In mid-May now, the Marlins sit in the cellar of the NL East, a position they have occupied since Opening Day. At 11-31, the Marlins are tied for the worst record in baseball, which is sadly not all that surprising. Over the last month an half, the team has provided almost nothing even blog-worthy. However, a beacon of light, as small as it may be, is radiating from a few of the Marlins’ young stars, who look to be the future of this club.
When Giancarlo Stanton was sidelined by a hamstring injury at the end of April, Miami called up outfielder Marcell Ozuna to take his roster spot. In 16 games thus far, Ozuna is hitting .295 and has shown incredible pop in his bat, although he has only hit one homer. Earlier this week, Ozuna nearly launched a walk-off bomb against Aroldis Chapman, but the drive landed on the warning track, foiled by Marlins Park’s dimensions. Ozuna slid into third with a clutch, game-tying triple. The 22-year-old outfielder has also brandished his gun of an arm in right field:
At second base, Derek Dietrich, a 23-year-old out of Georgia Tech, has exceeded expectations after his May 8th debut. He is hitting .320 with 1 home run and 4 RBI in 7 games. Dietrich is also flashing the leather in the field, and has committed no errors thus far in his major league tenure.
Pitcher Jose Fernandez, the Marlins top prospect at the beginning of 2013, was called up to make his major league debut on April 7th, and has gone 2-2 with a 3.48 ERA since then. On May 4th, Fernandez pitched seven one-hit, shutout innings in Philadelphia en route to his first major league win. He struck out nine in the game, and has totaled 44 K’s on the season.
With injuries to Giancarlo Stanton and Logan Morrison plaguing the Marlins’ roster, these young studs will need to keep producing if the Fish want to even keep their heads above water this season. But on the bright side, at least they’re not the Astros:
The Top Step 