2020 Miami Marlins Preview – MLB Preview & Prediction
The postponed season so far did give the Marlins some bragging rights right now and that is the fact that they are sitting in 1st place by May 1st in the NL East. Granted, if the season was not postponed right now the chances of the Marlins being in first place this late or early in the season would be slim to none. So what really makes the Marlins standout from the other teams the Marlin are competing against is the fact that even when losing the Marlins have always looked upbeat and oddly, the Marlins have won a World Series sooner than the Cincinnati Reds.
Miami Marlins Starting Pitchers
The starting pitchers for the Marlins is going to be playing without a real star. Some of the pitchers that are on the roster have done really well, but some of them are fairly weak starters and in some places would either be in the bullpen or in the minors. The ace for the Marlins is projected to be Sandy Alcantara. The rest of the rotation will be filled out by Caleb Smith, Pablo Lopez, Jose Urena, and then Jordan Yamamoto. Last year Alcantara started in 32 games and threw 197.1 innings. He did strike out 151 batters and posted a 6-14 record with a 3.88 ERA.
Miami Marlins Relievers
If the starting rotation was not questionable enough the bullpen for the Marlins has a lot of question marks to. The bullpen is staffed with players that do not really have a lot of stars. The pen for Miami is projected to have Ryne Stanek, Yimi Garcia, Brad Boxberger, Drew Steckenrider, and Stephe Tarpley. The closer for the Marlins is projected to be Brandon Kintzler. For his part Kintzler pitched in 62 games with a total of 57 innings pitched. He struck out 49 batters and posted a 3-3 record with 1 save and 2 blown saves, but did have an impressive 2.68 ERA.
Miami Marlins Catchers
The catching for the Marlins will be fairly consistent with Jorge Alfaro getting the ball thrown at him. The backup for the Marlins catching is Francisco Cervelli. If the Marlins decide to carry three catchers on the roster the team would bring Chad Wallach. Alfaro last year ended up playing in 130 games and hit at a clip of .262 with 18 homers and 57 runners brought home last year for the Marlins. When it comes to catching the base runners he threw out an impressive 32.7% of the runners.
Miami Marlins Corners
Playing the corners the Marlins should be fairly decent at third base with Brian Anderson starting at third. The other corner looks to have Jesus Aguilar at first. Jonathan Villar should be able to backup at 3rd and Garrett Cooper will be backing up at first. Last season Aguilar played in 131 games while hitting at a clip of .236 with 12 homers and 50 runners brought home for the Rays. Brian Anderson last year ended up playing in 126 games while hitting at a clip of .261 with 20 homers and 66 runners brought home for the Marlins.
Miami Marlins Middle Infielders
The middle of the infield is going to be lined up with Isan Diaz projected to start at second base. The shortstop is projected to be started at by Miguel Rojas. When it comes to playing in the backup role for the middle infield it is projected to be Jon Berti. Diaz for his part played in 49 games while hitting at a clip of .173 with 5 homers and 23 runners brought home in his rookie year for the Marlins. Rojas for his part ended up playing in a total of 132 games and hit at a clip of .284 and only managed to get 5 homers while getting 46 runners brought in for the Marlins.
Miami Marlins Outfielders
What could be seen as one of the strengths of the Marlins the team has a decent outfield. Starting in left field it is projected to be Corey Dickerson, Jonathan Villar is projected to start in center, but Matt Joyce is looked to for right field. The backups are Lewis Brinson in center and right with Harold Ramierz projected to backup in left field. Dickerson could be the offensive spark for Miami. Last season in 78 games he hit at a clip of .304 with 12 homers and 59 runners brought home for the Phillies and the Pirates. When it comes to Villar he played in 162 games last year and hit at a clip of .274 with 24 homers and brought home 73 runners for the Orioles. Matt Joyce last year played in 129 games and hit at a clip of .295 with 7 homers and 23 runners were batted in off of his bat for the Braves.
Miami Marlins Predictions
The Marlins are one team that while they do play baseball, I do not look for the Marlins to do much on the year. I guess one of the best comparisons that could be put in place would be the Marlins have the potential to be the Tigers of the National League. Yes, the Marlins have upcoming talent and that talent, if it is not traded off, will help the Marlins in the future, but the future is not now and that will lead to the Marlins finishing in the bottom of the NL East.
