15 observations on the Miami Marlins 15 games into the season
.JPG "Miami Marlins from left, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Louis Head, Bryan De La Cruz, and Jacob Stallings celebrate the 5-4 win over the Atlanta Braves at the end of a baseball game Sunday, April 24, 2022, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)")
Fifteen thoughts on the Miami Marlins — some about the team as a whole, some about individual performances — after their first 15 games of the season.
The first tough stretch is over: 13 of Miami’s first 15 games were against teams that finished 2021 with a winning record. This includes nine games against teams that made the playoffs — three each against the reigning National League West champion San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals and World Series-winning Atlanta Braves. Miami went 7-8 in this stretch and managed to tread water early, which was needed for a team talking about contending for a postseason berth.
Time to take advantage of this next stretch: The next 15 games include three games against the Washington Nationals and six against the Arizona Diamondbacks with three-game sets against the Seattle Mariners (home) and San Diego Padres (road) mixed in.
And, in general, take advantage in the NL East: The Marlins are 5-2 so far against divisional opponents, taking three of four against the Philadelphia Phillies at loanDepot park and two of three against the Braves at Truist Park. The Mets, who the Marlins don’t play until mid-June, have taken an early lead in the division with a 12-5 record. The Marlins, entering Monday, were second.
Miami is getting runners in scoring position ... but not always scoring: The Marlins entered Monday with the ninth-most plate appearances in MLB with runners in scoring position — 161. They also entered Monday hitting just .209 in those situations, the eighth-worst mark in the league.
The Marlins are averaging 3.9 runs per game so far this season.
The big hitters need to hit big: This refers specifically to the quartet of Jorge Soler, Avisail Garcia, Jesus Aguilar and Garrett Cooper — the quartet of power-hitting righties in Miami’s lineup.
The four collectively are hitting .214 (43 for 201) with seven doubles, three home runs, 17 RBI and 65 strikeouts.
The group showed some life lately. Aguilar is hitting .300 over his last five games. Soler reached base seven times over the three-game set with the Braves. Cooper had four hits and four RBI the final two days and Garcia drove in three runs in those final two games as well.
Now, it needs to continue.
DH rotation: While first basemen Cooper and Aguilar are the primary players Miami is using in its designated hitter spot, the team has also given Soler two starts at DH and Garcia one. This allows the Marlins to keep their bats in the lineup but also give them a break from the field — essentially a half day off, as manager Don Mattingly has called the situation in the past.
Moving Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the top of the lineup was the right move: After starting the season with a power-heavy top of the lineup, Mattingly made the switch on Thursday and went with a more traditional leadoff approach and put Chisholm at the top of the batting order. Chisholm has been in that spot for four consecutive games, with Miami going 3-1 in that span.
Now, it should be noted that all four of those games have been against right-handed starting pitchers. Chisholm has only started one of three games the Marlins have played against lefty starters and has just seven total plate appearances this season against lefties, so it remains to be seen if Chisholm will remain in the leadoff spot in those situations.
Chisholm leads Marlins regulars in home runs (four), RBI (15), slugging (.727), OPS (1.067) and stolen bases (four) and has the combination of speed and power that profiles well for the leadoff spot and sets up the big bats behind him for RBI situations if he can get on base consistently.
Jesus Sanchez has been a pleasant surprise: He leads the Marlins in hits (18) and is tied with Chisholm for the team lead in runs scored (nine) and triples (two). He has also been steady in center field, answering one of the main questions the Marlins had defensively heading into the season.
Position player depth and versatility is working in Miami’s favor: The Marlins purposefully constructed their roster with flexibility in mind. Having players who can work multiple positions on defense provides the opportunity to platoon at certain positions or to spell regulars from time to time without sacrificing offensive production for rest.
Case in point: The Marlins have not fielded the same defensive alignment in consecutive games at any point so far this season.
Which brings us to Joey Wendle: His .341 batting average leads the team, and he also has a team-high five doubles. Wendle, who has started seven games at third base and four at shortstop, has reached base safely in 10 of the 11 games he has started and 11 of the 13 games in which he has made an appearance. He has four multi-hit outings.
And the big stat: Wendle has struck out just four times in 48 plate appearances (8.3 percent) and is making contact on 89.5 percent of his swings, which places him in the 98th percentile of eligible hitters so far this season, according to Statcast.
...And Brian Anderson: After primarily playing third base the past two years, Anderson is platooning at the hot corner with Wendle while also getting time in left and right field. Anderson, along with Bryan De La Cruz, being able to play those corner outfield spots free up Mattingly to give Soler and Garcia rest days when needed.
...And Jon Berti: To stay on the position flexibility thought, how about some love for Marlins utility man Jon Berti, who has a .545 on-base percentage and is tied for third on the team with seven walks despite having just 22 plate appearances? Berti isn’t going to be an everyday starter, but he’s a threat on the basepaths with his speed and can hold his own defensively at second base, third base, shortstop and the outfield.
Starting pitching as a whole: Three turns through the rotation, Marlins starting pitchers collectively have a 3.46 ERA — the ninth-best mark in baseball. They are averaging 5.2 innings per start, the fourth-highest in the league behind the Seattle Mariners (5.5), Mets (5.37) and San Diego Padres (5.33).
Sandy Alcantara remains the workhorse and ace of the group but with that said...
Pablo Lopez and Jesus Luzardo specifically will be key: Lopez leads MLB with a 0.52 ERA — just the third Marlins pitcher with an ERA that low through his first three starts of a season — and also ranks in the top 10 in walks and hits per inning pitched (sixth, 0.75) and batting average against (seventh, .164). The key for him is staying healthy, especially with his track record of injuries in the second half of seasons.
Luzardo has had two solid starts (five shutout innings with 12 strikeouts against the Angels, five innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts against the Braves) and one clunker (five runs allowed in 4 1/3 innings against the Cardinals). If his starts trend more toward the former than the latter, the lefty will be a valuable piece to Miami’s rotation moving forward.
Closing time: Miami’s closer-by-committe approach is already being tested. With Dylan Floro rehabbing in Jupiter and Anthony Bender dealing with hip soreness, Mattingly turned to Tanner Scott on Saturday for the save against the Braves and then had to rely on Louis Head to get the final two outs Sunday when Scott faltered. Anthony Bass and Cole Sulser are other options available.
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