The Four Days of Christmas: The surprise

Everyone remembers those days when you were a kid on Christmas morning. After weeks of waiting and speculation, you run down stairs to see that perfect gift immaculately wrapped under the tree with a ribbon on top. As you rip through the wrapping paper, you find something better than what you wanted. “Santa” pulled off the shocker and got you something you never saw coming in your wildest dream, and it made your Christmas Day and left an indelible memory.

The Miami Marlins are looking for that surprise this Christmas. They’re looking to get something they couldn’t have expected in their wildest dreams. After the well-documented slow off-season continues, they want that one surprise that nobody saw coming. They want that one performance from a player  that not only blindsides people in their organization, but everyone in baseball.

Maybe a prospect cracks the major league roster. Austin Dean and Avery Romero are the two guys who have the best chance to be that prospect. Both are more than likely going to get a shot in major league camp this Spring Training and both seem MLB ready. If the organization is ready to move them up, they may very well get that surprise.

Another surprise would be if some pitchers in the rotation have spectacular seasons. If Tom Koehler, David Phelps, Jared Cosart, and Justin Nicolino all turn in massively surprising seasons, the Marlins actually might be contending late in the season.

But the surprise season also extend down to the position players. Maybe Miguel Rojas or Derek Dietrich will shock the world and have incredible seasons.

While all of these scenarios are highly unlikely, so was the spectacular gift you got as a kid. You didn’t see it coming, and that makes it even sweeter. The Marlins can only hope this holds for some of their players in 2016.