If it weren’t for the Phillies, this would not even be a conversation. However, due to the Phils’ ineptness (current winning streak aside), the topic can momentarily turn to the Miami Marlins and whether they have a late season push in them. Indeed, as it stands now, the Marlins are not lighting the world on fire (twelve games under .500), but there is one big reason why the mere thought of them making an October run isn’t completely laughable – Jose Fernandez.
It’s been over an entire calendar year since the 22-year old pitching phenom for the Marlins had Tommy John surgery. The latest news has Fernandez scheduled to make his season debut on July 2nd against the Giants. The Marlins, whose pitching has been middle of the road all year, could really use the boost that an arm like Fernandez’s could provide.
This month so far, the Marlins have stuck around enough in the standings to not completely lose touch with the top teams in the division. Even with an 8.5 game deficit in the standings, the Marlins are well within striking distance, especially within the weak competition in the National League East. So far in June, the Marlins are 10-11, with four of those wins coming against teams with a record above .500. Okay so June hasn’t been historically good, or even “good”; however considering the talent of the team (and there is some talent on this team) and with the addition of Fernandez for the second half of the season, there is reason to believe that the Marlins can at the very least make it interesting into September.
The offense is far from intimidating. Of course Giancarlo Stanton adds some fear to opposing pitching staffs, but as a whole, the Marlins lineup isn’t anything to write home about. Guys like Dee Gordon (who started red hot this season), J.T. Realmuto, and Justin Bour (filling in for the injured Mike Morse at first base) aren’t scary at all. Guys like Christian Yelich (fresh off signing a 7 year, $49.75 million extension) and Marcell Ozuna have performed under expectations. Ichiro provides experience, but he is a shell of his former self.
With all that being said, a guy like Stanton can practically carry his teams for a couple weeks if the need arises. The $325 Million Man is a freak of nature, but he is much more than just a circus act they throw out there everyday to amaze the masses with his mammoth moonshots. He already has 26 homers this season, which he didn’t reach until August 1st last season. He has knocked 66 runs and has a .947 OPS. His fielding has also been solid, checking in at above average in both DRS and UZR. Stanton is a one-man wrecking crew, ranking second in baseball with a .343 ISO. Now all he needs is some help.
Fernandez can at least boost the pitching staff which has been mediocre thus far in 2015. Dan Haren has been solid (3.19 ERA, 3.56 K:BB) and so has Tom Koehler (3.76 ERA). However, the team needs that ace to give them a solid 1-3 in the rotation and they just don’t have that with their current staff. Rookie lefty Justin Nicolino was impressive in his big-league debut on June 20th going seven innings and not allowing a run on 4 hits. Of course, that start came against the Reds and their middle of the road offense, but that’s the type of performance the Marlins require down the stretch from the back end of their rotation.
Fernandez is the linchpin to this whole idea though. In case you forgot, he is really good. In 36 career starts, he’s struck out 257, walked 71, and pitched to a 2.25 ERA over 224 1/3 innings of work…and he won’t turn 23 until the end of July. Granted, it may take a couple starts for Fernandez to get it all back, but rest assured that the Marlins wouldn’t throw their stud hurler out there if they weren’t positive he was ready.
Even with Fernandez at his best and Stanton doing what he does, the Marlins are still a long shot as they are currently put together to make a playoff push. The manager situation earlier this season caused issues in the clubhouse that may not still be resolved. A team has young and inexperienced as the Marlins, with a manager who literally has no experience, may not have a prayer at meaningful September baseball, much less October baseball.
The best case scenario is that the Marlins are somehow still within striking distance as the trade deadline approaches and they are able to make a couple moves for players to improve their lineup and pitching. If the Marlins are fortunate and are around .500 come late July, they’ll need to find a way to improve their roster for the playoff push. Whether any of this will even need to be addressed remains to be seen. But if nothing else, having Stanton and Fernandez on the team for the summer months should at least make their games worth watching.
