Miami Marlins Series Primer: Marlins vs. Rays

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The last homestand has come and gone, leaving only two road series’ before the 2015 season comes to an end. For our penultimate matchup of the year, we’ll be visiting our old instate cross-league rival the Tampa Bay Rays. After losing David Price, Andrew Friedman, and Joe Maddon last off-season, the Rays are nowhere near as scary as they used to be.

The Rays post a September record of just 10-15, including a recent sweep suffered at the hands of Toronto. However, this series proved misleading, as the Rays stayed within 1-2 runs of the Jays, an impressive feat considering the might of Toronto’s offense.

The Fish finished up the home portion of their schedule last weekend with a weekend sweep of the Braves. This brought Miami’s September record to 16-8, thus guaranteeing their first month above .500 this season!!!

Plus, the Marlins’ home record is now 41-40, much better than their 28-47 road mark. It’s a bit anecdotal, but this contradicts the idea that the dimensions of the park are to blame for a lack of offense.

Top Hitters

Rays

Kevin Kiermaier– Likely the best defensive centerfielder in the Majors, Kiermaier is also a pretty solid hitter, especially over this last month. Slashing .282/.333/.474 in the month of September, Kiermaier has also added four homers and two stolen bases. He’s not lighting the world on fire, but with the kind of defense he plays, those numbers are more then enough to make him an above average player.
Evan Longoria– A former elite player, Longoria has seen his power dissipate in recent years, and it has resulted in his overall value drifting dangerously close to average. In the past month; however, Longoria has shown flashes of his previous self, posting a wRC+ of 130.

Marlins

Justin Bour- The big first baseman has posted a wRC+ of 157 over this past month, placing 21st in baseball. He’s also shown some pretty nifty gymnastics skills of late
Christian Yelich– Yelich got off to a rough start but has turned it around recently. Slashing .325/.372/.450 over the second half, Yeli has been able to display the kind of performance we were expecting prior to 2015. If he can do this for a full season, don’t be surprised to see him representing Miami in the 2016 all-star game.

Probable Starters

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It’s Jose Day!!! If that TBD turns into Chris Archer that game could really become a must-watch for Fish fans.

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