Giancarlo Stanton looking to stay injury free through August

The Miami Marlins might not be competing for a playoff spot in 2017, but there is still plenty to be excited about. Giancarlo Stanton’s health chief among them.

With 52 games to go, is there any doubt that Giancarlo Stanton will break his personal home run record? He tied is personal high 37 on Monday night in a losing Miami Marlins effort. That’s become something of a trend lately.

Having played in 108 of the Miami Marlins 110 games this season, Stanton has been the picture of health all season. As injury as whittled at the Miami lineup all year, the slugging right fielder has managed to stay on the field.

More than his off-the-wall production, Stanton’s consistency and fitness have encouraged most.

With a gargantuan 6-foot-6, 245 pound stature, it’s no surprise that the lumbering Marlins outfielder has had issues with injury. He’s managed to play more than 123-games only twice in his career. This year could change that.

He’s proved that when he is in the lineup, he is a force. Since the All-Star Game, Stanton is averring an unreal 0.5 home runs per game In 22 appearances since the break, 11 home runs have produced 22 runs.

There are any number of things you can attribute his hot streak to. His batting stance is noticeably different. He’s entering his prime as a ballplayer. He’s hitting in a lineup that doesn’t lend itself to pitching around him. Those are all true.

But what has made the biggest difference has been his ability to stay on the field. We entered the season wondering if Stanton was injury prone, or had just been unlucky. You’ll recall one of his season ending injuries was a horrific, face-busting fastball that required surgery.

Cart before the horse

But it’s best to remain cautiously optimistic. While the Miami Marlins playoff hopes are mostly over, there is still nearly two months of baseball to play. In his first full Major League season in 2012, Stanton managed to appear in 150 games. He’s failed to match that since.

It’s usually sometime in late-July, or August that Stanton goes down. That means that the Stanton and the Marlins aren’t out of the clear. He played in 119 games last season before pulling up with groin strain that put the final nail in the coffin for the team.

There have been no signs of him breaking down to this point. Even the hyper-conservative approach of manager Don Mattingly has allowed for Stanton to play on a nightly basis without rest. That bodes well for how his body is feeling.

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If Stanton can manage to stay on the field through September, it’s a very encouraging sign for the club in 2018. Questions have lingered about his body being able to withstand the grueling 162-game Major League Baseball season. He stands to put those to rest this year.