2019 Pre-Season Profile: Miami Marlins

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The Miami Marlins have been working to completely remake their franchise ever since Derek Jeter and his ownership group took over the franchise before last offseason.  Now in year two after the complete teardown of their roster, will the Marlins start to show some results from trading away every recognizable face they had?

2018 Predictions

5th in NL East

Half of the Marlins' Opening Day starting lineup will not be on the roster by season's end.

2018 Results

63-98, 5th in NL East

The Marlins went from an interesting team on the verge of doing something great in 2017 to tearing it all down to nothing for 2018.  The new ownership group saw a lineup that wasn't sustainable financially.  What was left for the 2018 season was a Marlins team that resembled some of their early years.  A cheap, young roster with promise and the ability to compete maybe in a few years, but not at all competitive now.  There were a few veterans left on the roster, and I thought they would be gone before the season ended.  However, Justin Bour seemed to be the only to get out mid-season.  They seemed to keep the rest of the lineup in tact the rest of the season.

Additions / Subtractions

The main subtraction seemed to be final piece that needed to be moved from the epic teardown the year before.  J.T. Realmuto's trade to the Phillies brought back their new catcher, Jorge Alfaro, and some top prospects.  Outside of that, the only other moves made were signing some veterans to lead the kids, fill out the roster, and be trade bait come July.  This veteran crew includes Neil Walker, Curtis Granderson, and Sergio Romo.  The most notable change this year will have nothing to do with the roster.  New logo, new jerseys, and no more gigantic statue in centerfield of Marlins Park.

Most Important Hitter

Lewis Brinson

Of all the prospects brought back in the deals from last offseason, Lewis Brinson (acquired in the Christian Yelich deal with Milwaukee) was the biggest name and the most ready to make a major league impact.  He was their Opening Day centerfielder and stayed there most of the season.  However, he had far from a successful season.  Only tallying a .199 batting average and a 62 OPS+ (league average is 100), he was quite a disappointment for such a highly touted prospect.  Brinson has to make huge strides forward this season if he plans to stay a centerpiece of the Marlins' plans going forward.

Most Important Pitcher

Dan Straily

Dan Straily has been quite a journeyman considering he hasn't even reached 30 yet.  He has had one great year in 2016, his only year with the Reds.  The last couple seasons with the Marlins have been good but not great, posting an ERA+ just slightly below average.  If Straily comes out with a strong 2019, then he can help give the Marlins a much more successful season, and possibly be a trade piece at the deadline.  He needs to be above average to have a successful season though.

Prospect to Watch

Sixto Sanchez

The centerpiece of the J.T. Realmuto deal with the Phillies, Sixto Sanchez is thought to be one of the best pitching prospects in the league.  The 20 year old has been often compared to Pedro Martinez thanks to his slight stature and power arm.  After only throwing 46 innings in 2018 in the minors, and knowing how teams are trying to manipulate service time to delay free agency as much as possible, chances are the Marlins will be moving Sanchez along slowly throughout the 2019 season.  However, if the season goes really south for the Marlins and they need something to get the fans excited, they might not be able to help themselves and give Sixto a shot in the big leagues this year.

2019 Prediction

5th in NL East

The Marlins are still rebuilding and have a chance to be better than they were last season, but there is no way they finish anywhere other than the cellar of the NL East.  This has more to do with the strength of the rest of the division than the mediocrity of the Marlins.  All four of the other teams in this division will be competing for a playoff spot.  The Marlins are not there.  They will play better than last year, but might still finish with a worse record simply because of the competition in the division.

Fearless Prediction

The Marlins' starting rotation will all be under 30 years old by the end of the season.

There are only two starters right now that the Marlins have that are 30 years old or over (Dan Straily, Wei-Yin Chen).  With the pitchers the Marlins have that are getting ready to break into the big leagues, these two pitchers might be gone by the end of the season.  Straily will probably be traded, and Chen might just be released with how poorly he has pitched since he has come over from Baltimore.  In their place, look for guys like Sandy Alcantara, Nick Neidert, Jorge Guzman, and (like I said earlier) maybe even Sixto Sanchez to get to starts in their place.

2016 Pre-Season Profile: Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins have a history of either being really good or really bad.  In 2015, they reached a rare position: they were mediocre.  Will 2016 be a step in one direction or another?

Last Season

My 2015 Prediction: 2nd in NL East

2015 Result: 71-91, 3rd in NL East

I was high on the Marlins coming into the 2015 season, however the season quickly went south and turned bizarre when they fired their manager Mike Redmond in favor of their general manager who had never managed before on any level.  I had them in second potentially battling for a Wild Card spot.  Instead, they ended up with 90 losses.  The only thing that kept them from going lower in the standings was how bad the Braves and Phillies were.

2016 Additions / Subtractions

The Marlins always seem to either go all in or sell everyone every offseason.  This offseason looked a little different.  They brought in a solid starter in Wei-Yin Chen and re-signed Dee Gordon.  They really didn't do much more.  They know they have something interesting building in Miami, and these few moves are small pieces that will help the team continue to develop.  The biggest move they made was at manager.  Don Mattingly is a vast improvement over the joke that was Dan Jennings last season.  He will actually be able to lead this team where they need to go.

Most Important Hitter

Marcell Ozuna

Many people say Marcell Ozuna is one of those special talents that can do it all.  The problem is he has yet to put it all together on the field for the Marlins.  For the Marlins to start taking steps forward, a player like Ozuna has to have a breakout season and show what kind of player his talent projects him to be.

Most Important Pitcher

Jose Fernandez

In 2013, Jose Fernandez showed that he has the talent to be one of the best pitchers in baseball.  Then, the dreaded Tommy John derailed his next two seasons.  Now, he is entering 2016 at full strength and should ready to be the superstar again.  This team is currently being built around two superstars: Fernandez and Giancarlo Stanton.  For this to continue, Fernandez needs to get back to that elite status.

Player to Watch

Jarlin Garcia

One problem the Marlins have is they do not have a very good farm system.  Their best prospects are still a few years away also.  The best player in the system that has a chance to make an impact this season is Jarlin Garcia.  He is a 23 year old left-handed pitcher that could get some starts this season for the big club.  Depending on his success, he could figure more into the plans moving forward.

2016 Prediction

3rd in NL East

The Marlins should be better than they were last season, however it shouldn't move them up the standings in the NL East at all.  The NL East has two elite teams, two terrible teams, and the Marlins who are somewhere in the middle.  In the next couple seasons, they might be contenders but not quite yet.

Fearless Prediction

Giancarlo Stanton will play a full season and hit 55+ home runs.

Giancarlo Stanton is a freak.  His only problem so far has been injuries, many of them freak injuries.  He hasn't played a full season since 2011.  Last season, he hit 27 home runs in 74 games.  That is just insane!  He is due to catch some breaks in terms of the injury bug so he can truly show what kind of production he can have.  He was halfway to 55 home runs in less than half the season in 2015.  A full season in 2016 should bring ridiculous production.

2015 Pre-Season Profile: Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles worked through injuries and disappointing seasons in 2014 to top one of the most competitive and discussed divisions in baseball.  Do they have the talent to repeat in 2015?

Last Season

96-66, 1st in AL East, lost to Royals in ALCS

The 2014 season for the Baltimore Orioles had to be considered an incredible achievement.  They finished the season with the second best record in the American League, swept their way through one of the best pitching staffs in baseball by beating the Tigers in the ALDS, and if it weren't for the buzz saw that was the 2014 Kansas City Royals, they win the pennant and maybe the whole thing.  It's pretty impressive on its own, but even more when you consider what the O's had to endure.  First, All Star catcher Matt Wieters missed most of the season with an injury.  The same could be said for third base phenom Manny Machado, who at least played half the season.  The breakout star of 2013, first baseman Chris Davis, showed his performance that year may have been a fluke as he finished with a batting average under .200 and a home run total that was cut in half.  On the pitching side, Ubaldo Jimenez, the only starter with any history of success, struggled again, and closer Tommy Hunter needed to be replaced mid-season due to lack of production.  When a list like this can be made for everything that went wrong, it's amazing they didn't finish in the cellar.  However, thanks to the emergence of guys like Nelson Cruz, Steve Pearce, Chris Tillman, and new closer Zach Britton, the Orioles dominated.

2015 Additions / Subtractions

After such a strong 2014 season, many people said the Orioles were only a few pieces away from being the World Series favorites heading into 2015.  However, instead of making those few moves, the O's were disturbingly quiet.  They let Nelson Cruz, their most productive hitter in 2014, sign with the Mariners in free agency.  Team leader, Nick Markakis, left to sign with the Braves, and they let one of the best setup men in baseball, Andrew Miller, sign with the division rival Yankees.  As far as additions to replace the lost offense or help sure up an inconsistent rotation, they signed Travis Snider to play rightfield.  So ... they basically did nothing.

Most Important Hitter

Manny Machado

One of the reasons (I'm assuming) the Orioles didn't feel a need to fill what appeared to be big voids in their lineup left by Cruz and Markakis is they are expecting to have healthy, productive seasons out of some of their stars that underwhelmed last year.  The brightest of those stars that need to step up is Manny Machado.  Heading into this season healthy, the O's are expecting him to be back at the level that made him an All Star and Gold Glove winner while leading the league in doubles at the age of 20 in 2013.  He needs to show that he is back to that level of play, if not better, while also showing he is future leader and face of the franchise.  That is quite the load for a young 22 year old.

Most Important Pitcher

Zach Britton

Last year, when Tommy Hunter started the year struggling, Zach Britton came out of nowhere to finally show some of the promise everyone was expecting to see out of him from the beginning as a highly-touted starting prospect.  2014 saw him earn his first save (ended up with 37 of them) and have his first ERA that didn't hover around 5.00 (1.65 ERA in 2014).  The question going into 2015 is did this highly-talented kid finally figure it out and put it all together, or, like his burly teammate Chris Davis, did he just catch lightning in a bottle for one great year and will go back to being mediocre.  The Orioles are counting on the former being the case.

Player to Watch

Dylan Bundy

It feel like the Orioles have been waiting for the arrival of Dylan Bundy forever.  As the 4th overall pick in 2011, Bundy made his big league debut in 2012 at the age of 19.  After missing a year with Tommy John, he was working his way back to top form in 2014.  Now, it looks like the O's top prospect is on the verge of being the star they have always hoped he would be.  Look for him to pop up sometime around mid-season in their rotation.  A guy with the talent of Dylan Bundy could explain why the Orioles didn't feel the need to go spend on a big time free agent for their rotation.

Prediction

3rd in AL East

When it is all said and done, the Orioles just don't have the firepower to be competitive, let alone dominant, in 2015.  With the loss of Cruz, Markakis, and Miller, too many things have to go right.  Matt Wieters has to be the guy that looks like the best catcher in baseball right away.  Chris Davis has to go back to being his 2013 self.  Steve Pearce has to continue to play above his talent level.  Zach Britton has to follow up his career year with another one.  Guys like Chris Tillman and Wei-Yin Chen have to continue to lead the pitching staff and not have a down year.  Lastly, Manny Machado needs to be an MVP candidate.  The O's had the talent to lose players of that caliber, but now their margin of error is so much smaller.  Everything needs to go right for them to be great, and in a 162 game grind, that rarely happens.  Look for the Orioles to take a couple steps back this year, and then maybe they will try something (anything!) next offseason to actually improve their team.