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A Glimpse Into the Future: What Are the Plans for the Marlins Outfield?

May 19, 2013 in Contracts, Fish Farm, Injuries, Regular Season

Marcell-Ozuna-Getty-ImagesWe may have a slight problem.

Giancarlo Stanton is poised to be coming off the DL soon. He is running on an anti-gravity treadmill – no, it is nothing out of Star Trek, just a vest that he wears while running on a treadmill to take his weight off of his body while he runs. He has been showing signs of progress and should be back sooner rather than later from a Grade 2 hamstring pull. Estimates are a few more weeks; he has missed 18 straight games since going on the DL on April 29th and reportedly has had an injection of plasma to help his recovery.

The other side of this is, what happens when he does return? Many were weighing in today on Twitter as we all watched Marcell Ozuna hit a blast to left center to score 2 runs to eventually prove the difference in this afternoon’s win. It looks as if Ozuna is going to stick for the remainder of the season. He is hitting .299 with 1 HR and 8 RBI in 62 ABs. He has a rocket arm in RF and can play excellent defense to boot. Stanton is the team’s starting RF, so in all likelihood, Ozuna would shift to LF.

That brings us to the LF situation. Having Juan Pierre is a defensive liability, and his offense is predicated on getting on base and wreaking havoc with his speed. Although he has been able to steal 13 bases thus far, and provided solid leadership and hustle every game, the Marlins offense is going nowhere without any means to provide pop in the lineup. In all likelihood, we may see Juan Pierre’s playing time downgraded to a backup situation, or platoon in LF with Ozuna from time to time.

Christian Yelich is lurking in AA Jacksonville, waiting for his call up. His position? LF. He has arguably the most promising bat in the entire Marlins farm system so he could dislodge Ozuna from LF, too. Yelich has played CF and can field that position as well. So, another scenario would mean that Yelich is called up to man CF.

Which then brings us to yet another domino – what do the Marlins do about Jake Marisnick and his future and Justin Ruggiano and his present? Ruggiano has provided some pop and looks to be a solid trade bait option down the road. This may be the most likely scenario for him as the Marlins move forward, given the progress of Ozuna and Yelich. In Marisnick, the Marlins can afford to wait longer and let his bat mature more. He has the tools to be a very good CF in the bigs and right now, could be a gold glove caliber defender in CF. He may actually be the Marlins best defensive outfielder in their farm system.

Another wild idea here could be to move Stanton to 1B. It wouldn’t happen this season, but if he could learn to field the position a bit, he could be moved to 1B and allow for Ozuna to resume his natural position in RF, Yelich slides back to LF, and Marisnick gets his spot in CF. If that is the scenario the Marlins shoot for, that leaves them with loads of talent they could flip for more prospects – Ruggiano, Pierre, Coghlan. All three of those OFers could be solid veteran bats for playoff contending teams looking to add depth down the stretch. Given their flexible contracts, they would provide extra value for the Fish, too. And if the Marlins plan on moving Stanton to 1B, Logan Morrison becomes expendable and could be a highly sought after bat down the stretch as well.

Ricky Nolasco continues to build his value – his 8 inning, 11 K performance this afternoon puts him back on the market and ahead of other options that my be on teams’ radars. Combining him with a Ruggiano, Pierre, Coghlan, or even Morrison gives the Marlins even more flexibility in making deals to shore up their talent pool even further.

We have also started to ask questions about the 2B situation – is Derek Dietrich the future there or will he be moved over to 3B? In moving Dietrich to 3B, they retain Donovan Solano and his value as a 2B with a solid glove and ability to hit out of the 2 hole while also gaining Dietrich’s bat and glove at a position with a huge void for the Fish into the foreseeable future. Placido Polanco is not a long term solution to be sure, so the Marlins must either trade for a 3B or move a prospect into that spot to fill a need.

All of these scenarios only point to one factor – the Marlins are in a position to improve internally with the talent they have been building with while also being in a position to acquire more talent to further strengthen what looks to be a rising future.

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Marlins Losing Continues, But Team Not As Bad As Their Record Indicates

May 17, 2013 in Offense, Regular Season

Yes, the Marlins are 11-30. Despicable. Deplorable. But is this team really that bad?

The Fish have had tons of injuries. Nathan Eovaldi, Henderson Alvarez, Giancarlo Stanton, Logan Morrison, Jeff Mathis, Donovan Solano, Joe Mahoney, Casey Kotchman – the list goes on and on. It hasn’t helped this team gain any consistency at all at any point in the season thus far. Not an excuse, but it certainly doesn’t help matters that two of your starters and three of your everyday position players are out.

That said, the Marlins have been able to fill holes – if you can see it that way. Marcell Ozuna has been called up to replace Giancarlo Stanton in RF; Derek Dietrich was brought up to spell some time at 2B for Donovan Solano. Kevin Slowey, Alex Sanabia, Tom Koehler, and Wade LeBlanc have all been valuable in eating innings as starters.

But is the team really as bad as a team that is 11-30? Not really when you look at the stats.

The Marlins are averaging 2.76 runs per game – last in the league. They are last in the league in hits per game (7.41), just below the Nationals (7.51). They are 20th in MLB in surrendering 4.37 runs per game to their opponents. The Marlins have amassed a run differential over the season of -66 runs thus far on the season. That is just -1.6 runs per game differential over the course of the season.

Marlins basically have to find a way to score another 1.6 runs per game to break even on their run differential, which would also push them towards becoming a realistic .500 team the rest of the way out. When you look at the guys they are getting back within the month, they may just get to that point.

Stanton and Morrison, provided the latter can start hitting anything like he did a few seasons ago, may have enough to mix this lineup into something more substantial. When you consider the young guys currently here and hitting (Dietrich, Ozuna) you may have a lot more depth and pop, too. Consider:

  1. Juan Pierre
  2. Donovan Solano
  3. Giancarlo Stanton
  4. Logan Morrison
  5. Justin Ruggiano
  6. Placido Polanco
  7. Adeiny Hechavarria
  8. Rob Brantly

You could flip Hechavarria to the 2 spot, or even plop Dietrich in there at 3B (for Polanco) or at 2B. Ozuna could play RF out right, or possibly move to LF (or have Stanton move to LF) to add more pop. All of this before even considering the arrival of Christian Yelich or Jake Marisnick.

Can the Marlins score more runs later in the year and become a more formidable offense later in the year? Very likely. Getting Mahoney and Kotchman back forces Greg Dobbs back into his role as a pinch hitter. The Marlins get deeper.

The Marlins are bad right now – not necessarily a bad team, just a bad team to watch. They can’t score runs and it seems infectious. All it takes is the right addition of hitters in the lineup and all of that could change.

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Giancarlo Stanton on 15 Day DL; Marcell Ozuna Makes MLB Debut

April 30, 2013 in Injuries, Regular Season

Miami Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton, left, is led off the field by team trainer Sean Cunningham, right, after straining his right hamstring in the ninth inning during a baseball game against the New York Mets, Monday, April, 29, 2013 in Miami. The Marlins defeated the Mets 4-3 in 15 innings. LYNNE SLADKY / AP PHOTO Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/30/3373423/miami-marlins-giancarlo-stanton.html#storylink=cpy

Miami Marlins’ Giancarlo Stanton, left, is led off the field by team trainer Sean Cunningham, right, after straining his right hamstring in the ninth inning during a baseball game against the New York Mets, Monday, April, 29, 2013 in Miami. The Marlins defeated the Mets 4-3 in 15 innings. LYNNE SLADKY / AP PHOTO

Just when he was starting to get his swing back, Giancarlo Stanton came up lame trying to leg out an infield hit in extra innings last night; a game which the Marlins did win 4-3 on a Nick Green sacrifice fly.

An MRI was done and the results were negative but the prognosis is looking like about 2-3 weeks, the Miami Herald reports. Joe Mahoney also was placed on the 15 day DL after the game, but his return looks a lot better as his results were not nearly as severe as Stanton’s.

Who will replace them? Brad Hand and Marcell Ozuna were recalled. Ozuna was batting .333 with 5 HRs for the AA Jacksonville Suns and it was in part to his hot bat that he was the first option from that fearsome threesome of OFers to be called up. The other thing is, well, Jake Marisnick and Christian Yelich are only now starting to get healthy and getting some ABs.

In Ozuna, the Marlins will get a sneak peak at another of their young treasures. Jose Fernandez was given the green light to start the season in the rotation, mostly due to the injuries of Nathan Eovaldi and Henderson Alvarez. Injury has also paved the way for Kyle Skipworth to make a brief appearance with the big club.

The Marlins are clearly trying to make the best of a bad situation. They will not rush Yelich and Marisnick, who still need more seasoning and ABs to get healthy. Ozuna, who had injured his right hand in Spring Training, showed with his bat that he was more ready that both Yelich and Marisnick.

Yet getting a callup for Ozuna shows that perhaps the front office is very high on this kid after all. They did have Matt Diaz available at AAA New Orleans who could have provided another veteran bat with some pop.

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Marlins Get Second Win in a Row in 15 Innings

April 30, 2013 in Regular Season

It was a late comeback. The Marlins had to score 2 runs in the bottom of the 15th to get it, too, but it did come – the first time this year the Marlins were able to win two in a row. Tonight, they will go for – wait for it – three in a row. That’s right, math skills folks.

But seriously, in a crazy game where Giancarlo Stanton pulled a hammy, Juan Pierre was beaned on his elbow, and Ruben Tejada was unable to walk on 4 balls, the Marlins were able to scrap away and get that win late night style. In fact, they were able to get the win without their marquee player suiting up – which is just the way the 2013 Marlins roll these days.

They are starting to hit the ball and even though they will spend the next 15 days without Giancarlo Stanton, they will look to establish runs through scrappy hitting and excellent pitching. This team still is snake bitten, but maybe they are turning the corner.

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Joe Mahoney Drawing Raves; Could Provide Much Needed Power to Offense

April 28, 2013 in Regular Season

th-1If he keeps hitting like this, his nickname should be “Bazooka” Joe Mahoney.

Through Saturday, Mahoney was 3 for 6 with RISP. He hit his first big league home run, too. His .276 AVG shows a modest ability to be successful in the box, but he he drawing raves from his staff. Mike Redmond speculates about Mahoney fitting into the 4th slot – behind Giancarlo Stanton.

“That’s what is kind of intriguing about him. He’s got all that pop, but he can shorten his swing up and punch a ball up the middle or punch a ball the other way. Ultimately out of your No. 4 hitter, we’d love to have him put it in the seats, but I don’t know that he really is a No. 4 hitter. That’s kind of what we’re trying to find out.”

At 6’6″, he is the Marlins tallest first baseman since, well, Derek Lee. Lee had a long, loopy swing that could yield power but also lots of strike outs. Mahoney seems to be able to adapt and has a pretty good approach at the plate. Whether or not that can translate into long term success remains to be seen but with Logan Morrison and Casey Kotchman both working their way back, Redmond is looking to give Mahoney his shot. And let’s face it, no one is fooled into believing that Greg Dobbs is the interim starter – his role is better suited to coming off the bench.

If Mahoney can continue to impress and drive the ball, he may make things a little easier to bear until Morrison comes back. If he becomes a quick study, he may push Morrison to surrender some playing time. Heck, he may even finally fool old Hightower, too.

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This Just In: Giancarlo Stanton is Pretty Good

April 28, 2013 in Regular Season

Miami Marlins v Colorado RockiesJust another example of how fractured, and perhaps stupid, the Marlins fans are these days. Not too long ago, the fans were turning on Giancarlo Stanton on Twitter – questioning his dedication to the team (a team most of them, said, was being scrapped for payroll). Most even had said they felt sorry for him and would want to see him leave so that he could be appreciated. Yet, Loria and Co. kept Stanton around and guess what? Fans started turning on him.

Well, it turns out Stanton is pretty good. He has hit 2 home runs in 2 straight games and fans are starting to get excited again. Gee, really?

Not to be crass, but when did that change? Sure, Marlin fans are struggling for some good news these days as they are 5-19 and in danger of being swept by the Cubs, but turning on Stanton marked an all time low. Something Loria wouldn’t even be accused of. But we suggested in a previous article that we expect things to take a turn upwards for Stanton.

Stanton has a history of bad Aprils.

  • From 2010-2012, he hit .241 with 3 HRs in 141 ABs, a .318 OBP, .383 SLG, and .701 OPS.
  • In 2012, he hit .247 with 1 HR in 73 ABs. His OBP was .286. To put that in perspective, he hit 12 HRs in May.
  • This year? Stanton is hitting .209 with 2 HRs in 67 ABs with a .329 OBP, .299 SLG, and .628 OPS.

That means that Stanton has already hit more home runs in April than he ever has. In fact, he doubled his career total to this point (his lone April home run coming last season). Once again, Marlin fans show themselves to be an overreactive bunch – dare I say uneducated bunch. It does seem to be a good thing that personnel decisions aren’t made based on the whims of the fans after all. If you still are doubting, check out how successful the Blue Jays are right now with the former Marlins.

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