MLB NEWS

Season preview: Marlins primed for postseason run

The Sports Xchange

March 31, 2015 at 8:39 pm.

 

Martin Prado is a veteran player who should make the Marlins better. (Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports)

It’s been a while since the Miami Marlins opened this season with this much optimism.

Owner Jeffrey Loria’s surprising spending spree this past offseason changed perceptions about the club.

But now the players have to back it up, and they can do that by making the playoffs.

Last season, the Marlins won 77 games, a 15-game improvement from 2013. The early-season injury to ace right-hander Jose Fernandez kept the Marlins from achieving more as Miami went through a franchise-record 13 different starting pitchers.

Things should go much smoother this year for a deep pitching staff — both in the rotation and in the bullpen. The ace of the staff at the moment is right-hander Henderson Alvarez, who is primed for a big year.

“His approach this spring was better than last year,” Marlins pitching coach Chuck Hernandez said of Alvarez, who was stellar in 2014 with a 12-7 record and a 2.65 ERA. “He took care of himself better in the offseason, conditioning-wise.”

Behind Alvarez and the rest of the rotation — Mat Latos, Dan Haren, Jarred Cosart and Tom Koehler — are two long relievers who can also start, right-hander David Phelps and lefty Brad Hand.

Then, in June, the Marlins are due to get Fernandez back from the disabled list. Currently, he is throwing bullpen sessions, but he could be ready for a rehab stint in the minors by May 1.

Fernandez’s talent — along with his swagger and charisma — should provide a huge boost for Miami’s playoff prospects.

The bullpen, led by closer Steve Cishek and backed by capable set-up men Mike Dunn, A.J. Ramos, Bryan Morris and Aaron Crow, is stacked.

Right fielder Giancarlo Stanton, fresh off an MVP-caliber season of 37 homers and 105 RBIs in just 539 at-bats, fuels a dangerous lineup that has speed at the top, with Dee Gordon and Christian Yelich, and production throughout.

The bench is full of veterans who know how to play the game, most notably future Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki, who has to make the adjustment to part-time work.

In short, this is a team built to make a postseason run, and the only things that can derail the Marlins are injuries, suspensions and chemistry issues.

Those things are impossible to predict, but we saw what it could look like last week when Major League Baseball said it was investigating gambling allegations against Jarred Cosart.

If those allegations are false, Cosart — a 13-game winner last season who has struggled this spring with an 8.49 ERA — should be fine.

But if those allegations are true, that’s a serious problem, and Marlins fans who expect the worst would have a right to be concerned about a season that as of now has tons of potential.

ROSTER REPORT

ROTATION

RHP Henderson Alvarez

RHP Mat Latos

RHP Dan Haren

RHP Jarred Cosart

RHP Tom Koehler

This has the makings of an excellent rotation. Alvarez was second in the NL last season in groundballs-to-fly ball ration, and he tied for the league lead with 24 double plays induced.

Latos and Haren are new to the team, but they are proven major league starters. Koehler is coming off his breakthrough season at 10-10 with a 3.81 ERA, making him a solid place-holder at No. 5 until ace Jose Fernandez returns to the top of the rotation, likely in June.

The concern — all of a sudden — is Cosart, who also had a breakthrough last season, going 13-11 with a 3.69 ERA at age 24. But gambling allegations have rocked Cosart, who took down his Twitter page and was scratched from his scheduled start Friday. MLB is investigating.

BULLPEN

RHP Steve Cishek

LHP Mike Dunn

RHP A.J. Ramos

RHP Bryan Morris

RHP Aaron Crow

RHP David Phelps

LHP Brad Hand

RHP Sam Dyson

This is a deep and talented bullpen.

Cishek, Miami’s closer, can bring his fastball at speeds up to 94 mph, but he generally works in the 90-92 range with a hard sinker that was good enough last season to help him post 39 saves and a 3.17 ERA. Plus, he is only 28.

The rest of the bullpen is young also — nobody 30 or older. Dunn (10-6, 3.16 ERA) is the lefty set-up man. The Marlins have three options for set-up men from the right side, Ramos (7-0, 2.11 ERA), Morris (8-1, 1.82 ERA) or Crow (6-1, 4.12 ERA with the Royals).

Hand and Phelps are valuable as spot starters and long relievers. Dyson (3-1, 2.14 ERA) may be the 25th man on the roster, but he was effective in limited exposure (42 innings) last season.

Once Fernandez returns from the injured list, Dyson could return to the minors. In that scenario, Koehler would be bumped from the rotation and join the relief ranks. But that is assuming no other injuries or suspensions happen.

LINEUP

1. 2B Dee Gordon

2. LF Christian Yelich

3. RF Giancarlo Stanton

4. 1B Michael Morse

5. 3B Martin Prado

6. CF Marcell Ozuna

7. C Jarrod Saltalamacchia

8. SS Adeiny Hechavarria

There are concerns with Gordon’s low on-base average, but he can certainly hit, and he can run. If he does enough of both and plays good defense, the Marlins will look past his lack of walks.

Another possible concern revolves around how Stanton reacts to regular-season pitching after getting hit in the face late last year. But all indications so far are that he will be fine.

Saltalamacchia is coming off a poor season, and Morse as the clean-up guy could be an issue due to his injury history and a general lack of consistency.

But … if everything is clicking, this could be a dynamic lineup. Gordon has electric speed, Yelich can do a little bit of everything, Stanton has more power than virtually anyone in baseball, and Morse can also crush mistakes.

Put it this way, when the second half of your lineup includes a professional hitter such as Prado; a young slugger (Ozuna) who hit 23 homers and drove in 85 runs last year at 23; a switch-hitting catcher (Salty) who hit 25 homers as recently as 2012; and a shortstop (Hechavarria) who produced 31 extra-base hits from the eight hole last year … that’s pretty good.

RESERVES

C Jeff Mathis

INF Jeff Baker

INF Donovan Solano

OF Ichiro Suzuki

The bench is nothing special, but gritty guys like Baker, Solano and Mathis won games for the Marlins last year.

Mathis doesn’t provide much offense — he is a career .196 hitter — but he plays good defense and tends to get timely knocks. Baker has made himself into a good pinch-hitter, and Solano played well last year when given a chance.

The newcomer to the bench is 41-year-old future Hall of Famer Suzuki, but it remains to be seen how he fits and how much he has left. Suzuki once had 10 consecutive 200-hit seasons — an MLB record — but, at this point, barring injury, he doesn’t figure to get too many starts behind the Marlins’ talented outfield.

MEDICAL WATCH

–RHP Jose Fernandez (Tommy John surgery) is expected to return in June.