Its that time of the year. Miami Marlins Baseball rolls around and my mind starts to function and I begin to write again. From when pitchers and catchers report all the way till Dolphins season ends is when my stupid brain works, even then it barely does but that’s besides the point. I’m here to give you what you came for, the takes. Hot, cold, lukewarm, all of them. But before I do I have to make sure I support local content creators and journalists. Obviously I’m not the first to do a prediction blog and I wont be the last so make sure you read all the ones that will be pinned below. Shoutout my fellow Capital J “Journalists” out here trying to make it.
Fish Stripes has also been doing their season Preview for each Marlins player individually
Now that I’m done kissing ass we’ll get started with the one that matters. We’re gonna break this one down by predicting Marlins record by the trade deadline, record at end of season, whether the Marlins will be buyers or sellers or both and who will have the best and worst individual seasons, etc. If I’m right about any of these I need FULL CREDIT, THANK YOU. If wrong just ignore heh. We’re gonna start with the most enjoyable part of the team: The Starting Rotation
Starting Rotation
MVP: Sandy Alcantara
Last year Sandy let his nuts hang in Yankee Stadium when he helped lead the Marlins back to the playoffs. He’s a human embodiment of Heat Culture in the form of a flame throwing ace. He lives rent free in that crybaby bitch Ronald Acuña’s head. He also had two more great performances in the playoffs and has become a fan favorite and my personal favorite player on the Marlins. I believe that when Alcantara hits his stride he becomes one of the best pitchers in this entire division. I’m expecting a sub-3 ERA from Sandy and another All Star appearance (if there’s an All-star game.) Here’s a nice little 2020 highlight video or a try not to nut challenge, depends on how you see it I guess.
Temper Your Expectations: Sixto Sanchez
This one probably wont sit well with everyone but just take a deep breath and put some lo-fi study beats on while you read this to calm down. Sixto is gonna be an ace (or co-ace with Meyer) for a very long time. But I do expect him to struggle a bit this year. It’s normal and the only question for me is what kind of struggles will they’ll be. Sandy struggled a lot in the beginning of his career because he was afraid to attack the strike zone and trust his stuff to get guys out. Last year Sixto got racked in some games because he attacked the zone too much? A lot of this will depend on how he mixes those pitches which also means he’ll be affected by whos calling the game for him. Anyways don’t read too much into this because I’m not an expert and Fish Stripes is better at this than me. Here’s a highlight tape that’ll get your Sixto juices flowin’
Bullpen MVP: Dylan Floro
Mattingly hasn’t mentioned who will be the closer heading into the season although most including myself believe it will be Yimi Garcia to start the season. I love Yimi but I think he serves better as a setup man. I think Dylan Floro fits Mattingly’s mold of getting lots of groundball outs. This one is actually a tough prediction because guys like Anthony Bass and John Curtiss also could be late inning options. Overall I think the bullpen is much improved and the MVP will come down to Yimi and Floro.
HR Leader/Totals: Brian Anderson
- Brian Anderson: 28
- Adam Duvall: 24
- Garrett Cooper: 22
- Starling Marte: 20
- Jesus Aguilar: 19
- Corey Dickerson: 17
- Jorge Alfaro: 15
- Isan Diaz: 15
- Miguel Rojas: 9
Offensive MVP: Brian Anderson
This one could go either way between Anderson and Marte but I’m gonna give it to the Sex God Brian Anderson. I truly think this will be one of if not the best year of Andersons career. Anderson is in the same boat as Sandy Alcantara where when they hit their stride they’re among the top of their positions. All of you reading this also know that I am quite possibly the BIGGEST oppo Andy advocate in the world. This is the year where he will refine his approach and spray the ball all over the field. This will also means that he’s gonna get a fat fucking bag when it comes time for a contract extension. In this highlight tape the first 4 hits are all oppo and after that there’s like 3 the rest of the season.
Most Improved Player: Isan Diaz
Its time. I was Isan Diaz’s biggest Stan in the world. I made him the background on all my cool electronical devices. Which led me to believe that this cursed him. The only reason for me to believe that he will be the most improved player on this team is the fact that I deleted all those backgrounds. Mattingly once said that Isan had struggled at the beginning of every level in the Minors and I’m hoping the rough start he’s had in the Majors is no different. I’m gonna bank on big daddy Rowson working some of that “magic” that he used on Brinson last year being used on Isan this year. If you want me to be more specific give 15+ HR’s, slashing .243/.320/.378 I think this will be good enough to build upon for the future.
Trade Deadline Record: 49-56
This prediction means nothing so turn up your lo-fi and stop gripping your phone harder you weirdo. This is an extremely young pitching staff and so much of this teams success will rely on it and whether not they can stay healthy. This is just a shot in the dark because I do expect this team to compete. The Marlins also have a rough start to the season facing the Rays, Cardinals, Mets and Braves to start the season but I think that they have a much easier schedule in May and June.
Trade Deadline: Buyers/Sellers
Its difficult to predict this but I really think something similar to last years deadline is in order here. I do think that eventually Aguilar or Cooper will be dealt to make room for Lewin. I also think Elieser Hernandez (who I love) will be dealt to make room for one of the horse cocked studs the Marlins have waiting in AAA. Then there’s the dream scenario. Where Jeter goes out and gets his whale. The Cubs are gonna have to pay Bryant/Rizzo/Baez/ Contreras and all of us are hoping Contreras will be the odd man out. By the deadline the Cubs will probably be a shit show who will be teetering on a full blown rebuild of that pitching staff. Marlins should take advantage of their biggest organizational strength and get Contreras unless Alfaro turns into the stud we all want him to be.
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MiLB Player of the Year: Lewin Diaz
I cant give much of a breakdown on this other than what I saw from him in the Majors in 2020 which wasn’t much. He looked a lot more disciplined than the other guys who made debuts last year. Lewin Diaz had an elite K% in AA ball in 2019 and also launched 27 piss missiles. I think he’ll have a better year than Isan Diaz did in AAA in 2019 and we’ll be banging on the door in August/September. This will be Lewin making Cooper and Aguilar fight to stay with the team.
Final Record/Playoffs: 79-83/No
Overall I think its gonna be a really fun year and the Marlins are gonna set themselves up for huge offseason next year. After this year most questions about position holes should be answered and they’ll have to open up that wallet and sign a big name catcher and #PayBA and maybe even get started on an Alacantara and Rojas extension. I’m looking forward to all the banter and piss missile and victory recap tweets. Looking forward @f1rstplacefish and his outstanding videos after winning series. Trolling Phillies fans. Lets have a great season. Love you all.
