Corey Dickerson ‘hits the ball everywhere.’ Why that’s key for the Miami Marlins
In his final three at-bats of the Miami Marlins’ shutout win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday, Corey Dickerson showcased the different ways he attack a pitcher while at the plate.
In the fourth inning, he lifted a low 82.6 mph curveball from Corbin Burnes into left field for an RBI double, scoring Jesus Aguilar from first base after Brewers left fielder Billy McKinney failed to catch the ball on a sliding play and couldn’t get the relay throw home in time.
In the sixth inning, the left-handed-hitting Dickerson sliced a cutter inside for a groundball single through the right side that scored Aguilar, the Marlins’ fifth consecutive hit against Burnes to start the inning as part of a four-run outburst.
And then in the eighth, Dickerson sent a 93.4 mph fastball from reliever Phil Bickford a projected 432 feet to straightaway center at American Family Field for a solo home run, his first of the season.
“He puts the ball in play all over the place,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “He’ll shorten up. He’ll do different things. Kind of hits the ball everywhere.”
And, simply, he just hits.
Exactly the type of player the Marlins need in a lineup that has seen its ebbs and flows already this season and is down three starting position players in Starling Marte, Brian Anderson and Jorge Alfaro.
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Heading into Tuesday, Dickerson leads the Marlins with a .324 batting average and has hits in 10 of his last 11 starts. He already has seven multi-hit games.
Even more, his .397 batting average on balls in play (which doesn’t factor home runs or strikeouts) ranks 13th in MLB and fourth among qualified National League hitters behind the Mets’ Brandon Nimmo (.514), the Reds’ Jesse Winker (.447) and the Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto (.417).
As Mattingly noted, Dickerson is hitting to all areas of the field, with 12 hits to the right side, nine to left and three up the middle — including the Monday home run.
And he’s hitting all types of pitches. Dickerson is one of 14 batters with at least 10 hits against breaking balls so far this year. Of those 14, Dickerson’s .385 batting average is the third-highest behind only the Orioles’ Cedric Mullins (.444) and the Angels’ Justin Upton (.435).
He also has a .294 average against offspeed pitches and a .290 mark against fastballs.
“It always feels good when you have a good night,” Dickerson said. “You can have some bad days and get away with a few hits and then you can absolutely barrel balls up and they catch every one of them. You know, this game is is crazy. It can drive you crazy, but right now, I’m trying to keep it even keel and keep it really simple. I’m just thinking about barreling the baseball. Not look more into it than that. I have to allow myself to be me, to be competitive. I think whenever I allow myself to be competitive and go out there and just compete, the best version of myself comes out.”
Individual Marlins among league leaders
▪ After stealing two bases on Monday, rookie second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. is third in MLB and first in the National League with six stolen bases. Oakland’s Ramon Laureano and Kansas City’s Whit Merrifield lead the league with eight stolen bases each. No other rookie has more than three stolen bases.
▪ Trevor Rogers’ 1.29 ERA is the third best among starting pitchers behind only the Mets’ Jacob deGrom (0.31) and the Royals’ Danny Duffy (0.39).
▪ Jesus Aguilar is ranked tied for third among first basemen with 17 RBI and eighth with a .849 on-base-plus-slugging mark.
▪ Shortstop Miguel Rojas has the fifth-best batting average among starting shortstops (.282).
Diaz joins taxi squad
Second baseman Isan Diaz has joined the Marlins’ taxi squad for the remainder of the road trip. He took ground balls at third base alongside Jon Berti pregame Tuesday.
This story was originally published April 27, 2021 at 1:50 PM.
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