Miami Marlins Fans Love Them Some Smooth Jazz
…the Miami Marlins have finally landed on their next true face of the franchise in Jazz Chisholm.
Not a lovable, lunch pail type player like team captain Miguel Rojas. Not simply an obvious best hitter on the roster, like Starlin Castro or Starling Marte. But a truly marketable, dynamic and exciting player that fans will pay money to see just for the joy of watching him play.
That’s something they haven’t had since 2017. Chisholm has brought every bit of that energy back to Little Havana so far in 2021.
Obviously, when it comes to the box scores, he doesn’t have anywhere near the sample size yet to justify being compared to a Fernandez, Giancarlo Stanton, Hanley Ramirez, or Dontrelle Willis. But in some ways, that is besides the point. Because in terms of that infectious just happy to be there, for love of the game buoyancy, he does belong in the conversation. Tools wise, his game changing speed is the most marketable talent the Marlins have been able to display since Stanton’s MVP season.
The Marlins still need to develop at least one more hitter themselves to be have a real chance of contending. And that’s assuming they really have developed Chisholm, and the breakthrough isn’t just a hot streak. That 31% strikeout rate isn’t what you want, but his .397 wOBA means that even if regression does come, he’s still going to get some NL Rookie of the Year votes by season’s end. If he can put together a 20/20 season, you probably have to go back to Preston Wilson for his closest Marlins comp when you factor in the entertainment value discussed above.
On the other hand, you can’t talk about the Miami Marlins offense this season without talking about…..