So. To give you an idea. Last week the story was the surprise blowup of the Washington Nationals, a full lineup effort based on outhitting you no matter who you are, and they were gaining serious traction in the NL East. Then the Phillies series happened. As good as that Nats team is, their bullpen could not withstand this Phils team, and they blew all three games in the ninth. Many times to Derek Hill. And so now...the Nats are in fourth.
...leaving the Marlins, ANOTHER surprise breakout NL East team, to take third. And...they might have something cooking here.
The Marlins are 16-5 in June, they have the best home record in baseball, and they have a lineup full of young fun contact hitters. Edwards and Lopez have ruled this season, along with Liam Hicks, but a lot of peskier seasons are coming out of the woodwork this month. Heriberto Hernandez is a simple contact bat with no real defensive help, but he's been really on target lately, hitting .274 this month with 6 homers and 11 RBIs. Joe Mack has emerged as a viable catching option in the wake of Hicks' injury and Agustin Ramirez's demotion, he's got a .723 OPS and 18 RBIs in 38 games. Unlike the last bevy of catching options in Miami, Mack looks like he could be a foundational catching piece in addition to a steady bat who can catch. After a few weak seasons in between, Esteury Ruiz has gone back into his old role with the A's, as a decent contact bat with tons of steals. He's got a .897 OPS in 74 at-bats, which I was not expecting.
The thing about this Marlins team is you'd expect cheesy power, and there is some of that...it's just not pretty. Kyle Stowers is not as good as he was last year, and he's only got 8 homers and 29 RBIs through 57 games. Owen Caissie has 9 homers and 43 RBIs, but it's not pretty, and he strikes out way too much for that low hit total. Marsee ain't doing much better. Connor Norby got sent down due to how cold he's been hitting, so now Kyle Stowers is picking up more at-bats at first, and that's...sort of working. Him and Sanoja I guess. This isn't really a home run team, which is wild considering what last year was foreshadowing, but the contact game is so good that it's keeping them in the race.
Also very happy with this bullpen. The Blue Jays like to throw around the 'team of uncommon men' thing but look at these weirdoes! Lake Bachar and his swamp aftertaste coming in and striking you out. John King having a bounce back season after flunking out of St. Louis last year. Michael Petersen, a 32-year-old up and comer from Essex with a 3.18 ERA. Anthony Bender is continuing his run as the Marlins' best relief asset this decade. Tyler Phillips is now opening games and it's still working out. Even Fairbanks is beginning to loosen up and actually nail saves. The rotation is imperfect but the bullpen is ensuring the team can win close games.
Does this Marlins team have legs? Maybe? Maybe they can spin this into a low-key playoff team. They're kinda close, and there's less general mess than usual. There's still a lot of competition in the NL Central, and they already have to contend with a strong Phils team. It can be done, but it's gonna take even more long-term work from these hitters, like Hernandez, having a great June.
Coming Tomorrow- He came up right when the team, which was a playoff competitor, was trending downward. Can he do anything to stop that??
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