Miami Marlins: Where does this team rank before the 2020 season?

The Miami Marlins may still have a hard time cracking the .500 mark this season, but they are not as bad as some writers make them out to be.

That’s all it took. One sports writer’s opinion that the Miami Marlins pitching staff was in disarray to make me want to carve out an editorial voicing my thoughts on something the individual may not know about.

Yes, I realize the Marlins are still a work in progress. Yes, I know there have been many changes to the roster this offseason. Hopefully, they are for the better.

But what I don’t understand is why there are some writers out there who come at this baseball organization with high heat, hoping to make a point,

Matt Johnson, in his latest piece on Sportsnaut.com, ranked the Marlins 26th overall in his preseason rankings. That’s fairly respectable given Miami had the worst record in the National League last season and may still feel the sting of growing pains this season. But the notion this ballclub will suffer through another 100-loss season is a hard kernel to swallow.

"“We’ll give credit to Derek Jeter for showing a willingness to improve this team in the offseason,” Johnson writes. “However, the rotation is still a disaster and we still lack faith in Jeter to make this team a contender within the next four seasons.”"

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That’s it? Nothing more worth noting? I know it sounds like a broken record, but Miami’s front office added power hitters in Jonathan Villar, Jesus Aguilar, and Corey Dickerson. There were changes to the bullpen and now, there is a solid closer in Brandon Kintzler who could provide more balance late in games.

This is not a team that is going to blow the rooftop off Marlins Park with the long ball or throw continuous shutouts with its pitching staff. What it will do, most likely, is show progress over the 2019 season and challenge for the fourth spot in the National League East.

This is a team that while it is one to watch in the future, has its back against the wall. The batting order should hit better, especially now that James Rowson is on board to serve as bench coach and help the entire organization with its hitting routine. Veterans, combined with the core of young players in the field, should provide more success at the plate and more leadership in the clubhouse.

The local and national media needs to give Miami a chance to succeed rather than deem them a failure before the first pitch in Opening Day is thrown. These aren’t the same Marlins who won 57 games last year. Let it all play out before deciding the team’s outcome in 2020.

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