The Miami Marlins, who have the worst record in the National League, are looking for keepers.
Miami will open a three-game series on Friday night against the visiting Chicago Cubs. The Marlins were idle Thursday, while the Cubs defeated the visiting Detroit Tigers 10-2.
There are perhaps some gems who have emerged for the Marlins in the second half of this season, such as shortstop Xavier Edwards, first baseman Jonah Bride and outfielder David Hensley. All three have played fewer than 140 career MLB games.
However, since the All-Star break, Edwards is hitting .342 with 18 steals, four doubles, two triples, one home run and 14 RBIs in 31 games. He has 12 multi-hit games in that span.
Bride has reached base in 19 of his past 21 games. He has a .798 OPS in 36 games for the Marlins this season.
Hensley, who went 3-for-5 on Wednesday in a 10-8 loss to Arizona, has drawn praise from Marlins manager Skip Schumaker.
“He hasn’t had a ton of playing time,” Schumaker said. “If he wants to stick in the big leagues, he’ll have to be a good platoon option and play all over the diamond.”
Miami on Friday is scheduled to start right-hander Max Meyer (3-3, 5.58 ERA).
Meyer, 25, has yet to live up to his status as the third overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft.
He has never faced the Cubs, who enter this weekend with just a 2.9 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to FanGraphs.
Chicago’s future could be bright as the Cubs have six top-100 prospects at Triple-A. But at the major league level, the Cubs are below .500 at 63-65.
Defense is among the Cubs’ strengths this year. They enter the weekend tied for seventh in the majors with a .986 fielding percentage. Three starters are former Gold Glove Award winners — second baseman Nico Hoerner, shortstop Dansby Swanson and left fielder Ian Happ.
The Cubs also rank fifth in the majors in ERA (3.71) and eighth in steals (109).
So, what’s gone wrong? The Cubs fall in the bottom third of the majors in several key offensive stats, including homers, batting average and OPS.
The Cubs on Friday will start right-hander Kyle Hendricks (3-10, 6.35).
Perhaps the Marlins will bring out the best in Hendricks, who is 3-2 with a 1.86 ERA in eight career starts against Miami.
But the Cubs are just 6-16 this year when Hendricks pitches.
Another issue for the Cubs is their bullpen after 35-year-old closer Hector Neris, who had a 3.89 ERA and a team-high 17 saves, was let go on Tuesday.
Jack Neely, one of Chicago’s top 20 prospects, was called up and made his MLB debut on Wednesday, allowing four runs in one inning. But on Thursday, he pitched a scoreless inning, striking out two batters.
In 37 games this year between Double-A and Triple-A, Neely had a 2.42 ERA and nine saves, averaging an impressive 14.2 strikeouts per nine innings.
Neely, at 6-foot-8 and 245 pounds, throws his fastball at 96-97 mph, and he has an impressive slider.
“He struck out (nearly) half the batters he faced (in the minors),” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said of Neely, 24. “He earned a shot.”
