10 thoughts from the Miami Marlins’ 10-game homestand
The Miami Marlins’ longest homestand of the season could have gone better.
But the team is taking solace in how it finished the extended stay at loanDepot park.
The Marlins went 4-6 overall on this just-completed 10-game stretch on their home field, going 1-3 against the Philadelphia Phillies, 1-2 against the Baltimore Orioles and 2-1 against the Washington Nationals. However, after starting the set 1-5, they closed with wins in three of their final four contests.
“Maybe in totality, not the wins and losses that we wanted,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said, “but I think overall, with the exception of a couple blips, I think we played well. Happy to see us swing the bats really well the last couple of days. Hopefully we can carry that on the road and offensively really get ourselves going. ... We’re close. I mean, we have to put some things together and play a little bit better for stretches. But we’re doing some nice things now. We just got to kind of catch fire a little bit and get on a run.”
Here are 10 thoughts from the 10-game homestand.
1). The Marlins entered the homestand with a 10-6 record in home games and were coming off a road series win against the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, so this was overall a missed opportunity to potentially put some distance between them and the other teams in the middle of the National League East standings. Instead, the Marlins, Phillies and Nationals are in a three-way tie for second at 19-22, nine games behind the division-leading Atlanta Braves (28-13) and three-and-a-half games up on the last-place New York Mets (15-25).
Six of the 10 games — including four of six losses — were decided by two runs or fewer.
“We’re very happy with the progress that we’ve shown, and it hasn’t quite shown up in the wins the way that we want to, but it’s shown up in the way that we’re in every game,” Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix said. “It’s shown up in the way that we’re never out of a game, that we are able to go into Los Angeles and take two out of three from the Dodgers and really just be very competitive. At the end of the day, competitive is not the goal. Winning is the goal. But I think you can evaluate progress and things in addition to your wins and lost records.”
2). And give the Marlins credit for this: They aren’t waiting for that success to just come to them. They’re being aggressive with roster moves to maximize their performance at the big-league level.
During the 10-game stretch, Miami designated veteran pitcher Chris Paddack for assignment, choosing to eat his $4 million salary instead of keeping him in the rotation, and sent struggling catcher Agustin Ramirez and infielder Graham Pauley to Triple A Jacksonville.
They called up a handful of players to make their MLB debuts, most notably three of the team’s top prospects in starting pitcher Robby Snelling, catcher Joe Mack and reliever Josh Ekness.
“We’re trying to win,” Bendix said. “We are trying to win this year. We’re trying to win beyond this year. We’re looking for the best 26 guys, and we’re looking for all of our guys to continue to get better. A lot of these moves are designed to really try to put the best team on the field that we possibly can.”
3.) Those three top prospects in Snelling, Mack and Ekness have already shown glimpses of what they can bring to the club long-term. Snelling’s command was shaky in his big-league debut on Friday, and he still managed to pitch five innings of three-run ball, including four scoreless frames to close the outing after a three-run first. Mack is hitting .250 and with three doubles and has thrown out a pair of runners defensively. And Ekness has had scoreless outings in three of four relief appearances, picking up his first career save on Sunday.
4. .Catcher/first baseman Liam Hicks continues to be a revelation at the plate. The second-year big-leaguer is hitting .308 with a .928 on-base-plus-slugging mark — both top-15 marks across MLB. His 35 RBI are one shy of Washington’s CJ Abrams and Atlanta’s Matt Olson for the MLB lead, and his nine home runs are a career high. He appears to have an inside track to be an All-Star if he can keep this up.
5). But Hicks isn’t alone in the strong start. Miami’s middle infield duo of shortstop Otto Lopez and second baseman Xavier Edwards have been standouts at the plate, too. Both rank in the top 10 of MLB in batting average (Lopez second at .344, Edwards eighth at .322). Each has scored 27 runs, tied for 19th in MLB.
6). While Miami had relatively short leashes for Ramirez and Pauley, two other players who have struggled offensively in outfielders Jakob Marsee and Owen Caissie will get a chance to play through their struggles.
Marsee is hitting just .182 on the year but has drawn 23 walks. He has stolen 12 bases, which is tied for fifth in MLB, and is Miami’s primary center fielder.
Caissie, the headline return of Miami’s Edward Cabrera trade, was phenomenal during his first week of the season with a .348 average and two home runs. Since then, the lefty has hit just .154 over 88 plate appearances. Overall, he’s striking out at a 41.2% rate and whiffing on 34.5% of his swings — and that’s with the Marlins having him almost exclusively face right-handed hitting. But he’s a top prospect who as Bendix pointed out “has never failed at any point in his career.” So they want to see how Caissie adjusts in the big leagues.
7). Some other quick-hit offense notes: Kyle Stowers’ power numbers still aren’t quite there since returning from a hamstring injury (four doubles, one home run in 79 plate appearances) but Miami is encouraged by his recent at-bats. ... Christopher Morel recorded his first RBI of the season, a go-ahead single in the eighth inning in Sunday’s finale against the Nationals. ... following Pauley’s DFA, Leo Jimenez is getting time at third base along with Javier Sanoja and Connor Norby (who also plays first base). ...
8). Miami’s pitching overall is at the middle of the pack so far this season, with a 4.06 team ERA that ranks 15th in MLB, but it’s worth noting the bullpen has a 3.37 ERA that ranks fifth across MLB and a .190 batting average against that leads the league.
9). And the Marlins’ bullpen should get a key piece back fairly soon in closer Pete Fairbanks, who went on the injured list April 28 with nerve irritation. He threw two bullpens and a live batting practice session during the homestand. McCullough said the plan is to activate him on Wednesday, the first day he’s available to rejoin the roster.
Fairbanks has five saves in six save opportunities this season. Four Marlins have logged saves in his absence during the past two weeks: Tyler Phillips, Calvin Faucher, John King and Ekness.
10). Now the Marlins have to head back on the road, where they have struggled to consistently piece together wins through the first quarter of the season. Miami is 5-10 in 15 games on the road, dropping four of five series — losses to the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants but a win over the Dodgers. This six-game trip takes them to the Minnesota Twins (Tuesday through Thursday) and Tampa Bay Rays (Friday through Sunday).
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