Miami Marlins: Post Series Grades

The Miami Marlins split their season opening series with the Chicago Cubs, two games apiece. We’re going to take a closer look at the 25 Miami Marlins players who appeared.

Mostly, I used the Wins Probability Added metric (WPA) to help ascertain which players performed in the higher leverage situations. In other words, if the Miami Marlins are winning, 6-0, a plate appearance doesn’t count as much. Conversely, an at bat with two on and two out in the bottom of the 13th has a very high leverage.

Miami’s entire bullpen and every position player got into at least one game. Every starting pitcher currently on the roster also played at least one game. Famously, Odrisamer Despaigne appeared as both a reliever and as a starter. Brian Ellington, who was recently sent down, didn’t appear in the series.

For comparison’s sake, I’ll take a moment here to outline Chicago’s best performers.

Eddie Butler +.947

Butler pitched seven innings of relief on March 30th, in that 17-inning game two Miami victory. He walked one and allowed four hits while striking out five batters. More importantly, he kept the Marlins scoreless.

Kris Bryant +.428

Bryant hit a double, walked, and scored twice in the season opener, Chicago’s 8-4 win. He was three-for-six with a walk, a double, and a homer in Chicago’s 10-6, 17-inning loss. Game three would see him collect three RBI with a single, a double, and a walk, and in today’s contest he hit a single and drew a walk. He finishes the series with a team-leading .389 average and a four-game hitting streak. 

Steve Cishek +.299

Cishek pitched three combined scoreless innings. He struck out two and allowed a walk and a hit in 1 2/3 innings of the season opener. In yesterday’s game, he gave up a walk and struck out a batter in 1 1/3 innings. 28 of his 49 pitches were strikes.

Justin Wilson +.234

Wilson pitched in relief in each of the first two games, keeping the Marlins off the board both times. He got 31-of-55 pitches in the zone. He struck out one in a perfect eighth in the opener. In the 17-inning marathon, he whiffed two but allowed three baserunners in 1 2/3 innings (on a hit and two walks).

Ben Zobrist +.221

Zobrist was three-for-seven with a double in the Marlins 2-1, 17-inning win on Friday. On Saturday, he went 1-for-3 with two walks and an RBI. He closed the series with a pop-out pinch hit appearance in the ninth inning today.