Marlins testing new approach with rookie Brinson
MIAMI — In a season likely to be defined by their development of young prospects, the Miami Marlins are trying a different approach to improving highlytouted prospect Lewis Brinson. They’re going to play him less.
Brinson — the centerpiece of the deal that sent Christian Yelich to Milwaukee and a consensus top-30 prospect in baseball over the last three years — has struggled in his time in the major leagues this season, his first as a full-time player. In 61 games played, Brinson owns a .167/.214/.310 slash line with nine home runs. He has more than double the amount of strikeouts (73) than he does hits (35).
Brinson has been great since the calendar flipped to June, with an onbase plus slugging percentage of 1.206 in a small sevengame sample.
Marlins manager Don Mattingly said the team would try to give Brinson a day off each series to allow him to work during the day in the batting cage without the pressure of four or five at-bats in the evening.
“The day off is a day to be able to work, work, work without having the negativity of the game or the battle of the game where you’re just going to try to compete,” Mattingly said. “In those scenarios, a lot better chance of just going back to reacting and just going back to your old self and trying to survive.”
On the Marlins’ most recent road trip, Brinson didn’t start two games (once in Arizona, once in St. Louis) but later entered the game as a pinch-hitter. He has three homers in his last seven games, and most recently drove in a run on Friday night with a sacrifice fly against the Padres.
Brinson was out of the starting lineup for Saturday’s game against San Diego, with J.B. Shuck hitting eighth and patrolling center field instead.
Mattingly admitted the approach was unorthodox for a major-league team.
“He’s getting a lot of extra work,” Mattingly said. “We’re doing some things here at this level that you usually don’t do at this level. You usually do it in the winter or other places. But we’re trying to get some stuff done.”
Brinson added: “I don’t disagree with it. It’s always nice to have a day off. Obviously, you want to play every day. Whatever lineup Donnie runs out there, I’m going to either sit down on the bench and wait my turn or get in there and give 100 percent like I’ve been doing.”
Therein lies one of the main debates surrounding the 24-year-old Brinson. Should the Marlins keep him in the major leagues despite his struggles or send him to Triple-A New Orleans to regain confidence?
To Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill, the organization wants to see him against the highest-caliber pitchers.
“He was one of the most productive hitters in all of Triple-A baseball,” Hill said. “The pitchers he’d be facing in Triple-A aren’t the pitchers he’ll be facing here. We understand that this is where he needs to get over the hump. We want to give him every opportunity to do so.”
Last year with Colorado Springs of the Pacific Coast League, Brinson was one of the best hitters in the league. He slashed .331/.400/.562 while limiting his strikeouts to 62 in 340 plate appearances.
Still, even with Brinson’s struggles at the plate, the team remains encouraged by his defensive play in center field. Much like his hitting, there’s good and there’s bad with Brinson. He leads all major-league center fielders by committing five errors.
Advanced metrics, though, point to Brinson as an elite defensive player. According to FanGraphs’ defensive runs saved (a metric that accounts for range and arm, among other things), Brinson is the second-most valuable center fielder in the majors. His 11 DRS trial only Lorenzo Cain of Milwaukee.
According to BaseballReference, Brinson’s defensive wins above replacement (1.2) is the third-most among major-league outfielders. He trails Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner and Cain.