Fish Bench Proving Their Value

The Miami Marlins have had to dig deep into their bench already early in the season and it has paid off.

Being in the National League, it is important for the Miami Marlins to have a solid bench. Whether to pinch hit, spot start, or replace a starter who has gotten hurt.

These guys often can make the difference in a game, series or even season. In the Marlins’ case, the so-called “bench guys” or “reserves” have been invaluable so far.

The six guys who have made a difference so far are Tyler Moore, Miguel Rojas, Derek Dietrich, J.T. Riddle, A.J. Ellis and the illustrious Ichiro Suzuki.

The infield

The left side of the infield has been hit with the injury bug as Martin Prado started the season on the DL with a hamstring injury from the WBC. Adeiny Hechavarria found himself on the DL days into the season with an oblique injury.

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So the triplet of Riddle, Rojas, and Dietrich has had to step up and fill these roles. Some days the hot corner would be occupied by Rojas and others by Dietrich.

Same with shortstop, where time has been split between Rojas and Riddle. The one consistent between all three men has been great defense. None of them has made an error yet, knock on wood, and all of them have made some spectacular plays.

With the Bat

Rojas has been nothing short of amazing getting big hits and on base in timely situations. Riddle in his first at bats in the Majors has a walk-off home run under his belt. Dietrich has been his consistent self with drawing walks and getting hit by pitches to get on base.

Let’s not forget Moore, who had a fantastic spring, and came through in the clutch with a two out, two strike RBI single in the 9^th to the tie game up against Washington in the fish’s first win of the season.

Outfield and Catcher

The lone outfielder who comes off the bench is the forty-three year old, sixteen year MLB vet, Ichiro. Having Ichiro on the team is more beneficial than most people think. For starters, Ichiro can play all three outfield positions.

Most teams will have two outfield bench players with one being a speedster who plays center, and a bigger body who plays the corner outfield positions. The value of Ichiro is having one less bench player and a veteran, so the fish can have an extra arm in the pen.

The lone catcher on the bench, Ellis, who comes to the Fish from a half-season in Philly and another half in Los Angeles where he played the first nine seasons of his career. He has a good relationship with Don Mattingly and the coaching staff.

Ellis also provides more of a bat than Jeff Mathis did. His ability to catch a game has been praised highly and was on display when Wei-Yin Chen went seven no-hit innings on April 18th against Seattle.

Next: Miami Marlins: Roster Moves Begin

None of these guys’ names pop out at the average fan like Giancarlo Stanton does. However, they are just as much of a big part of this Marlins team as anyone else. These guys have a lot to do with the success of the team as the season goes on.