Marlins A through Z: The “F” Team

MIAMI, FL - SEPTEMBER 25: Jose Fernandez #16 of the Miami Marlins walks out to the bullpen to warm up before the game against the Atlanta Braves at Marlins Park on September 25, 2015 in Miami, Florida. Fernandez is trying to improve to 17-0 at home, a Major League record. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - SEPTEMBER 25: Jose Fernandez #16 of the Miami Marlins walks out to the bullpen to warm up before the game against the Atlanta Braves at Marlins Park on September 25, 2015 in Miami, Florida. Fernandez is trying to improve to 17-0 at home, a Major League record. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images)

The Florida and Miami Marlins have seen 16 players come through the major league team who’s last names begin with the letter, “F.”

Surely that’s not enough for a 26-man roster, but it’s enough to put a team together and play some ball at least. Since there’s only seven position players on this version of the Marlins, some of the better hitting pitchers will need to pull some double duty — and there’s no bench and a four-man bullpen.

But I mean, let’s play ball, you know? I’ll take anything at this point. I’ve worn out my OOTP 21 by playing the 1871 through 1878 Philadelphia Athletics. Two World Series titles and counting! But I digress.

Starting Lineup

Leading off for the Marlins and playing shortstop we have Andy Fox. In 306 games for the Florida Marlins from 2000 through 2003, Fox hit .235/.326/.325 with 10 round-trippers and 66 RBI. As an added bonus, he stole 41 bases in 53 attempts.

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Florida Marlins’ short stop Andy Fox. (Photo by RHONA WISE/AFP via Getty Images)

Batting second and playing third base, we have Jeff Francoeur. Playing for his eighth team in his final stop of his 12-season major league career, Francoeur hit .280/.333/.360 in 26 games through the last part of the 2016 campaign.

Playing center field and batting third, Junior Felix. An outfielder for the inaugural version of the Florida Marlins, Felix appeared in 57 games and hit .238/.276/.397 with seven homers and 22 RBI.

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6 Apr 2000: Cliff Floyd #30 of the Florida Marlins. Andy Lyons /Allsport

The cleanup hitter is Cliff Floyd, playing first base. An All Star Team member for the Florida Marlins in 2001, Floyd played in 637 games for them from 1997 through 2002. Floyd slashed out a solid .294/.374/.523 with 110 dingers, 409 RBI, and stole 90 bases in 123 attempts.

Backing up Floyd in the order we have catcher Jorge Fabregas. The backup backstop for the 1999 Florida Marlins, Fabregas hit .206/.289/.309 in 82 games. He drew 26 walks while striking out 27 times.

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4 Mar 1999: Catcher Jorge Fabregas #14 of the Florida Marlins. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Squire /Allsport

Batting sixth, second baseman Rafael Furcal is ready to take his cuts. Furcal was six-for-35 in nine games for the Miami Marlins in 2014, with a triple and two RBI.

Monty Fariss is seventh in the order and playing left field. Another member of the 1993 squad, Fariss was five-for-29 in 18 games with two doubles, a triple, and two RBI.

In right field, and batting eighth on days when he’s not pitching, we have Jose Fernandez. In 71 games for the Marlins, JDF16 slashed .213/.217/.301 with two homers and 14 RBI. I know it’s not much, but it’s better than the sixth and seventh guys in the lineup anyway. On days when he has a turn in the rotation, we can cycle fellow starting pitchers Alex Fernandez (.175/.228/.310) and Brian Flynn (two-for-seven). The same three players would also end up hitting for themselves due to lack of depth at the ninth spot in the order.

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MIAMI, FL – SEPTEMBER 23: Pitcher Jose Fernandez #16 of the Miami Marlins jokes with teammates prior to his team playing against the Philadelphia Phillies at Marlins Park on September 23, 2013 in Miami, Florida. The Marlins defeated the Phillies 4-0. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)

Rotation

It should go without saying that the Marlins number one starter is José Fernández. In the four seasons from 2013 through 2016, he racked up a 38-17 record with a 2.58 career ERA. He struck out 589 in 471 1/3 innings, with a 1.054 WHIP. The thing about Fernández is that as good as he was, he seemed to only be getting better. He led the major leagues with a 12.5 K/9 in his final season, during which he pitched a career high 182 1/3 innings.

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Florida Marlins pitcher Alex Fernandez. AFP PHOTO/Rhona WISE

The Marlins number two starter is fellow right-hander and fellow-Hernandez, Alex. This Fernandez started 64 games for the Florida Marlins from 1997 through 2000, with a 28-24 record and a 3.59 ERA. Fernandez struck out 301 in 414 innings and posted a 1.239 WHIP.

Number three starter Kendry Flores didn’t have quite the impact at the major league level as the two Fernandez’s. He started one game for the Miami Marlins in both 2015 and 2016, appearing in eight contests in total. He collected 10 strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings, but also finished with a 1.532 WHIP.

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8 Mar 1999: Pitcher Joe Fontenot #54 of the Florida Marlins. Andy Lyons /Allsport

Joe Fontenot started eight times for the 1998 Florida Marlins, going 0-7 with a 6.33 ERA. He struck out 24 in 42 2/3 innings, with a frightening 1.781 WHIP.

As the number five starter, Brian Flynn has a mixed track record at the major league level. Although he’s found some measure of success in the past four seasons with the Kansas City Royals, he wasn’t great in 2013 and 2014 for Miami. He started in five of his six Marlins’ appearances, going 0-3 with an 8.64 ERA. Flynn did strike out 21 batters in 25 innings for the team, but he also closed his Marlins’ career with a 2.200 WHIP.

Bullpen

Chad Fox is a 10-year veteran of 219 major league contests, between 1997 and 2009. In 2003 and 2004, he pitched in 33 contests for Florida, posting a 2-2 record and a 3.50 ERA. He struck out 44 in 36 innings for an elite-ish 11.0 K/9, while holding on to a more garden-variety 1.306 WHIP.

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MIAMI – OCTOBER 21: Pitcher Chad Fox #49 of the Florida Marlins. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Almost three calendar years after his last major league appearance, Willie Fraser resurfaced with the Marlins in June of 1994. He ended up surrendering 20 hits in 12 1/3 innings of work, striking out seven, walking six, and going 2-0 with a 5.84 ERA.

Jeff Fulchino faced two batters for the 2006 Marlins, walking one and getting one out. He later pitched for the Royals, the Houston Astros, and the San Diego Padres at the major league level.

Nate Field allowed three earned runs in his only inning of work with the Marlins in 2007, in what eventually proved to be his final major league appearance of his six-season career.

World Series Impact

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Floyd would have a down-season in 1997 for the Marlins, hitting just .234/.354/.445 with six homers in 61 games. Alex Fernandez made 32 starts and posted a team leading 17 wins with a 3.59 ERA and 183 whiffs in 220 2/3 frames.

In 2003, Andy Fox hit .194/.269/.259 in 70 contests for Florida. Chad Fox, no relation, posted a 2.13 ERA in 21 contests, with 27 K’s in 25 1/3 innings.

In-the-Pipeline

Catcher Nick Fortes, 23, currently plays with the Jupiter Hammerheads and could make it to the bigs some time in 2021 if called on. Pitcher Evan Fitterer and catcher Keegan Fish were last seen with the GCL Marlins in the rookie league. LHP Julio Frias went 5-4 with a 2.83 ERA for the short-season-A Batavia Muckdogs in 2019.

Schedule