Marlins are putting together quality at-bats in spring. Veterans are leading the way
Corey Dickerson’s at-bat in the fifth inning of the Miami Marlins’ spring training game against the New York Mets on Friday didn’t mean much in the final result of the game. He flied out to center field to end the inning.
But how the at-bat unfolded represented a true example of what the Marlins want to see from their hitters up and down the lineup.
After falling behind 0-2 to Dellin Betances, Dickerson took a high knuckle curve to make the count 1-2. He fouled off the next four pitches — another knuckle curve and three fastballs — and held off on two more knuckle curves outside of the strike zone to work the count full. He fouled off two more pitches before ultimately hitting a fly ball to center.
Twelve pitches. Hard contact. Professional plate appearances.
Between Dickerson and fellow veteran outfielder Starling Marte — and the likes of Adam Duvall and Jesus Aguilar for good measure — the Marlins’ slew of rising hitting prospects have a wealth of knowledge inside their rankings to learn from when it comes to getting the most out of their swing.
“It’s tremendous any time you can have veteran guys who have a track record of sustained success in the big leagues,” Marlins hitting coach Eric Duncan said. “It can only help guys all around them, whether it’s their peers or young guys coming up, to share with them what they’ve been through from the physical side in terms of their swing and some of the things they’ve gone through on the mental side in terms of what it takes to get the big leagues and make adjustments to stay in the big leagues.”
Marlins manager Don Mattingly said he has seen better approaches from players across the board throughout the spring.
Marte and Dickerson, the veterans expected to hit first and second for the Marlins this season, are just two examples. Marte has hits in six of his first seven Grapefruit League appearances, including a leadoff single against Mets starter Marcus Stroman on Friday. Dickerson has eight hits in the last five games.
But then there are guys such as Monte Harrison, who only has two hits this spring (a home run Thursday and a go-ahead RBI double on Friday) but is making hard contact consistently and has struck out just three times in 15 plate appearances.
“We’ve been happy with the at-bats and the approaches,” Mattingly said. “I like the whole group and the way they’re working.”
Finally, not a tie
The Marlins’ spring training record at this point resembles one more likely to be seen in hockey than baseball.
After 11 Grapefruit League contests, Miami sits at 5-1-5.
Prior to their 4-2 win over the Mets on Friday, the Marlins had posted ties in four consecutive games: 4-4 against the Mets on Sunday, 7-7 against the Cardinals on Monday, 4-4 against the Astros on Wednesday and 1-1 against the Nationals on Thursday.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, no team had ever tied in four consecutive spring games between 1993 (the Marlins’ first season) and 2020. In 2021, it has already happened twice. The Mariners had four consecutive ties March 3-6.
The record for most ties in a single spring training? Eight by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015. Mattingly managed that team.
Pitchers who rake
Mattingly said Wednesday is when they plan to have pitchers start hitting in Grapefruit League games.
Sandy Alcantara is scheduled to start that game, a 1:05 p.m. start against the New York Mets at Jupiter’s Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, and throw five innings.
This will mark the first time Marlins pitchers have hit since spring training was shut down last March due to COVID-19. National League teams had a designated hitter during the shortened 2020 season as part of the health and safety protocols agreed upon by MLB and the MLB Players Association. There is no deal in place right now for a universal DH this season.
MLB COVID test updates
MLB’s latest update on COVID-19 test results, released Friday: Out of 14,704 tests administered over the last week, just two returned positive test results. That’s a 0.01 percent positive rate. Overall, there have been 27 positive tests out of 49,281 conducted tests — a 0.05 percent hit rate — since the intake period heading into spring training workouts.
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