Miami Marlins Morning Catch: Did the Marlins jump the gun on Andrew Heaney?

Good morning, Marlin Maniac readers and welcome to Morning Catch, the daily morning news and notes column from MarlinManiac.com about your Miami Marlins.

Did the Marlins jump the gun on Andrew Heaney? – Wayne Cavadi, Minor League Ball

Andrew Heaney had quite the busy offseason. He was traded twice in one mid-December’s day, traveling around Los Angeles from team to team. After a horrific Spring Training, he headed to Salt Lake and entered the Bees rotation in the Pacific Coast League.

Heaney has since made his 2015 Major League debut and has looked like… well, the pitching prospect many have envisioned he would, possibly even surpassing some expectations. Did the Marlins jump the gun on Heaney and give up on him too quickly after a rocky 2014 Major League debut?

Heaney was the Miami Marlins ninth overall draft pick in the first round of the 2012 draft. He came into the league out of Oklahoma State with a fastball that hit between 90 to 95 and two solid out pitches with a very good slider and change-up. Just take a look at him fooling Robinson Cano in his last outing before the Break. (Read More Here)

Miami Marlins Midseason Review: Starting pitching – Michael Jong, Fishstripes

The Miami Marlins struggled on offense as a team in the first half, but at least it had the great benefit of an elite player in Giancarlo Stanton and above-average play from Dee Gordon. Fish fans got to enjoy some interesting players amid the rubble of the revamped offense. However, the starting rotation was not the same story. From the very onset, the rotation has been questionable, and only the most recent return of an electric young ace has made it watchable.

You can see that the Marlins rank very poorly in terms of the team’s rotation. The club has an ERA and a FIP both above 4.00 despite pitching in a neutral park at best and a pitcher’s park at worst. Their rotation has also thrown the sixth-lowest number of innings pitched, meaning that the team isn’t getting very far into games. Given the quality of the starters, maybe that is not a bad idea for the club. (Read More Here)

Miami Marlins midseason betting report – Joe Peta, ESPN Chalk

Miami Marlins

Vegas projection: 83 wins
My projection: 78 wins
Current record/pace: 38-51 (69-win pace)
Season-to-date pricing: 78.9 wins

What has gone right: For me or the Marlins? In an interview with SportsCenter’s Cary Chow previewing the 2015 season, I labeled the Marlins the strongest “under” bet of the season and called it “The Improv Under Bet of the Year” in reference to the catcall “too soon” you often hear in a comedy club when a joke bombs. It turns out it was too soon to consider the Marlins a playoff threat and that has gone very right for anyone who faded the hype that accompanied the team this spring. (Read More Here)

Dodgers trade former first-round pick Chris Reed to Miami Marlins – Dylan Hernandez, LA Times

The Dodgers officially parted ways with former first-round draft pick Chris Reed, as they traded the left-hander to the Miami Marlins on Wednesday.

Reed, 25, was designated for assignment and removed from the Dodgers’ 40-man roster last week.

In exchange for Reed, the Dodgers received Grant Dayton from the Marlins. (Read More Here)

Gordon savors unique All-Star perspective – Dave Adler, MLB.com

Dee Gordon did basically everything at the 2015 All-Star Game presented by T-Mobile except, well, play.

The Marlins second baseman, who leads the Major Leagues in hits with 122 and is batting .338 with 33 steals at the break, was elected by the fans to start the game, which the National League lost, 6-3. But even though he could only watch from the dugout as his team managed just six hits while ceding World Series home-field advantage to the American League, that didn’t stop him from enjoying his trip to Great American Ball Park. (Read More Here)

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