While the Marlins have a talented outfield, and some good-if-not-great options up the middle, first base has been an issue all season long. They’ve gotten only 0.5 WAR from the position, something that will have to change if they’re to push for that wildcard spot.
Justin Bour performed admirably as a rookie last year, slashing .262/.321/.479 in his first full season and coming fifth in ROY voting. His 23 home runs and 117 wRC+ looked nice, except when combined with his close to league-worst baserunning and poor fielding. He ended up with just 0.3 fWAR despite the strong batting line, and is actually hitting worse this season.
His base running has improved from historically bad to just below average, and his fielding at first has improved some. This would be promising if he was still a prospect or young player, but as Bour gets closer to thirty (he turned 28 a few weeks ago) these areas are more likely to diminish even further.
Chris Johnson, the other Marlin to spend any significant time at first base this season, is the definition of a replacement player. While he provides excellent defense at first and at least has a bit of positional flexibility he hasn’t been able to hit since 2013 and really seems destined for a return to the minors.
The Marlins do have long-time minor leaguer Xavier Scruggs hitting well in AAA, but he hasn’t shown an ability to hit major league pitching in the short stints he’s seen in the big leagues. He probably wouldn’t be much of an improvement over Bour, if at all.
There is also top prospect Josh Naylor, picked 12th overall in 2015. He’s dominating A-ball, but isn’t expected at the MLB level until at least 2018. His presence would make the team pause slightly at bringing in a young player to fill the position, but there are a few options that are still very interesting for a team looking to make a splash this season.
Next: Options At First