In the final week of the MLB season, it is fair to say no team has benefitted more from a shortened season than the Miami Marlins. The Marlins currently sit as the sixth seed in the NL’s expanded playoff race. With only three wins to clinch, Miami making the playoffs might be the MLB season’s biggest surprise.
How They Got Here
After back and forth negotiations between the MLB and MLBPA, both sides announced an agreement for a 2020 MLB season. The agreed plan included multiple parts. Some important parts of the plan included a revised regional schedule where every team would play 40 games against divisional foes (or 10 apiece) and 20 interleague games against the geographical equivalent. The 2020 season also includes a universal DH rule, an August trade deadline, and of course, the expanded 16 team playoff.
The COVID-19 Scare
While the Miami Marlins have exceeded all expectations, their season started just about as bad as it possibly could. The bad start wasn’t with their record, however. After three games, the Marlins’ biggest scare came when over twenty Marlins players tested positive for COVID-19. It felt like as soon as it began, the 2020 MLB season may be in jeopardy. But after eight postponed games, Miami came back and won 7 of the next ten games, becoming one of the hottest teams in baseball.
Most surprising from the Marlins hot start was the lineup they were doing it with. The Marlins active roster felt like a game of ‘Guess Who,’ and one of the characters was former Olympic medalist speed skater turned infielder Eddy Alvarez. The start carried this unlikely team to playoff contention in this sixty game season.
The 2020 Season
The Marlins have benefitted from an impressive starting pitching rotation in 2020. Pitchers Sixto Sanchez, Sandy Alcantara, and Pablo Lopez have had big wins in key starts. Their progression has Marlins fans hopeful for the team’s future, with the bonus of an unexpected playoff appearance.
Sixto Sanchez has emerged as the Marlins ace in the 2020 season. The young pitcher brings excitement to Miami’s rotation that has been missing since the tragic death of Jose Fernandez. The 22-year-old right-hander has a wide array of pitches, including his four-seam fastball, which averages 98.6 mph and has exceeded 100 mph 12 of the 105 times he has delivered the pitch — a tremendous 11.4 percent rate. Other pitches include his changeup that he complements with his sinker. Last but not least, Sixto has a slider that can reach 92 mph and a low-80s curveball he has been working on since the offseason.
Sanchez’s impressive stuff has caught the eye of his idol Pedro Martinez who said, “I’m watching Sixto pitch, and I’m watching mini me with probably a little better stuff, I think this kid is that special.”
The strong play headlines a Marlins rotation that ranks 6th in starting pitching win/loss percentage. Pitching has been one of the key factors in the Marlins playoff push, as they rank in the bottom half of total offense.
Trade Deadline Pick Up
While the Marlins offense has been underwhelming, the team made a move for Center Fielder Starling Marte. Marte has been one of the trade deadline wins in the 2020 season. Among Marlins hitters, Marte ranks fourth in runs batted in with runners in scoring position throughout September. These stats directly correlate with Marte’s Fangraph ranking of he sixth-best clutch hitter among all qualifiers in the Major Leagues since the trade.
Starling Marte has over 22 hits as a Marlin, and six of those have either tied or brought in the go-ahead runs for the fish. Marte’s clutch hitting has translated into three direct victories for the Marlins, and have been critical wins in their playoff run.
Final Week Push
Miami currently has four games remaining in the 2020 season. They have one more game in their series versus the Braves and finish out their season with a three-game series against the Yankees. While the NL Playoff scenarios are endless, the Marlins can clinch by winning three out of the final four games. If the season ended today, Miami would meet the Chicago Cubs in the first round of the MLB Playoffs, and with their strong rotation, the Marlins may be top of the list of the final playoff teams that you do not wish to face. In a shortened season that has been full of surprises only time will tell what the Miami Marlins may create.
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