camp. In the third of a five-part series, we break down the Marlins’ outfield.
The Marlins’ already deep outfield got a little bit deeper after the team agreed to terms with veteran Adam Duvall. His signing gives the team another veteran presence in their lineup, but also potentially squeezes out opportunities for the club’s top prospects from getting steady work at the MLB level in 2021.
Veteran starters
With Duvall on board, the Marlins’ outfield should most regularly have Corey Dickerson in left, Starling Marte in center and Duvall in right. There’s a chance for some platooning with Duvall but he’s the most experienced of the players Miami has at its disposal for the final starting spot.
This gives the Marlins three players with a combined 24 MLB seasons of experience starting in the outfield and three players they hope will be steady contributors on offense.
The Marlins are hoping for a bounce-back year from Dickerson, a career .284 hitter who hit just .258 during 52 regular-season games last season. They hope having a full year of Marte will stabilize center field after they spent most of 2019 and the first half of 2020 mixing and matching at the position. And they hope Duvall will bring needed power to their lineup.
Having this trio handle the bulk of the work also affords the Marlins’ top outfielder prospects more time at the upper levels of the minor leagues and makes it less likely that they’ll be rushed back to the big leagues. The Marlins have 10 outfielders among their top 30 prospects, according to Baseball America, and most are expected to start in the Triple A and Double A levels of the minor leagues this season.
Frontrunners for the remaining roster spots
With Dickerson, Marte and Duvall essentially locks for the Opening Day roster, that leaves five players with realistic shots for what will most likely be two roster spots.
The contenders, in alphabetical order: Lewis Brinson, Monte Harrison, Harold Ramirez, Jesus Sanchez and Magneuris Sierra.
Let’s get the first two out of the way: With Duvall on board, signs point to Harrison and Sanchez most likely starting in Triple A. Both made their MLB debuts last season and had minimal success offensively.
Harrison, the club’s No. 11 propsect per Baseball America, had a .170 batting average with more than three times as many strikeouts (26) as he did hits (eight). He was primarily used as a defensive replacement and pinch runner to close the season. Sanchez, ranked No. 8 in the Marlins’ organization, went 1 for 25 at the plate with two RBI. Giving the two extra time in the minors would be beneficial.
As for the remaining three...
▪ The Marlins liked what they saw from Brinson in a platoon role last season. He hit .269 with three home runs, five doubles, 11 RBI and 12 runs scored over his final 80 plate appearances. Most of that production came against left-handed pitching as he split time in right field with Matt Joyce. It would make sense for the Marlins to give him the chance to see if he can build off his 2020 success.
▪ Sierra, the only left-handed hitter of the three, has a small sample size over the past two seasons — just 95 plate appearances. But he has a .295 batting average, seven stolen bases and 13 runs scored in that time frame. He’s also steady on defense and one of the Marlins’ faster players on the basepaths. One other point to note with Sierra: He has no minor-league options remaining, meaning the Marlins will have to remove him from the 40-man roster if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster.
▪ Ramirez was one of the Marlins’ more consistent hitters in 2019, hitting .276 with 11 home runs, 50 RBI and 54 runs scored over 119 games in his first MLB season. A bout with COVID-19 and a hamstring strain limited him to just three games in 2020. He impressed this winter playing with the Caimanes de Barranquilla in Colombia (.345 batting average, .482 slugging, 33 runs scored, 24 RBI, 12 doubles in 37 games) but might have to impress this spring to get his roster spot.
Super-utility player Jon Berti, a contender to get regular playing time at second base, can also make spot starts in the outfield.
Top prospects at camp
In addition to Harrison and Sanchez, the Marlins have five other outfielders among their top-30 prospects according to Baseball America who will be part of spring training: JJ Bleday, Kameron Misner, Connor Scott, Peyton Burdick and Jerar Encarnacion.
Encarnacion is the only one of the five on the Marlins’ 40-man roster. Bleday, the Marlins’ first-round pick in 2019, is the closest to being big-league ready among the quintet and could potentially get a look depending on how he performs during the minor-league season.
Others at camp
Brian Miller is the only other non-roster invite to camp who is not among the Marlins’ top-30 prospects.
This story was originally published February 10, 2021 at 11:49 AM.
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