3 Things To Improve All 30 Teams — The Miami Marlins
Does anyone else miss the statue in center? No? Just me? Well, ok then. The 2021 Marlins finished the season with a record of 67–95, good enough for 4th in the NL East. After making the playoffs for the 3rd time in their franchise’s brief history in 2020, the Marlins thought they had turned a corner in their rebuild. In reality, they just got hot at the right time over a 60 game season when everyone outside of their organization understood that they could not be a contender over a regular 162 game season.
That’s not why we’re here today though. Today we take a look at the 2021 Marlins and see what we can do to improve their record in the 2022 season. Having added Jorge Soler in free agency is already an improvement, so everything we find today can be fixed in house. Starting with…
1. Keep Jesus Aguilar Healthy For 150+
Coming into his age 32 season, Jesus Aguilar holds a career line of .260/.334/.467 with an OPS+ of 111 over 2,036 plate appearances and 630 games. Debuting in 2014 for the Cleveland Guardians, he has been called up and sent down time and time again as well as moved from being a bench player to a starter and back again. If the 2022 Marlins want to improve upon their 2021 record, they need Jesus Aguilar to be a starter and to stay healthy for the whole season.
Having never played 150+ games in a season in his career, the closest Aguilar has come has been 149 games in his lone All Star campaign in 2018. A member of the Brewers at that time, he had a line of .274/.352/.539 with 35 homeruns and an OPS+ of 135 that year. No longer in his prime, 35 homeruns could be a long shot, especially in the pitcher’s park that is loanDepot Park, but you can still expect 25–30 homeruns as he hit 22 in just 131 games last season. Should he stay on the field for 150+, expect another 2 wins.
2. Keep Newly Signed RF Avisail Garcia On The Field For 150+
If you came here for talks about pitching, there won’t be any in this entry. The 2021 Marlins had a team ERA of 3.96. If they can keep that up, they’ll be doing pretty solid. It’s their offense that can use a lot of help. And one guy that they brought in off the free agent market looks to do just that.
Debuting on August 31, 2012 for the Detroit Tigers, journeyman Avisail Garcia holds a career line of .270/.325/.431 with 127 homeruns and a 105 OPS+ over 3,749 plate appearances. Coming off a year with the Brewers in which he hit .262/.330/.490 with 29 homeruns and a 117 OPS+, he looks to build off of that and have a stronger year with his new team in 2022.
Much like Aguilar, Garcia has also been up and down from the minor leagues to the Big Leagues and back again. Also not having a single season of 150+ games in his career, the closest being 148, the Marlins would be well suited to keep him healthy as he is another guy that can give them 25–30 homeruns should he play a full season. Should he play 150+ for the Marlins this year, expect another 3 wins.
3. Let Jazz Chisholm Be The Star Of The Show
Debuting on September 1, 2020, Jazz Chisholm hasn’t quite lived up to expectations. With a career line thus far of .238/.296/.413 with 20 homeruns and a 91 OPS+ over 569 plate appearances and 145 games, there is definitely more in the tank. Coming into his age 24 season, expect more of that to show up.
As baseball players, and all of us really, get older, they grow into their bodies more and get stronger. A baseball player’s prime years are generally between the ages of 26–30. Jazz Chisholm has yet to hit his prime yet. But, the closer he gets to his prime years, the more experience he has facing Major League pitching, and the better he will perform. This has been a theme in this entry, but if he can stay healthy, he is yet another guy the Marlins have that can put up 25–30 homeruns. Add Jorge Soler to that mix and they have 4 guys that can easily combine for 100+ homeruns regardless of the rest of the team’s output. Expect 2022 to be Jazz’s breakout year and for him to become the face of the franchise. A line of .270/.320./.460 with 27 homeruns, 30+ steals, and his first season with an above average OPS+ is incoming. Expect this breakout season of his to add 2 wins to the Marlins 2021 total.
A breakout season from Jazz Chisholm, and full healthy seasons from Avisail Garcia and Jesus Aguilar would add 7 wins to the Marlins 2021 record giving them a 2022 record of 74–88. Still not a contending record, but one step closer to the promised land.
This has been the 15th entry, halfway home, in our series where we take a look at all 30 teams individually and see what we can do to improve their record year over year from 2021 to 2022. Previous entries include the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Atlanta Braves, the Baltimore Orioles, the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago White Sox, the Chicago Cubs, the Cincinnati Reds, the Cleveland Guardians, the Colorado Rockies, the Detroit Tigers, the Houston Astros, the Kansas City Royals, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and the Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles. Follow me on Twitter @TroyBrock1993 for updates and other sports musings. Next up will be the Milwaukee Brewers!
