Marlins observations: Lineup coming together, A.J. Puk’s spring, Tanner Scott rebounds
Jazz Chisholm Jr. has a message to send when it comes to the Miami Marlins’ lineup.
“I feel like nobody really understands the depth of this lineup,” the center fielder said. “I can’t wait ‘till we go out there and show them.”
The Marlins are a team that for the past few years have been built on quality starting pitching and hoping for enough offense to back the team’s efforts on the mound.
But with Miami’s the starting pitching in a state of flux to begin the season, Miami will be counting on its lineup will play a vital role early.
That’s a tall task for a team that finished with the fifth-fewest runs scored (666) and tied for the eighth-fewest home runs (166).
For the offense to be a success, the Marlins are relying on a collective effort rather than a singular player to carry the team.
And, on paper, they have the players to be productive.
They have a pair of batting champions in second baseman Luis Arraez and shortstop Tim Anderson, the former trying to build on his past two years of success and the latter trying to rebound from his worst season as a big-leaguer. Arraez will be in the leadoff spot. Anderson will likely bat second or fifth.
They have a full year of switch-hitting first baseman Josh Bell and right-handed-hitting third baseman Jake Burger after acquiring both at the trade deadline last season. Both are capable of hitting for average and power — exactly what a team wants when Arraez and/or Anderson are getting on base in front of them.
Chisholm, a lefty who has the potential for 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases if he can stay healthy, rounds out the top five in the lineup.
“If Luis and TA do what they do,” Burger said, “we’re gonna have a lot of action on the basepaths and it’s going to bode well. It’s gonna make for some fun.”
Added Bell: “A lot of runs to be scored. It’s exciting. Obviously, we’re not going to lead the league in homers, but I think playing at loanDepot [park], you don’t want to be the the team that leads the league in flyballs. You want to be a line-drive type of team, and that’s what wins this game.”
Beyond the top five, the Marlins have the following at their disposal:
▪ Outfielder Avisail Garcia who, if healthy, adds right-handed power lost from Jorge Soler, who is now with the San Francisco Giants.
▪ Outfielders Bryan De La Cruz and Jesus Sanchez, both of whom are coming off career years.
▪ Utility player Jon Berti, who is a steady bat, a threat on the basepaths and can fill in just about anywhere in the lineup.
▪ Utility players Nick Gordon (a bounceback candidate after an injury-riddled 2023) and Vidal Brujan (has excelled in the minor leagues, but the results haven’t translated yet in limited MLB action).
▪ Catchers Christian Bethancourt and Nick Fortes, who will round out the lineup.
“You have a little bit of everything,” Anderson said, “from power to speed to contact.”
Added Berti: “It’s gonna be a tough lineup to go through for opposing pitchers just because we have a lot of guys who do a lot of things and we’ve got some guys with some power as well. We can do a little bit of everything. That’s gonna make us much more dangerous.”
A.J. Puk continues to impress
Left-handed pitcher A.J. Puk once again dominated as he continues his buildup to being a starting pitcher for the first time in his MLB career.
After a rough first inning on Tuesday in which he gave up four consecutive one-out singles, Puk went on to strike out eight and not issue a walk while pitching into the sixth inning and getting his pitch count to 82. His fastball velocity stayed around 95 mph throughout the entire outing.
Over four spring outings, Puk has struck out 23 batters while walking just four.
“I’m feeling great,” Puk said. “I’ve been bouncing back really well between starts.”
Tanner Scott bounces back
After three horrid outings to begin spring training — giving up 10 runs (eight earned) on six hits and five walks while recording just three outs — Tanner Scott appears to have turned the corner.
Scott, Miami’s closer, has not allowed a run in any of his past four outings. He pitched a shutout innings on Saturday against the Philadelphia Phillies and Tuesday against the Astros. He then got two outs on Wednesday against the New York Mets, marking the first time this spring he pitched back-to-back days.
“The first few were not the results I wanted,” Scott said. “It’s better to get back on track.”
This story was originally published March 20, 2024 at 11:40 AM.
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