MO2 Overview: Breakdown of Marlins rocky 10-game road trip
The Marlins went 3-7 over their taxing, three-city, 10-game road trip. ManOn2nd offers its observations and what to watch for, and possible solutions with homestand set to begin on Tuesday
By Joe Frisaro @ManOn2nd
With their grueling, three-city, 10-game road trip in the books, it’s time to unpack what went on during the Miami Marlins’ 3-7 swing away from home.
The Marlins had put themselves in a decent spot after taking two or three at Milwaukee last week, but things turned in the 10th inning on Friday when Kyle Schwarber belted a two-run walk-off home run that gave the Washington Nationals a 2-1 win.
The Marlins dropped the next two, and were swept in the three-game series. For the season, they’re now 11-16.
With four Opening Day lineup on the injured list, the Marlins are “treading water” until they get some key players back. There’s a good chance third baseman Brian Anderson will be reinstated on Tuesday for the series against the D-backs at loanDepot park.
Infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. (hamstring) is making progress. The hope is sooner than later, but with hamstrings, you don’t want to rush anything.
MO2 offers some observations of the road trip, overall.
Pitching:
Coming into the season, we knew pitching was the strength of the club, and it’s played out that way. The way the Marlins threw during the road trip, they certainly could have had more favorable outcomes.
The Marlins allowed 33 runs in the 10 games, an average of 3.3 runs per game. Their team ERA was 3.21.
The silver lining is the pitching, because it is keeping the club in games.
Something to watch is the innings pitched by the starters. Sandy Alcantara, who starts on Tuesday vs. Arizona, has logged 36 2/3 innings, followed by Pablo Lopez (34 2/3) and Trevor Rogers (30). Of course, this is their season totals.
The Marlins are getting innings from those three. From there is a big drop. Next in line for starter innings is Nick Neidert (13 1/3), and he’s not on the big league roster.
The fourth and fifth spots are something the club continues to patch together.
Offense:
Run support has been lagging. The Marlins scored just four runs in the three-games at Washington. For the road trip, they racked up 33 runs (exactly what they allowed). As a team, the Marlins batted .185 with a .272 on-base percentage. They did hit 12 home runs, but manufactured little else.
Jesus Aguilar: The veteran first baseman has been the team’s MVP to this point, mainly because he’s been a mainstay. He hit six homers on the road trip, and drove in 12 runs, while having a slash line of .300/.421/.900 with a 1.321 OPS. And that’s without playing on Sunday, because he was given the day off.
Aguilar puts the ball in play. He has a 12.6 percent strikeout rate, and is walking at a 15.5 percent clip.
With Monday’s scheduled off day, Aguilar gets two days of rest.
Garrett Cooper: It’s been a struggle this season for Cooper, and he had a difficult road trip, reflected by his .143/.211/.257 slash line. He had a homer and three RBIs.
Cooper’s strikeout rate during the trip was 32 percent, which is just about what he’s been all season. He has a 33 percent K rate, which is higher than it’s ever been since he joined the Marlins.
In 2020, Cooper had a 23.3 strikeout rate in 133 plate appearances. It was 26.1 percent in 421 PAs in 2019.
Getting Cooper going, obviously, is big for Miami. He has shown he’s capable of big hits and moments. Before Schwarber’s walk-off HR on Friday, it was Cooper’s RBI single that put Miami ahead by a run in the 10th inning.
Digging deeper on his numbers, Cooper has come through in “high leverage” situations, according to Baseball Reference. He’s 5-for-17 (.294) with six RBIs in plate appearances categorized as “high leverage.” His RBI hit on Friday was another. Interestingly, in “medium leverage” situations, he hitting .063 and he’s at .233 in “low leverage” situations. Both of his homers on the season have been in low leverage moments.
Another stat that MO2 found interesting is Cooper is 0-for-16 with 10 strikeouts when leading off an inning.
Because Cooper is a threat, you feel comfortable with him up with the runners on base. But is his approach or mindset different when starting off an inning? Something to monitor.
Adam Duvall:
Like Cooper, Duvall is dealing with swing and miss issues. The veteran outfielder has a 37.2 strikeout percentage this season. On the road trip, he was 3-for-31 (.097) with 15 strikeouts in 33 plate appearances.
Defensively, he’s done a terrific job in either left or center field.
Duvall also is a threat, but has been streaky.
Due to strikeout rates above 30 percent on the season, perhaps the Marlins should split up having Cooper and Duvall batting back-to-back, which they have done often, especially against lefties. Going with Cooper and then Dickerson and Duvall could make the lineup a little more balanced.
Corey Dickerson:
The left-handed hitting Dickerson had a strong road trip, hitting .381 with a double, triple, home run and four RBIs. The veteran also is a solid contact hitter. His K percentage is 18.9 percent.
Where to hit Anderson?
With Anderson (oblique) about to be reinstated from the IL, it will be curious where manager Don Mattingly hits his regular third baseman.
Before the injury, Anderson had been off to a tough start, hitting .200 in 60 at-bats.
Anderson had been hitting in the fifth a bit.
Does Mattingly want him in that area or higher in the lineup? The fact Starling Marte (rib) is in the IL, the two hole is unsettled.
To get Anderson up to speed, with more at-bats, I’d consider him hitting second. Just a thought.