Junk Baller

 

It amazes me that the Marlins are in third. They, by all accounts, resemble a last place team, and would be a fourth place team in most other divisions, but thanks to A.) the Nationals being a complete dumpster fire and B.) the Braves somehow not having a competitive team this year, here they are in third. They're being led by a genuine star-making performance from Kyle Stowers, some very strong starting seasons from Edward Cabrera and Eury Perez, and the comeback of the century from a guy everybody wrote off.

The name 'Janson Junk' is not one you soon forget. When he came up with the Angels in late 2021, I heard the name and assumed he was a craftsman. The thing with Junk in the majors is that, the few chances he got, he wasn't really able to make much of an impression. A mix of injuries and hierarchy issues caused him to get lost in the shuffle in LA, and he was mostly a mop-up starter in other markets. The Marlins gave him a shot after some great starts in Jacksonville, and for the big league club, Junk has been a surprise hit. Yes, he got lit up last start, but he's got a 3.09 ERA and 39 Ks in 11 appearances. Junk worked in long relief, he's worked in the rotation, he's got 4 wins, and he's been more consistent than Sandy Alcantara. 

That's the wild part. The narrative going into this season was 'Sandy's back, everybody watch out'. Sandy is...not good this year. And for a while it looked like it would ruin this team's chances. This was before they brought up Agustin Ramirez and activated Eury Perez. Somehow the meek-looking youth movement has been lifting this team. Ramirez is a production machine, with 14 homers and 44 RBIs. Otto Lopez has 52 RBIs and is statistically the team's best player. Nick Fortes, Jesus Sanchez and Dane Myers are playing strong roles in this team. And look at Kyle Stowers go, hitting .295 with 22 homers and 61 RBIs. Stowers is mashing in a way he simply couldn't in Baltimore, and I'm glad it's finally happening.

Now, considering that the Marlins are still under .500, and have to play in a division with the Phillies and Mets and have like 5 other wild card opponents with better cases, I'm not certain anything's going to truly happen with this team. They had a streak, some big July wins, some offensive dominance. They still need 2 or 3 more great starters, a few more lineup pieces far above replacement level, and one more sure star. I think if Griffin Conine hadn't gotten hurt I'd be a bit more confident. I'm cool with them being a spoiler but unless something really erupts I'm not sure if they'll be much more than that.

Coming Tomorrow- The Mets traded for him then gave up on him. And then the White Sox gave him a go.