Lineup power, Pablo Lopez’s start and other thoughts from Marlins spring game vs Astros
Notes and observations from the Miami Marlins’ 10-2 spring training win Saturday over the Houston Astros, who did not have one projected starter play, at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.
▪ The Marlins showcased some power potential on Saturday, with Avisail Garcia and Brian Anderson each hitting three-run home runs. Granted, the Astros weren’t exactly fielding their big-league lineup — minor-leaguer Jimmy Endersby, with all of 97 career minor-league innings under his belt, was Houston’s starting pitcher — but the two gave a glimpse at what Miami hopes can be an improved offense.
“It’s good,” Garcia said of the lineup. “Those guys know how to hit.”
Garcia, signed to a four-year, $53 million deal with a fifth-year option to be a middle-of-the-order presence, sent a 75.8 mph curveball a projected 448 feet to left-center in his first at-bat as a member of the Marlins. The 6-4, 250-pound outfielder has 127 career MLB home runs, including a career-high 29 last season with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Anderson, who only played 67 games last season due to an assortment of injuries, sent a first-pitch slider to left-center. He has 49 career big-league home runs, including a career-best 20 in 2019 and 11 apiece in 2018 and the shortened 2020 season.
And while the success is welcomed, Anderson isn’t necessarily focusing on the end results of his plate appearances at this point in spring training.
“Just trying to get a hit or a barrel honestly,” Anderson said. “Spring training is not really about hits or performance; it’s more just about getting ready for the season, so to be able to go up there and barrel a ball was good just to be able to get in the flow of baseball again.”
▪ Catcher Jacob Stallings and second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. were the only regulars not in the lineup for Miami on Saturday, but the game provided a glimpse of how the Marlins could put things together.
The batting order Saturday: shortstop Miguel Rojas, Joey Wendle at second base, Garrett Cooper at first base, Garcia in right field, Jesus Aguilar as the designated hitter, Anderson at third base, Jesus Sanchez in center field, Nick Fortes catching and JJ Bleday in left field.
Fortes and Bleday, of course, were spot fillers. Stallings will be the primary catcher. And when Chisholm is at second base, either Wendle or Anderson will be at third with Anderson also getting occasional playing time in left field (Marlins manager Don Mattingly said Anderson will be in left field on Monday). Bryan De La Cruz will also get outfield starts.
“This lineup,” Mattingly said, “you feel like it’s getting longer and it’s getting deeper.”
Figuring out the exact configuration is the key. Rojas and Chisholm can both handle leadoff duties, but Rojas could also possibly be the No. 9 hitter to serve as a steady hitter who effectively turns the lineup over. The trio of Cooper, Garcia and Aguilar provide a force in the middle of the lineup albeit with all three sluggers being right-handed. And then there’s the factor of balancing the few left-handed hitters in the lineup — Chisholm, Wendle and Sanchez primarily.
▪ Pablo Lopez threw two scoreless innings on Saturday with four strikeouts against one hit. He threw 36 pitches, 22 of which went for strikes.
As he maneuvered through his first start, Lopez said the focus was establishing his fastball and then mixing in the rest of his pitches.
“Those usually take a little longer into spring to really get a handle on them,” Lopez, projected to be Miami’s No. 2 starter behind presumptive Opening Day starter Sandy Alcantara, said of his secondary pitches, “but you’ve got to throw them all the time to get that feeling.”
▪ The Marlins for a second consecutive season face an unideal predicament with the spring training schedule. Since they are off every fifth day from Grapefruit League play, one starting pitcher will always be in line to get his work done without getting into an actual game. This year, that person is Trevor Rogers, who will pitch in a backfield game on Sunday against Triple A prospects.
“It’s an issue, honestly,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said, “because it does end up the same guy every time. We’re kind of locked into where we’re trying to roll this thing. So we just try to work through it. Trevor is that guy that it’s falling on that day. Working through it.
“I don’t really like it,” Mattingly continued. “I don’t think that’s one of the things with the schedule that they didn’t really think about. ... As you get to the end of camp and you’re trying to get a guy ready. It’s an issue that we’ll deal with.”
The Marlins’ next two starters in live games are expected to be Elieser Hernandez against the New York Mets on Monday and Jesus Luzardo against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday before turning back to Sandy Alcantara against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.
▪ Cooper wasn’t with the Marlins on Friday as he welcomed the birth of his first child, daughter Reagan Olivia Cooper. On Saturday, the slugger made the most of all three of his plate appearances. Cooper walked and scored in the first, laced a single in the third and scored again, and recorded an RBI groundout in the fourth.
Cooper started at first base with Aguilar as the designated hitter. The two are projected to alternate between the positions throughout the season.
▪ On the prospect side: Jerar Encarnacion, who replaced Cooper after the fourth inning, added to the power party with a solo home run to straightaway center in the sixth; Bleday and Peyton Burdick each played in their second consecutive game, with Bleday starting in left field and Burdick coming off the bench to end the game in center field.
This story was originally published March 19, 2022 at 4:34 PM.
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