With MLB Opening Day only 15 days away and spring training games steadily underway, baseball season is right around the corner. Over the next month, we will preview all 30 MLB teams for the 2020 season leading up to Opening Day on March 26th. Next up, the Miami Marlins 2020 preview. Check out the preview for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Miami Marlins went 57-105 last season and extended their playoff drought to 16 seasons. With the best players in the organization still in the minor leagues, the Marlins could get a glimpse of the future in 2020.
The Present
The Marlins are looking for anyone that could be a building block for the next competitive team in Miami. Jorge Alfaro was acquired in a trade in the offseason and had the best season of his career behind the plate. Homegrown talent Brian Anderson built on a solid rookie season in 2018 and will look to carry his success into 2020. Former top prospect Lewis Brinson has found no success at the MLB level but the Marlins will give him every chance to live up to the hype that surrounded him not too long ago.
Sandy Alcantara was the Marlins lone all-star in 2019 in his age 23 season. His 3.88 ERA leaves room for improvement, but Alcantara showed flashes of a top of the rotation starter that the 2020 Marlins will need. Caleb Smith and Jordan Yamamoto also showed flashes last season, but both have steps to take before they become solid MLB contributors.
The Future
Sixto Sanchez headlines five Marlins in the Top 100 prospect list for 2020. Sanchez was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for all-star catcher JT Realmuto and immediately became the Marlins’ best prospect. Sanchez was receiving comparisons to Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez when he was still a teenager, and his upside is immense. With two-seam and four-seam fastballs that sit over 95 MPH, a plus changeup and developing power slider, Sanchez will baffle MLB hitters for years to come. Outfielders JJ Bleday and Jesus Sanchez both profile as a middle of the order bats with defense upside to match. Both have a chance to make their debuts in 2020, with Sanchez having progressed further in the minor league system in 2019.
Shortstop Jazz Chisholm rounds out the top four for the Marlins. He was acquired from the Diamondbacks at the trade deadline last season and has an extremely high ceiling. Chisholm has struggled with strikeouts, but if the Marlins can teach him some discipline at the plate, Chisholm has 20-20 potential from the shortstop position.
The Marlins are stuck in an extremely competitive National League East division that features four teams that will contend for the playoffs in 2020 and beyond. While the Marlins will not compete with them in 2020, this season could be the beginning of a new era of Marlins baseball. With a top 10 farm system and much of it nearing the major leagues, the Marlins could be in for a quick rise to contention following the 2020 season.
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