Breaking down the Miami Marlins 2020 regular season

The Miami Marlins may be the biggest surprise of all the playoff teams. How did they get there?

Just when we thought 2020 may be out of surprises, the Miami Marlins have made their way back into the playoffs during the middle of a rebuild. Let us take a look at the driving factors that brought the Fish back into title contention well before most of us expected them to be.

Nothing to lose

When the shortened 2020 schedule was announced, news of an expanded playoff bracket followed soon after. For most teams, this added a great deal of pressure. Contenders who missed out on the more widespread postseason would face immense pressure to add pieces in the offseason.

However, the Miami Marlins were not seen as true contenders. If they were to miss the playoffs this year, nobody would be truly surprised. With little to no expectations and a rebuild still in progress, Marlins fans would likely have sighed in slight disappointment and dreamt of the brighter future that has been promised to them.

Instead, the Marlins played relaxed baseball this season, knowing that they were playing with house money. If their calm and easygoing demeanor can manage to stick, then that bright future may be here before we know it.

Hitting their stride

It is no secret that Derek Jeter was playing the long game upon his arrival as the (partial) owner of the Marlins after the 2017 season. He traded away future MVPs in Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich before swapping star catcher JT Realmuto for bonafide “Ace of Tomorrow” Sixto Sanchez.

At the time, Jeter’s moves were heavily scrutinized by fans who wanted to win now. Now, in 2020, when many of their NL East rivals have gaping holes in their farm systems, the Marlins seem built for a sustainable and prosperous future. In 2020, some of those stars of tomorrow are already starting to settle in at the highest level.

One of those stars is third baseman Brian Anderson, who has settled into his role nicely this season after his fantastic rookie campaign in 2018. The key stat to focus on is Anderson’s OPS, which rose incrementally in 2019 to .811 and stayed on par this season at .810. Anderson hit well in his first two seasons in the big leagues, but his OPS was well below its mark today. His versatility as a slugger who can get on base regularly makes him a prime leader for this young Marlins team.

On the mound, five out of the six listed starters for the Marlins have an ERA below 4.00 in 2020. While not all of their numbers are glamorous, the consistency is key here. Pablo López, Sandy Alcantara, Sixto Sanchez, and Daniel Castano, all 25-years-old or younger, highlight the Miami rotation of the future. Their efforts this season have shown what above average starters need to do to be successful: keep their team in the game and give them the chance to win.

Sharing the wealth

It may come as a surprise to hear that only one Marlin has managed to hit over .300 this year: 31-year-old shortstop Miguel Rojas. While rare for a playoff team, the Marlins lack of .300+ hitters this season points not to underachieving, but to a wealth of consistently solid hitters. The Marlins have proven this year that a team full of MVP candidates is not the only route to success. With the exception of catcher Jorge Alfaro, no regular Marlins starter is hitting below .245. None of their hitters have an OBP below .280.

If there was any doubt that nine players stepping up and doing their job could produce a postseason birth, the Marlins have put that doubt to rest this season.

With a young and exciting franchise that has yet to lose a playoff series, one thing is clear heading into this postseason: the Miami Marlins have already defied expectations simply by being there. If they continue to play with this sense of calmness, they may just continue their run deeper into the expanded postseason.