Miami Marlins: Giancarlo Stanton Ready for Big Second Half?
By Matt Weyrich
Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton crushed the competition en route to winning the first Home Run Derby of his career. What does Stanton have in store for the second half?
Giancarlo Stanton is a big man. In case you didn’t already know that, get this: the Miami Marlins right fielder smacked 61 home runs during the All-Star Home Run Derby Monday evening—the highest total ever recorded in the event. But wait, there’s more. 20 of the 21 longest homers of the night were courtesy of Stanton, including one shot estimated at a staggering 497 feet.
The 26-year old California native is no stranger to the long ball. Since hitting the big leagues in 2010, no one in the National League has as many long balls as Giancarlo (201). Quickly establishing himself as one of the premiere hitters in the game, he put together a near-MVP campaign in 2014, finishing second to Clayton Kershaw after his season was cut short by a fastball to the face in early September.
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Unfazed by the injury, the Marlins signed Stanton to a record 13-year, $325 million contract the following offseason. Since then, however, the young slugger has yet to regain his MVP-caliber form. Haunted by injuries in 2015, Stanton appeared in only 74 games before a broken hand ended his season early yet again. This year, Giancarlo has managed to stay on the field, but has struggled mightily at the plate.
Batting .233 with 107 strikeouts, Stanton has dipped well below his career averages. While his 20 home runs and 50 runs batted in are far from pedestrian, no one has ever doubted that the power is there. Stanton is enduring the biggest slump of his young career, but after easily handling some of the best power hitters in the game Monday night, could Stanton be poised for a big second half?
The Marlins, currently six games back of the Nationals in the NL East and tied with the Mets for the second Wild Card spot, could certainly use his help. The Fish’s offense ranks 22nd in all of baseball in runs scored, having hit only 77 long balls on the season (third fewest in MLB). If the team is going to want to hang around into October, they’re going to need a huge surge from the face of their franchise.
After hitting .193 through the first two and a half months of the season, Stanton has begun to find his stroke. The right fielder has raised his batting average 40 points since June 15, hitting .329 over that span. He tied a modern record by hitting a home run in four straight at-bats last week against the Mets. Don’t look now, but Stanton already has five home runs in July—more than he had the entire months of May or June.
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Stanton is easily one of the most feared hitters in the game, and despite not making the All-Star team for the first time since 2013, he found a way to make his presence known. Not many players in the league—if any—are capable of putting on a show like the one Giancarlo Stanton displayed at the Home Run Derby. Pitchers, good luck trying to keep this guy in the yard the rest of the season.