Growing pains
Young players providing storylines for Marlins
Top 10 highlights of the Marlins season so far.
J.T. Realmuto leads the Marlins in average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS+ and WAR.
After an offseason that saw Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna and Dee Gordon traded away, the Miami Marlins weren’t expected to be competitors in 2018.
Through the first half of the season, their record is indicative of those low expectations as they head into the All-Star break at 41-57.
Still, in a rebuilding season, Miami has avoided being uninteresting, with young players getting playing time, veterans suffering injuries, prospects making debuts and everything in between.
Here are ten notable storylines from the first half of the Marlins season.
J.T. Realmuto: The 27-year-old catcher had shown his ability in his first four seasons, but so far in 2018 he’s put it all together. Realmuto leads the Marlins in average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS+ and WAR. He’s also top 10 in the National League in all of those categories except on-base percentage. For his success, Realmuto was selected as the Marlins’ only All-Star this season.
Pablo Lopez and Sandy Alcantara debut, Caleb Smith impresses: Lopez and Alcantara, acquired in the David Phelps and Marcell Ozuna trades, respectively, are two of the top 20 prospects in Miami’s farm system — Lopez is No. 20 and Alcantara is No. 2, according to MLB.com. Lopez has struggled a bit, starting three games and giving up 12 runs in 17 innings. Alcantara went five innings in his one start but has since landed on the 10-day disabled list with an infection in his
right armpit. Caleb Smith, a rookie left-hander acquired from the Yankees last winter, was perhaps the Marlins’ best starter, leading the team in ERA+ and strikeout rate among eligible starters. In late June, though, Smith decided to get surgery for a lat strain, rendering him out for the rest of the season
Brian Anderson emerges as Rookie of the Year candidate: Another young player, the 25-year-old Anderson, has been a nice piece for the Marlins’ rebuild. Anderson led the Marlins in RBI, doubles and total bases in the first half, while also being an overall plus in the field in right field and third base.
Lewis Brinson has disappointing start to the season: On the flip side of the youth coin, Brinson has struggled so far offensively. The 24-year-old outfielder from Coral Springs came to the Marlins in the Christian Yelich trade last offseason, and though he’s been a strong defender, his .186/.232/.338 slash line is far below expectations. Brinson also landed on the disabled list prior to the All-Star break with a bone bruise in his hip.
Injuries hamper development, victories: As referenced earlier, the Marlins have been hit with some tough injuries throughout the season. Those to Smith, Brinson and Alcantara take time away from prospects who could use as many innings played as possible, and the Marlins have also been without Realmuto, Martin Prado, Garrett Cooper and JT Riddle for parts of the season, with Prado playing in just 33 games so far.
Back end of bullpen finishes first half strong: After replacing Brad Ziegler in the closer’s role with Kyle Barraclough at the beginning of June, the Marlins’ bullpen seemed to stabilize. Ziegler, Barraclough, Drew Steckenrider and Adam Conley have especially pitched well, as the bullpen finished June throwing the second-most innings (117 2⁄3) but with the sixth-lowest ERA (2.98) in the majors. In July, the unit has struggled a bit, but the progress they made last month is promising. All four of the players named above could be important pieces to the rebuild, either as trading chips or as developing players.
Miami-Dade county sues
Loria, current ownership: When Miami-Dade County agreed to build Marlins Park with the help of tax-funded money in 2009, part of the agreement was for then-owner Jeffrey Loria to give back 5 percent of any profits he would make from selling the team in the next 10 years. This February, the county took Loria and the current ownership to court, and won its first court proceeding over the Marlins later that month. The Marlins have since tried to avoid the ruling by claiming foreign citizenship in the British Virgin Islands.
Jeter, ownership announce change in attendance tallies: Before the season began, one of the changes that new owner Derek Jeter made organizationally was to report attendance by tickets sold, not including giveaways or deeply discounted tickets. That has resulted in franchise-low attendance numbers, with the lowest coming on July 11, when 5,265 fans watched the Marlins beat the Brewers on a walk-off single in the 12th inning.
Jeter insists team will be competitive: Derek Jeter has insisted throughout the first year of his tenure that he expects the Marlins to be competitive. The most notable instance of this came in an interview with Bryant Gumbel on his HBO show “Real Sports.” During the somewhat light-hearted exchange, Jeter called Gumbel “mentally weak” when Gumbel insinuated the Marlins roster was not ready to contend for the playoffs. Later on, Gumbel said Jeter was delusional if he believed Miami was ready to contend, to which Jeter replied, “call me delusional.” The interview aired April 24, a day after the Marlins fell to 5-16, which was tied for the worst 21-game record in franchise history.
Team struggles on the field: Throughout much of the first half of the season, the Marlins possessed the worst record in the National League. However, after a strong finish to the first half, winning four of their last five series, Miami was 41-57 and in a tie with the Mets for fourth place in the NL East, and had passed the Padres to avoid being the cellar dweller of the National League at the All-Star break.