The Miami Marlins have been investing the past several seasons.
First comes the $650M+ brand-spanking-new stadium near downtown Miami.
Next comes the new wave of superstars led by Jose Fernandez, Christian Yelich, and the already established Giancarlo Stanton.
Yet they finished 62-100 and 34 games back of the division winner Atlanta Braves by the end of 2013.
In 2014, however, they did show hints of what they could be, as they were among the top three in the NL East until just about the All-Star Break.
With Stanton inking the biggest deal in baseball history, Fernandez coming back from Tommy John surgery, and Yelich gaining experience, the Marlins had the tools to build and compete.
But hold the phones – there was more to follow. Next came Dee Gordon and Dan Haren from LA.
Then Mat Latos from Cincinnati.
Michael Morse followed on a two-year deal six days later.
Then Ichiro rolls into South Beach January 27th, with Martin Prado soon to follow.
Needless to say, the Marlins made a splash this offseason.
The baseball world has been widely introduced to Stanton already,
but going into Spring Training, here is what you need to know about some of the young guns and the newcomers.
Jose Fernandez
The man is good. Very good.
He’s got velocity that people dream of obtaining, pinpoint accuracy, command of all of his pitches, and the emotion needed to win.
The best part about him? He’s only 22 years old.
His fastball and curveball release points, as shown above, were almost identical in his 2013 campaign, with his changeup at a slightly lower angle (but not low enough for hitters to pick it up immediately).
He stayed rather consistent with his fastball and curveball release points, only playing a touch-and-feel game with the changeup.
All of his pitches pound the glove at high velocity, with his fastball sitting 93-97, changeup 83-87, and curveball at 80-82.
He likely won’t be back in the starting rotation until mid-June to early-July,
but he’s already put himself in the Kershaw-Scherzer-Sale debate with only 36 career starts,
posting a 2.25 ERA with a 10.3 K/9 ratio and a 5.9 H/9.
Christian Yelich
An athletic guy that moved quickly through the farm system, playing half of the 2013 season (at 21 years of age) with the Marlins and all of last year in Miami.
He’s built to run at 6’4” 195 lbs, and hasn’t showed any real issue with durability yet.
Yelich racked up 165 hits in 144 games in 2014, but struck out way too much, K’ing up 137 times compared to his 70 walks.
His kryptonite has been the corners and below the strike zone, just like the majority of hitters.
It’s a matter of building an eye to lay off those low pitches, but if he wants to cut down the strikeouts and reach the high ceiling that has been set for him, one focus area in Spring Training would be working low and away pitches to left field, as he sees that pitch 10% of the time.
If he can start hitting that pitch and continue to rip balls thrown belt-high, he has a chance to turn his every-day abilities into that of All-Star potential.
Dee Gordon
Speedy Dee Gordon took Major League Baseball by storm in 2014, making his first All-Star team and being a large factor in the regular season success of the Dodgers.
After leading baseball in stolen bases (64) and triples (12) this past season, Gordon was traded to Miami with Dan Haren for top prospect Andrew Heaney and prospects.
Gordon was a hitting machine in 2014, and he made improvements from 2013.
As seen by the above spraychart, he had a tremendous ability to hit the ball to every field with a threat to reach base.
According to FanGraphs, Gordon’s ground ball/fly ball ratio catapulted to a 3.13 in 2014, compared to 1.63 the year prior.
His infield hit percentage also climbed 1.6% between years, and his bunt for hit percentage saw an astonishing 15.3% increase as well.
With all those numbers on an upward trend, and with speed like Gordon’s, he can challenge opposing defense, whether it be on the base paths or coming out of the batters’ box.
Dan Haren
Haren, the other piece of the Gordon swap, was a quiet yet stellar part of their offseason.
Haren brings veteran leadership to a relatively inexperienced rotation and roster as a whole, being 34 compared to a roster with the average 27 years of age.
He is a three-time All-Star who knows what it takes to be one of the best in the game, which will help the likes of Fernandez, Alvarez, Nicolino, and others.
He was a good pickup for the Marlins, and will be contributing in the back end of the rotation when healthy.
Mat Latos
The 27 year old has been solid his six years in the league, with a 3.34 ERA.
He stepped up his game in 2012 and 2013 with Cincinnati, starting over 30 games in both years.
He was hurt for the majority of last year, however, so it will be intriguing to see how he does in his first full year back.
He throws at slightly above average velocity for all five of his pitches, but the thing that separates him from most pitchers is that he throws five pitch types.
His fastball and cutter complement each other nicely, and his slider and power-esque curve work well together as well.
He has respectable command of all five, so he really just needs to take care of his body and he can be a number two or three starter for the Marlins this year.
Michael Morse
Aside from the fact that he is unbelievably strong, he can also maneuver both the outfield and first base very well.
His home run numbers are solid, his average is respectable, and he has substantial gap power as shown in his spray chart below.
Morse puts most of his ground balls on his pull side, but most of his balls to the outfield are opposite field or to center.
He’s probably rolling over a little too much, so if he can elevate some of those inside pitches and take them to left as liners, he can excel even more.
He’s got great power to the center third, as he loves left-center field when going deep and right-center for doubles.
He’s got the strength, so if he can fine-tune his ability to take pitches where they’re thrown, he can be a solid starting first baseman with championship experience for this young Marlins team.
Ichiro Suzuki
Yes, he’s 41 years old. Yes, he won’t start on a consistent basis.
But, he will give this team everything he has to offer.
His career is without a doubt coming to an end, and as saddening is it is to me personally (he has been one of my favorites to watch), this Marlins jersey could be the last uniform the potential future Hall of Famer ever puts on.
Loria understands that. He’ll back up the likes of Yelich, Ozuna, and Stanton, but he will get some chances to show us that he still is the same Ichiro that the world fell in love with in 2001.
He still had the durability to play 143 games in 2014, so don’t be surprised to see him out there more often than expected.
Martin Prado
Mr. Utility strikes again.
He will serve any position needed, because he can (and he doesn’t have too shabby of a bat either).
The 31 year old posted a .321 OBP last year with 12 HR’s between Arizona and New York.
The image above is from the pitchers view.
Prado struggles inside more than anything, so he should probably bring a couple more bats than usual and spend this Spring Training practicing driving those inside pitches down the left field line.
Other than that, he seems like a solid acquisition for Miami. Expect him to start at third to start the year and fill the gaps when needed.
The Other Young Guy: Justin Nicolino
Nicolino isn’t a household name quite yet, but he will be a solid contributor in Miami for a while.
The 23 year old has already spent four years in Toronto and Miami’s farm systems, appearing in ninety-eight career games and posting a 2.64 ERA with a 1.103 WHIP and 4.38 K/BB ratio.
Standing at 6’3” and with a lean build, he has the ability to throw a tailing fastball in the low 90s with above average command.
MLB.com praises him for his “intelligence and poise on the mound.”
Considering baseball largely mental, he already has a step up.
He is likely to be in the bigs by the middle-end of this year, and he will be a steady asset for the Marlins.
The Even Younger Guy: Tyler Kolek
He’s electric – throwing 103 mph at only 19 years old.
At 6’5”, 260lbs, Kolek epitomizes that notion of “grow them big in Texas”.
He throws a slightly below average curveball, a slightly above average slider, and no changeup, considering you don’t need to be finessing hitters when you’re throwing 103 in high school.
He struggled in the Gulf League at the onset, going 0-3 with a 1.59 WHIP, but just remember, he’s still a 19- year old kid.
If he wants to be successful at the Big League level, he will need to perfect that slider and get a changeup into the mix, or maybe add another fastball to the repertoire, along with bettering his command on every pitch.
He’s probably too durable to be a closer, so with a couple years in the minors under his belt, expect him to hop into the starting rotation with a handful of other top prospects and emerging stars.
MLB.com has his ETA being in 2018, so don’t get TOO excited just yet.
Conclusion
Overall, the Miami Marlins have added and retained exciting players – a blend of youth, experience, and impact.
They are poised to turn around, and we will see soon if they will realize their dream in 2015.
NOTE: All statistics accurate as of 2/29/15
By Jack McMullen
AriBall.com
