The Miami Marlins are off to a hot start at 48-34, 14 games above .500. The last time Marlins fans have seen this type of start from their team was back in 2003. Miami currently has 71% odds to make the postseason and an estimated 1.7% chance to win the World Series.
Skip Schumaker is fitting in quite well with his new team, rallying everyone together and being critical after losses or mistakes. Kim Ng did a good job this past offseason with the acquisition of Jean Segura and making trades landing Luis Arraez, AJ Puk, and Jacob Amaya. Overall, these moves along with keeping cornerstone players like Jazz Chisholm Jr., Garrett Cooper, Bryan De La Cruz has been key to this strong start.
So far this season the Marlins have 15 series wins, 7 coming via sweep, and 4 games with 10+ runs. They have the 4th best record in the NL, are 6 games back of the Braves for the division title, and 2.5 games above the Dodgers for the top wild card spot. Miami has won 7 of their last 10 and is sitting on a 5-game win streak. And, after the sweep of the Boston Red Sox, now move to 20-7 versus AL teams. They are strong at home with a 25-16 record, tied for 5th in the league, and 23-18 on the road which ranks 6th.
Overall Team Stats/Rankings:
Batting Average: 6th
Home Runs: 23rd
RBI: 24th
Hits: T-7th
On Base %: T-13th
Slugging %: 18th
Runs Scored: 24th
Stolen Bases: T-17th
Caught Stealing: T-17th
GIDP: 1st
Batting Strikeouts: 19th
Pitching Strikeouts: T-2nd
WHIP: 7th
OPS: 17th
ERA: 10th overall, SP ranks 5th, BP ranks 14th
Defensive WAR: 29th
Batting WAR: 18th
Playbook Mid-Season Awards
MVP: Luis Arraez
Stats: .392 BA,.444 OBP, .485 SLG%, .929 OPS, 3.5 WAR
36 R, 114 H, 3 HR, 39 RBI, 16 K to 25 BB, 1/3 on Stolen Bases
He has been consistent in his approach, making contact at an elite rate, and is a must watch when he steps up to the plate. He has the possibility of being the first player since Ted Williams in 1941 to average .400+ for a season. He was also named to the 2023 All-Star Game.
Highlight Game vs Phillies: First Marlins player to ever hit for the cycle
Finished with a line of 4/5, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Most Improved Player: Braxton Garrett
Stats: 4-2 Record, 16 GP, 15 starts, 81.2 IP, 3.53 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 92 K to 15 BB
Braxton has had a good comeback after getting beaten up for 11 ER against the Braves in early May. He has not had a game where he has allowed more than 4 ER since.
Highlight game vs Pirates: Only Marlins Pitcher with 13+ Ks
Final line of 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 13 K, 0 BB, 88 pitches-63 strikes
Biggest Surprise Player: Eury Perez
Stats: 5-1 Record, 9 GS, 47.0 IP, 1.34 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 54 K to 15 BB
There’s no doubt the Marlins are in for a lot of hard decisions once all the injured players return from the IL, but Miami must find a way to keep this rookie on the roster so he can continue his dominant year. Going from a CY Young winner last year in Sandy Alcantara (who has struggled this season), to what Eury is doing this year is a big reason the Marlins are 5th in SP ERA this year.
Highlight game vs Blue Jays: First game for a Marlins rookie to have 9+ Ks and 0 walks
Final line of 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 9 K to 0 B, 80 pitches-59 strikes
Most room to improve: Sandy Alcantara
Stats: 3-6 Record, 16 GS, 102.2 IP, 4.82 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 83 K to 31 BB
Sandy has had 5 games so far this season where he has allowed 5+ runs. He is not struggling with his command nor his velocity in his pitches, no sign of injury, but this is not the CY Young player he was last year. He can go deep in innings, which helps the bullpen rest; he’s the only pitcher consistently seeing 7+ innings of work right now, besides Braxton Garrett.
Highlight game vs Twins: First Complete Game for pitcher in 2023, and the 10th of his career
Finished with 9.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 5 K to 1 BB, 100 pitches-68 Strikes
Closing thoughts/Look Ahead
With 80 games left in the regular season, Miami is on pace to win 92 games. The Marlins have only won 90+ games twice in their history, and in both of those seasons they went on to win the World Series.
Coming off a month in June where the team went 19-7, there are still plenty of obstacles to overcome. The Marlins have not fared well against their division rival Mets and Braves; they are 3-11 against both teams this season. Miami starts their new half of the season in Atlanta for a 3-game showdown, which will be a good test to see where this ball club is in comparison to the last time the two teams played.
August will be the ultimate test for this team; they have 4 games vs the Nationals, and all other series are against teams with records over .500 – 3 games vs Philly, 3 at Texas, 3 at Cincinnati, 3 vs Yankees, 3 vs Astros, 3 vs Houston, 3 at Dodgers, and 2 vs Tampa Bay.
Jazz and Jean came back with some pop in their bats as Jazz homered in back-to-back games and Jean has been hitting .307 and has 3 RBIs. The Marlins have had great contributions from guys who are bouncing back and forth from the minor leagues due to injuries.
The Marlins have something going for them this year: they are 20-6 in one-run games, showing the team has no quit. Enjoy the second half of the season as Marlins look to make the postseason for the first time since 2020!
Well written and thought out article. Thank you contributor.