Miami Marlins: The 3 Biggest Takeaways from the Marlins first 40 games

The Miami Marlins have officially reached that point in the season where it’s ok to look back at the season so far, and wonder if it’s time to panic or not about certain things. No, we’re not here to panic, but to look at some of the biggest takeaways from the first 40 games of the season.

The Miami Marlins currently sit at 18-22 overall, and 4th in the NL East. While the Marlins are fourth in the division, they are actually the lone NL East team with a positive run differential currently sitting at +5.

Even though Miami is currently below .500, it feels like there are more positive takeaways so far than negative.

Sure, players like Brian Anderson, Garrett Cooper, and Jon Berti have struggled to start the season, but have all showed signs at times of breaking out of that slump.

What about the Marlins bullpen? Everyone has talked about Miami’s rotation, but the bullpen is also a major story. Yimi Garcia and Dylan Floro have been lights-out in the late innings, while middle receivers such as Anthony Bender, Adam Cimber, Jordan Holloway, and more have also been good.

The Miami Marlins have three notable takeaways from the first 40 games.

As mentioned previously, the Marlins currently have an 18-22 record. To put this start in perspective, the 2020 Marlins that made the postseason were 20-20 through the first 40 games a year ago. Miami stood at 10-30 at this same point during the 2019 season.

It’s evident that this team is miles better than the 2019 team, but are they better than last years postseason team? While the record shows they are two games worse, you have to remember that Miami currently doesn’t have a few notable players including Starling Marte, Jorge Alfaro, and Sixto Sanchez.

Yes, this team will be better once they get 100% healthy, and that is one of the most exciting takeaways. However, let’s pause, and take a look back at the first 40 games.

Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Miami Marlins first 40 games of the 2021 MLB season.

1. Miami Marlins Starting Rotation Has Been Dominant

We knew the Miami Marlins came into the 2021 season with a strong starting rotation, but did we honestly expect this at this point in the season? Be honest, did you really expect this?

The Marlins starting rotation has been absolutely outstanding, and is the no-doubt strength of this team currently. Sitting at a 3.55 combined team ERA ranking 7th in all of baseball, the Marlins starting rotation is a massive part of that success through the first 40 games of the season.

While Miami has pieced together the 4-5 spots in the rotation using bullpen games, debut call-ups, and more to make-up for injuries to projected starters, the 1-2-3 in the rotation is 100% the strength currently of this team.

Despite his latest rough outing in Los Angeles, Sandy Alcantara has been good posting a 1-3 record with a 4.06 ERA through nine starts. The ERA may look high for Alcantara, partly because of his last showing, but he has actually been pretty good.

Pablo Lopez on the other hand is having the best year of his career so far posting a 1-3 record with a 3.12 ERA. The walks and WHIP may still be a bit too-high for Lopez, but he is on pace to have his best season yet.

Trevor Rogers has arguably been the best of them all. The April NL Rookie of the Month, Rogers has been dominant going 5-2 with a 1.84 ERA, while also leading the Marlins in K’s with 57, and 5th in all of baseball in ERA.

This trio has been dominant, and has helped Miami withstand injuries and more with the rest of the starting rotation.

Even as good as this trio has been this season, the Marlins starting rotation will still get even better in the near future. With top prospect Sixto Sanchez and Elieser Hernandez set to return from injury at some point, will this group of five be among the best in baseball?

3. Miami Marlins 2B Jazz Chisholm is “As Good as Advertised”

The NL East has it’s fair share of must-see young positional players including Braves OF Ronald Acuna Jr and Nationals OF Juan Soto. It also appears however that the Miami Marlins now have a member of that group in star 2B Jazz Chisholm.

Now no, Chisholm is not on the same level as Acuna and Soto, but it’s evident on how good the young star can be for Miami for years to come.

Despite just returning from an injury on Sunday, we’ve already seen through 21 games this season all we need to know about Chisholm.

Jazz started the year going 3/17 at the plate over the first six games of the season, but completely flipped the switch on April 10th against the Mets. Between the 10 games he played in between April 10th and April 23rd, Chisholm got a hit in nine of those ten games. This also included four multi-hit games during that span.

Chisholm has truly done it all for the Marlins when he has been on the field. While not only playing elite defense at second base, Jazz has hit for power with 4 HRs, and also stole 8 bases where he is arguably showing his most value.

Chisholm is as good as advertised so far during the 2021 season. Going forward, Chisholm may end up being the Marlins “MVP” this season. If he continues to get on base at this rate, and then continues to cause havoc on the base-paths, is a Rookie of the Year, or potentially more, in store for the Marlins 23-year old second baseman?

The Miami Marlins are currently right there in terms of the top of the NL East, with the team arguably set to get even better in the near future. These three takeaways have been extremely evident through the first 40 games, but will they continue going forward? Based on how each of these players have looked so far, I wouldn’t bet against them slowing down anytime soon.