Miami Marlins finding new success with old school approach

This 2022 Miami Marlins team might not win a World Series…but they are starting to look an awful lot like those early 2000s Fish.

It took a month, but the Miami Marlins have finally found their way back to a winning formula.

Some of this is due to nothing more than a touch of positive regression. After a brutal start to one-run contests to open up the season, the Marlins have gone 4-3 in those games this month. June has also been the best showing so far from Avisail Garcia, Miami’s highly priced but supremely disappointing offseason pickup. Throw in the emergence of Tanner Scott as a reasonably competent closer, and it’s easy to see why the Marlins have enjoyed more success.

However, two factors stand out above the rest as things Miami has leaned on this month: stolen bases and high inning/pitch counts from the club’s top pitchers. So much so that it’s making it hard to remember that it’s 2022, and not 2003.

In terms of the steals, Miami has simply been flying around the bases of late. The team leads the NL in steals with 56, a four steal lead over second place St. Louis. When you go by June numbers alone though, the disparity just gets ridiculous. The Marlins woke up Friday with 34 steals in June, thirteen more than the next closest team. Much of that comes from Jon Berti’s franchise record breaking pace, and the seventeen steals he’s racked up himself in June alone. Just to put that into even more perspective, only four teams in MLB have more steals this month than Berti himself.

As for racking up the innings and the pitch counts, ace Sandy Alcantara has now gone at least 7.0 innings in eight consecutive starts. He leads baseball in games started and innings pitched, and the NL in ERA. This past Friday was the first time since May 11th that he didn’t throw over 100 pitches, and he just missed at 96. That’s just not something you really see any more. While Alcantara certainly stands apart, he’s not alone in being pushed to his limits. Pablo Lopez (2) and Daniel Castano (1) have three starts between them this month where they pitched into the 7th and threw 105 pitches or more.

It’s a strategy that at times seems brilliant, and at others just reeks of desperation. Miami really only has three relievers that have earned any kind of real trust, and the most trustworthy among them (Anthony Bass) has proven time and again that he’s incapable of making the mental adjustment to handle the 9th inning. When it comes to the steals, injuries have forced names like Willians Astudillo and Luke Williams to make regular starts for Miami for nearly a month. Throw in some pretty horrible situational hitting, and it’s no wonder Don Mattingly has his players in constant motion on the base paths.

Time will tell if the Miami Marlins throwback approach comes back to bite them. If nothing else though, it sure has been a lot of fun to watch.