Cole Pepper
How bad are the Miami Marlins?
The team is already nine games back of the final wild card spot and has won fewer games than any team in the National League. BaseballReference.com says they have less than a 0.1% chance of making the playoffs. And it’s only June.
The disaster started early, when the Marlins lost their first nine games. Since then, they have managed losing streaks of seven, five and four games. The Marlins have lost more games in those losing streaks than the division-leading Philadelphia Phillies have lost all season.
Only twice have they won as many as three consecutive games.
Yeesh.
A deeper look at the numbers is just as gruesome.
The Marlins rank dead last in the National League in six key offensive statistics: runs, doubles, walks, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. They have committed the most errors of any team in the National League.
Pitching has been only modestly better.
There is a saying in sports that if you are going to stink, stink young. In other words, bad teams should be full of young players who can improve.
The Marlins are slightly older than the average Major League Baseball team. Of the top 13 position players, only one is under 26 years old (Otto Lopez turns 26 in October). So, what are the Marlins doing?
MLB.com ranked the Marlins farm system 29th out of 30 teams at the beginning of the season. Only the Angels ranked lower. No Marlins prospect was ranked in the top 50 future stars.
General Manager Peter Bendix took over in November with a huge lift in front of him.
It seems doubtful that this season can be salvaged. What about the future?
There are some young arms on the 40-man roster who could merit a look as the year goes on. Roddery Munoz is 24. He was recently recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville. Andrew Nardi, 25 has been given some spot service out of the bullpen this year after winning eight games in relief last season.
But because the prospect cupboard is sparse, Bendix will have to restock the minor leagues while filling in the many holes at the Major League level. It will not be an easy road. The fan support is about what you would expect for a struggling team. Only the soon-to-be departing Oakland A’s draw fewer fans per game than the Marlins, who average just over 12,500 per home contest.
So, yes. The Marlins are bad. And it isn’t easy to see when they’ll be better. Bendix says fans should be patient. But for how long?
