In a year of unpredictable things, nothing may be more unpredictable than after six games; the Miami Marlins are 5-1 and leading the NL East. Even more surprising, however, is the roster that the Marlins are doing it with. At the start of the season, it was already tough for the casual fan to name three players in Miami’s lineup, but after the team was hit harder by Covid-19 than any other organization. Causing the Marlins to have to scramble a bit, and one of the additions was former Olympic medalist Eddy Alvarez on the US Speed Skating Team. That’s right… the Miami Marlins are winning games playing second base and shortstop.
In a shortened MLB season, every team has an opportunity to shock us. With just 60 games scheduled, the Marlins season got even shorter than the rest of their division, and with the standings being decided by win percentage, fewer games could mean the Marlins have a chance to come out of their division and make the playoffs. It feels weird even writing that. It is definitely way too early to get ahead and predict that, but that comes from genuine surprise.
Miami Marlins
The Marlins have acquired some good young talent that hopes to benefit from the strange 2020 season. Their ace Sandy Alcantara came on at the end of last year and hopes to continue to establish himself as one of the best right-handers in the NL East. Coupled with Alcantara is Caleb Smith, who also showed flashes last year for the Marlins, and they highlight the starting staff complete with Jose Urena and Pablo Lopez.
Despite the strong start, the main question remains who will the Marlins be the rest of the season. As a team, the Marlins are averaging .246 percent, which is the ninth-best in the MLB. Brian Anderson is the team leader in batting average with .263, which could be better from a team leader. Their lineup has benefited from their return to play from the bat of Miguel Rojas, who is batting .750 over the last seven days with five runs batted in.
Their offense is currently sitting in 28th place in the MLB for total runs scored. Looking closely at their schedule, three of their wins came from playing the lowly Baltimore Orioles, but they also have two impressive wins against division rival Philadelphia Phillies. Maybe we are overreacting, but perhaps they are the surprising real deal of the 2020 season. Either way, it will be exciting to find out what the young Marlins can be.
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