SIGNS OF LIFE ARE EMERGING
Midseason breakdown: What went right for the Marlins? Breakthrough performances by Cooper, Ramirez, Yamamoto
After 41 games, the outlook for the rest of the season looked pretty bleak for the Marlins.
Last in most offensive categories, Miami was 10-31 and on pace to challenge the 1962 Mets for the worst record of all time. But after hitting rock bottom May 15, the Marlins began to climb out of the hole, reeling off six straight wins in what marked a tonal shift for the team. Following its disastrous start, Miami has played close to .500 baseball over its past 46 games, posting a 22-24 record heading into the All-Star break.
While the Marlins still have the fifth-worst record in baseball (33-55), clear improvements have been made in the second year of their rebuild. On Wednesday we tackled the low points from the 2019 season, but today let’s dive into the highlights and what’s gone right through the first half of the season. Cooper, Ramirez help spark turnaround
If you want to pinpoint an exact date for when the Marlins’ fortunes changed, go back to May 11. That night in New York, Harold Ramirez made his major-league debut and Garrett Cooper returned from the injured list, giving the Marlins lineup a muchneeded shot in the arm.
After separate IL stints limited Cooper to just four games to start the season, the 28-year-old has been one of the National League’s top hitters. Since May 11, Cooper is eighth in batting average (.320), 10th in on-base percentage (.387) and 18th in wRC+ (140) among qualified hitters.
Called up from Triple-A New Orleans, Ramirez started his career on a torrid hitting pace before slightly cooling off. In 49 games, the 24-year-old outfielder has a stats line of .290/.323/.387 with nine doubles and three home runs.
Young staff delivers
After cutting Dan Straily and moving WeiYin Chen to the bullpen during spring training, the Marlins sent a clear message they were confident with their young starting pitchers leading the way. Featuring three secondyear players and one rookie to begin the year, Miami’s talented rotation of Sandy Alcantara, Caleb Smith, Pablo Lopez, Trevor Richards and Jose Urena has lived up to the hype.
Through the midway point, Marlins starters have compiled the seventh-best ERA (3.92) in baseball. Alcantara earned his first All-Star appearance, while Smith was pitching at an All-Star pace before dealing with injuries. Richards and Lopez have both made strides as well in their sophomore campaigns.
What’s been most impressive has been how the rotation hasn’t skipped a beat despite injuries sidelining Urena, Smith and Lopez.
Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill frequently mentions the team’s “layers of starting pitching” and that depth clearly has paid off. Rookies Jordan Yamamoto (more on him in a minute), Zac Gallen and Elieser Hernandez have stepped into the rotation and made an immediate impact for the team.
Yamamoto’s stellar start
Once seen as a throw-in piece of the Christian Yelich deal, Yamamoto has quickly proved he’s much more than that. Bypassing Triple A, the 23-year-old right-hander was called up June 12 from Jacksonville to fill Urena’s spot in the rotation.
In his major-league debut versus the Cardinals, he was sensational, allowing just three hits in seven shutout innings.
Since then, he’s kept up the pace, notching a 1.24 ERA through his first five starts. That marks the lowest ERA for a Marlins starter in his first five starts with the club. In addition, he’s also posted the lowest opponents’ batting average (.117) and the fewest hits allowed (12) during that stretch.
Best finish — Cooper’s grand slam in Detroit
Riding a five-game winning streak, the Marlins were down to their final three outs as they hoped to log their second consecutive sweep. Trailing the Tigers 2-0 on May 23, Miami’s bats finally came alive in the ninth inning. After a Neil Walker single cut the lead to one, the Marlins loaded the bases for the decisive moment.
In his ninth game back from the IL, Cooper crushed a Shane Green slider into the left-field seats for an emphatic grand slam, giving the team a 5-2 lead. Sergio Romo would close it out in the bottom half of the inning, finishing off a comefrom-behind win and a sweep over the Tigers.
Best Game — Marlins blast Brewers 16-0
Twelve days after its late-inning heroics versus Detroit, Miami eclipsed that performance with a thorough pummeling of the first-place Brewers.
Highlighted by an 11-run fifth inning, the Marlins recorded their second-largest shutout win in franchise history, blanking Milwaukee 16-0.
In that inning, every player in the starting lineup had an RBI, marking the first time since 1952 all nine lineup positions tallied an RBI in one inning. The 11-run outburst also set a Marlins record for most runs in an inning.