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.

Jarlin Garcia +.766

Jarlin Garcia appeared in 68 games as a rookie last season for the Miami Marlins. In his only appearance so far this season, he pitched six scoreless relief innings, earning no-decision in Miami’s eventual 2-1, 17-inning victory.

Garcia put 43-of-67 pitches over the plate, and retired the first 15 batters he faced without allowing a baserunner. He surrendered a single and a pair of walks, but one of them was of the intentional variety.

Miami’s taken a lot of heat lately because of the now-famous fire sale. What Garcia shows is that home-grown talent can pan out.

Garcia was signed as an international free agent prior to the 2011 season for the then-Florida Marlins. He worked his way up through the system with stops for the DSL Marlins in 2011 and the GCL Marlins in 2012. He spent 2013 with the Batavia Muckdogs, 2014 with the Greensboro Grasshoppers, and 2015 between the Jupiter Hammerheads and the Jacksonville Suns.

In 2016, Garcia was sidelined most of the year with injury, but played at three levels for the Marlins before the winter break. He then plied his trade in both the Arizona Fall League and the Dominican Winter League. It paid off for him, and after three appearances for the renamed Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp last season, spent the year with the Marlins.

Miguel Rojas +.362

Miguel Rojas, now a 29-year-old infielder, was originally part of the Cincinnati Reds organization when signed as a teen in 2005. After working his way up to the triple-A level in 2012, the Reds granted his free agency. That’s where the Los Angeles Dodgers picked him up.

After a season in double-A for the Dodgers, Rojas split the 2014 season between their triple-A club and the parent organization. After 85 games in which he slashed just .181/.242/.221, Los Angeles included him as a toss-in with Dee Gordon and Dan Haren. The Marlins gave up Austin Barnes, Chris Hatcher, Andrew Heaney, and Enrique Hernandez in the deal.

In the season opening series with the Cubs, Rojas started with a one-for-four night on Opening Day. He had a double and grounded into one double play. In the 17-inning marathon, he was just one-for-five with three bases-on-balls, but he also collected the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the final inning. The walk-off play was the first such of his career. He did end a game last season with a walk off sacrifice fly.

In game three, Rojas went two-for-four to raise his season’s average to .308, and he also scored a run in the losing effort. In today’s contest, he relieved first baseman Garrett Cooper in the sixth inning, and went one-for-three. So far, he’s slashed .333/.485/.467, with an RBI and a run scored.

Bryan Holaday +.311

Bryan Holaday was a non-roster invitee to Marlins’ camp just a month ago. In Saturday’s game, he showed that he’s still clutch.

Holaday is a 30-year-old catcher from Dallas. In 2010, the Detroit Tigers chose him in the sixth round of the draft, then let him develop through their system. From 2012 through 2015 (and a little in 2017), Holaday appeared in 121 games as Detroit’s backup backstop, slashing .250/.279/.337. They traded him to the Rangers for Myles Jaye and Bobby Wilson before the 2016 season.

After spending 2016 bouncing around the systems of the Rangers later the Boston Red Sox, Holaday played with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2017 spring training. He didn’t make the cut, and again joined the Tigers for the 2017 campaign.

Holaday made the club as the #4 catcher out of camp, but has remained with the team for added depth in the absence of J.T. Realmuto. In the second game of the season, he came into the contest as a pinch hitter for Jarlin Garcia in the 15th inning, then got out on an infield fly. On Saturday, he was one-for-three from the plate, but also drew a walk and collected an RBI, later scoring a run.

His only hit thus far this season was an important one. It tied Miami at six runs apiece with Chicago. It came with two-out and two-on in the bottom of the eighth, and sent the game to eventual extra innings.

Chris O’Grady +.190

Chris O’Grady is what they call “rubber armed.” He appeared in each of Miami’s first three contests this season. In 2 1/3 innings, he’s allowed a hit and a walk, striking out three.

O’Grady has plated 23 of his 37 pitches so far this season. A 27-year-old lefty, he was a 10th round selection of the Anaheim Angels in 2012.

O’Grady spent five seasons working his way up through the Angels’ system, starting with the Orem Owls. He later played with the Burlington Bees, the Inland Empire 66ers, the Salt Lake Bees, and the Arkansas Travelers. Despite his travails, he never graduated to the major league level while with the organization.

The Angels released O’Grady in April of 2017, and the Marlins picked him up two weeks later. At the major league level, he went 2-1 with a 4.36 ERA. He started in six of his 13 appearances, and helped himself to a 1.545 WHIP and 30 whiffs in 33 innings in total.

O’Grady didn’t appear in the series finale, but he’s currently on pace to appear in 121 games this year. I don’t think he’s going to be able to keep that up.

The five players that precede this paragraph ranked highest in the WPA metric through the opening series. Jarlin Garcia (.766), Miguel Rojas (.362), Bryan Holaday (.311), Dillon Peters (.264), and O’Grady (.190) would be graded as the series “Heroes.”

Brian Anderson .137

Brian Anderson started all four games of the series at the hot corner. He went two-for-three with a walk, two RBI, and a run in the season opener, then again collected multiple hits in game two. He was two-for-eight with a run. Yesterday, he was one-for-four with a run, and in today’s win he hit a three-RBI double.

Kyle Barraclough .107

Barraclough has pitched in two games for the Miami Marlins so far this season, his fourth with the club. Yesterday he struck out two and allowed a walk in the eighth inning. In today’s game, he again struck out a pair of Cubs, but didn’t allow any baserunners. It was the final inning, but he was not awarded a save because the difference was six runs. He has placed 18-of-27 pitches over the plate.

Caleb Smith .096

Smith started game two for the Marlins, and although he didn’t collect a victory, the team did eventually win. In 5 1/3 innings, Smith whiffed eight batters. He allowed four hits and three walks for one earned run, a Kyle Schwarber solo home run. Smith got 68-of-100 pitches over the plate, just missing a “quality start.”

Derek Dietrich .069

Dietrich has at least a hit in every game so far this year. He went 2-for-4 with a triple on March 29th, also reaching first via HBP. The next day, he went 1-for-7 with a walk. In Miami’s 10-6, 10-inning loss yesterday, he hit Miami’s first home run of the season, a 380-foot two-run shot to right field. He also hit another single and took first on yet another HBP. In today’s matchup, Dietrich was 1-for-4 with an RBI. He’s hitting .316 this season.

Junichi Tazawa .061

Tazawa is pitching to a 1.000 WHIP after three games. The small sample size breaks down further. He struck out two and allowed a walk in two no-hit innings on March 29th, and allowed a hit and a walk in one inning of work on March 31st. He also struck out two in that game.

Jacob Turner .020

On March 30th, Turner came on and got two outs on six pitches to close the sixth in the 17-inning win. The next day he wasn’t as lucky. He pitched the sixth and seventh, allowing three hits and a walk. In 2 2/3 total innings, he has only struck out one batter. He has got 31 pitches over the plate, of 48 total.

Drew Steckenrider .008

Steckenrider struck out two in 2/3 of an inning on Friday, allowing one hit and getting 14-of-20 pitches in the strike zone. The next day, he pitched a hitless seventh and allowed a walk, with one strikeout. He had 12-of-22 in the zone that day. In today’s game, he again pitched the seventh and allowed a hit while whiffing one. Today he had nine-of-14 over the plate.

Tomas Telis -.019

Telis has appeared in every Marlins game so far. He was 0-for-1 on Thursday and on Friday, then went 1-for-1 with a run in yesterday’s loss. He struck out in his only plate appearance on Sunday.

Lewis Brinson -.083

Brinson was 0-for-5 in the season opener, with four groundouts and one outfield fly out. He turned that disappointment around, going four for his next five the following day. He ended up four-for-eight with a run in the 17-inning loss, then yesterday was one-for-four with a run and an RBI. Today he was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run.

Tayron Guerrero -.087

Guerrero struck out the first four batters he faced in the season opening game, then ended up giving up three runs (two earned) on two hits. One of which was a Schwarber homer.

Cameron Maybin -.096

Maybin opened his season with a pinch hit double, then came back the next day to play in 14 of the 17 innings. He was 1-for-3 in that one, with three walks. Last night, he was 0-for-5 with a strikeout, and he closed the series with a 1-for-4 day, scoring a run and making a defensive gem.

Garrett Cooper -.096

Cooper was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI in the season opener for the Miami Marlins, then went 0-for-1 on Friday. His game was cut short that night after he drew first via HBP, but not the good kind, if you catch my meaning. He grounded out in a pinch hit appearance last night, and went 0-for-2 with a strikeout earlier today.

Yadiel Rivera -.105

Rivera was 0-for-1 on March 29th then struck out in his only plate appearance on Friday. In today’s game he went 1-for-4 with a run.

Braxton Lee -.114

Lee didn’t play on opening day, but came on as a replacement in the ninth inning of Miami’s eventual 17-inning win on Friday night/Saturday morning. He ended up going 0-for-4 with a strikeout. He did make it to first base yesterday, walking in his only plate appearance. He has since been optioned back to the New Orleans Baby Cakes, but we should expect to see him again throughout the season.

Starlin Castro -.168

Castro drew two walks and scored two runs in the season opener, also going one-for-three from the plate. He was two-for-seven with a walk and an RBI in game two, then went one-for-five with two RBI in game three. Today he was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and a run.

Although Castro’s WPA ranks him low for this series, he is still hitting .294 and has shown markedly improved patience at the plate. His average walk rate sits at 4.9% through his nine-season career. It’s over four-times that this season, at 21.7%.

Brad Ziegler -.216

Ziegler played in two games for the Marlins. He pitched the ninth (and middle) inning of Miami’s 17-inning win on Friday night. He allowed a hit and struck one out in that game. The next night, he whiffed one and allowed three hits in 1 2/3 innings, for four earned runs and a loss.

Odrisamer Despaigne -.244

Despaigne pitched a perfect 17th inning for Miami’s first win of the season on Friday night. On Saturday, he struck out six in five innings, but also allowed five runs on six hits and a walk. Four of those runs were earned.

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Justin Bour -.332

Bour has started the season slowly. He was 0-for-4 with a walk and an RBI on Thursday, then 1-for-4 on Friday and 0-for-5 on Saturday. Earlier today, he left two runners on base when he grounded out to end the Marlins’ eighth.

Jose Urena -.371

Urena had already surrendered three runs after his first inning of the season. He allowed a first-pitch home run to leadoff batter Ian Happ, then hit three Cubs and walked two others in that frame. In total, he allowed five earned runs on six hits and two walks in four innings. He got 44-of-74 pitches over the plate.

Chad Wallach -.459

Before today’s heroics, Wallach was having a rough go of it. He was hitless through 10 at bats, with one walk and eight strikeouts. Today, Wallach was better, going two-for-three with a run and a walk.

Next: 6 Marlins to Watch

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