Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
We’re continuing our NL East preview here at Metsmerized with the Miami Marlins, the 2021 last place team in the division.
Projected Starting Lineup (per Roster Resource)
- Jazz Chisholm Jr. – 2B
- Jorge Soler – LF
- Garrett Cooper – DH
- Avisail Garcia – RF
- Jesus Sanchez – CF
- Jesus Aguilar – 1B
- Brian Anderson – 3B
- Jacob Stallings – C
- Miguel Rojas – SS
Lineup Assessment
Well adding Garcia and Soler is a start to an offensive turnaround but the truth is Miami’s hitting development has severely trailed behind its pitching development.
Miami hopes Chisholm can take a step forward in his second year but Fangraphs projects him to hit .236/.300/.429. Fangraphs projections no full-time player to hit above .270 and none to have an on-base percentage over .345.
Brian Anderson is the only player in their starting lineup that was originally signed by Miami and their lack of youth is surprising considering the expected results for the Marlins this season with six of nine starters over 30 and two under 28.
Players Lost
Miami didn’t really lose anyone of significance from last year because they didn’t really have anyone of significance to lose. Jose Urena went to Detroit, and Ryne Stanek went to Houston. None of their free agents signed for more than one season and three of the five who signed deals were on minor league ones.
Pitching
Miami’s rotation is where this team will shine but there’s still a lot of question marks in their starting five.
- Sandy Alcantara – RHP
- Pablo Lopez – RHP
- Trevor Rogers – LHP
- Elieser Hernandez – RHP
- Jesus Luzardo – LHP
Alcantara is a bonafide stud and at only 26 could be the lockdown ace the Marlins need when they’re ready to compete. Lopez would be in the same category if not for an injury-plagued second half of 2021 that he still doesn’t appear fully recovered from.
Following them is Rogers who was a rookie of the year finalist and is projected for a 3.58 ERA this season in 146 innings. Hernandez is unproven and Luzardo is hoping to find his groove after being shipped from Oakland to Miami last season.
Top Prospects
Just like their major league team, their minor league system is heavy in pitching. Their top three prospects – Max Meyer, Sixto Sanchez, Edward Cabrera – are all pitchers. They all had 2021 ETAs. Expect Mayer or Cabrera to come up if someone goes down due to Sanchez still dealing with a shoulder injury dating back to last July.
