The Marlins Have Improved...Slightly

The Miami Marlins...somehow don't have the worst record in the major leagues.

...I know, I was shocked too.

The Marlins have won [checks notes] SIX GAMES IN A ROW. They took three from the Mets, and they just took three from the Tigers. Not only have they swept a team, they've swept two consecutive...okay teams. Which is a big deal for a team that only has 1 player with over 1.0 WAR.

It's a hard team to talk about because there's such a...varied spread of abilities across this roster. For instance, you have three starting position players and one Martin Prado that are over 30. So clearly the team isn't confident in prospects and young players to start all of them yet. At the same time, the people who ARE being called up, like Austin Dean, aren't doing a hell of a lot. Occasionally you get a good rookie like Harold Ramirez, but is there room for him? Do the Marlins want to risk making room?

Most of the young players on this team have been in the league for a few years already, like Brian Anderson, Rosell Herrera and Jorge Alfaro. Unlike other failing teams like Cincinnati, Toronto and EVEN BALTIMORE, the Marlins aren't throwing many true rookies into the fold. Does this mean that there aren't many good prospects waiting to be called up? Does this mean that none of the prospects are ready? Or does this just mean that the good prospects that ARE ready, like Austin Dean, just haven't figured out how to succeed at the MLB level yet.

In fact, let's look at the New Orleans Baby Cakes, their AAA affiliate. They have SEVERAL players, like Yadiel Rivera, Peter O'Brien, Matt Snyder, Elieser Hernandez, Zac Gallen, Monte Harrison, HELL EVEN LEWIS BRINSON, who are doing a nice job in the minors, and could be promoted soon. But, as evidenced by Brinson's 2018 numbers, not all of them are guaranteed a smooth ride in the majors, and they may not work with the roster.

For now...I guess we'll just stick with guys like Neil Walker, Curtis Granderson and Martin Prado doing very, very okay things in starting jobs. But...how much longer can you wait on a youth movement that's kind of waiting on you?

Coming Tomorrow- What a weird team. From one dimension, they seem to have things figured out, but then you look at the pitching and you see the flaws. Here's a relatively decent starter, though.