Last year’s Achille’s heel was both the defensive side of the ball and the bullpen. The Marlins ranked dead last in fielding percentage last season and committed the fifth most errors in baseball with 123. The bullpen blew a whopping 25 saves last season and combined to post and ERA of 4.37. So, the front office’s priority this past offseason was to address both the defense and the bullpen. The team parted ways with fan favorite second baseman Dan Uggla, outfielder Cameron Maybin and pitcher Andrew Miller, but received a lot more in return. The club acquired second baseman Omar Infante, catcher John Buck, starting pitcher Javier Vazquez and a plethora of relievers. The relievers include left-handers Mike Dunn and Randy Choate, Ryan Webb, and Edward Mujica. As a result of these offseason moves, the Fish are in the middle of the pack in the league with 10 errors and have posted a league-leading bullpen ERA of 1.63 in their first 17 games so far.
Even though the Marlins have gotten off to such a great start, I still don’t think this team has reached its full potential. The team is still missing production from their star shortstop Hanley Ramirez. In the 17 games this season, Hanley his hitting just .222 and has not homered in 54 at-bats. The other star player who is struggling out of the gate is outfielder Mike Stanton. Stanton missed most of spring training with a strained right quad and sat out for about the first week of the regular season with a tight left hamstring. These injuries certainly have something to do with his slow start and we can expect his bat to eventually make an impact in the lineup. Stanton homered for the first time this season last night against the Pirates. The sky is the limit once Hanley and Stanton get on a roll.
The only reason the Marlins have been scoring runs is because of the production from Gaby Sanchez, Logan Morrison and John Buck. All three of these hitters have combined to hit .300(54/180) with 6 home runs and 27 RBI. Unfortunately for the Marlins, Logan Morrison was just placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left foot injury. This is a huge blow for the club but the Marlins do have an outfielder by the name of Scott Cousins who is more than capable of taking over the everyday duties in left field. In his first start for Morrison last night, Cousins hit a grand slam for his first career home run. The new and improved Emilio Bonifacio has paid dividends for this team early on. Going into tonight’s contest against the Rockies, Bonifacio was hitting .324 in 37 at-bats. Bonifacio has played all three outfield positions as well as some third base early on this season. Bonifacio already has three outfield assists and has committed just one error.
Going into the season, the Marlins were counting on their starting rotation to make huge contributions this season. Well, the rotation has not disappointed after the team’s first 17 games. Josh Johnson has picked up where he left off last season. The 2010 National League ERA leader has dominated early on this season going 3-0 with an league-leading ERA of 1.00 in 27 innings. Johnson’s early success has included taking a no-hitter into the seventh innings against the Mets on opening night and taking another no-hitter into the eighth inning in Atlanta a couple of starts ago. Ricky Nolasco has had success this season going 2-0 with an ERA of 3.00, has walked only two batters and 18 strikeouts in 27 innings. This dynamic one-two punch in the rotation is becoming one of the best in the business. The remainder of the rotation is solid and is capable of great things. Anibal Sanchez has placed as a legitimate number three-type pitcher in the Marlins’ rotation. Veteran Javier Vazquez has gotten off to a slow start but his statistics as a National League pitcher indicate that his season will improve. The weakest link in the Marlins rotation is Chris Volstad. Volstad has shown flashes of excellence since his debut back in 2008 but most of time the right-hander can’t seem to put it together for two consecutive quality starts if his life depended on it. It’s unfortunate, but if it gets to the point where he can’t get the job done at all, then the club may look into calling up Elih Villanueva, Sean West, or Alex Sanabia to take his place in the rotation.
There is no doubt that the Marlins have gotten off one of the hottest starts in franchise history, but team has yet to click on all cylinders. When the Marlins finally get production from Hanley Ramirez and Mike Stanton and Chris Volstad, the team should be a force to be reckoned with for the entire season. Until then, we should enjoy the team’s success and not take it for granted.
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