One Positive Shown By Marlins Position Players

It’s no secret that the Marlins haven’t been performing well as a team in 2024, but some little-known players have been stepping up big lately, leading the club to a .500 record in their last 16 games

It's been a rough season for the 16-33 Miami Marlins, but there are always some positives, no matter how often the team loses. Here’s a look at one positive shown by every Marlins position player in 2024.

Otto Lopez: Hard Hit %

Otto Lopez has been off to a blazing hot start in his Marlins career, and hitting the ball hard has been a major reason for his success. Lopez has a 57.9 hard hit %, which ranks 9th in MLB (min. 25 batted ball events). To put that into perspective, Lopez has a higher hard hit % than Gunnar Henderson, Kyle Schwarber, Matt Olson, Marcell Ozuna, and Giancarlo Stanton. Lopez’s hard hit % has definitely translated to his non-advanced stats, as he’s slashing .283/.333/.543 in 51 plate appearances. I’m not sure how long Lopez will be able to keep this up, but it’s been very exciting to see Lopez taking advantage of the opportunity.

Via Baseball Savant.

Vidal Brujan: Putting the ball in play

Vidal Brujan had a .323 OPS on April 24, but then the hits started piling up. Now that Brujan has gotten the opportunity to start almost every day because of the Arraez trade and Anderson's injury, Brujan has gotten his OPS up to .751. Brujan’s ability to put the ball in play has been a significant factor in his success, posting a 12.0 K% (97th percentile). They say that when you put the ball in play, the hits will come, and that’s been the case for Vidal Brujan.

Via Baseball Savant.

Jesus Sanchez: Good underlying metrics

Jesus Sanchez has been one of the most puzzling players in baseball. His results show he’s hitting like Javier Baez, but his underlying metrics show he should be hitting like Bryce Harper.

Here’s a look at Jesus Sanchez’s metrics on Baseball Savant:

Here’s a look at his actual numbers:

What makes this even more confusing is that not only is he hitting the ball hard, but he’s also cut down his strikeout % and he’s seeing worse results than last year.

Via Baseball Savant.

Josh Bell: Good stats in May

Josh Bell started off the 2024 season in a massive slump, recording a .554 OPS in 131 plate appearances throughout March & April. Bell has dramatically broken out of the slump, slashing .322/.403/.525 in 67 plate appearances during the month of May. Josh Bell had a .670 OPS in July 2023 and a .896 OPS in August 2023, so major ups and downs are nothing new for the veteran slugger.

Via Baseball Savant.

Bryan De La Cruz: Increase in power

Up until this year, Bryan De La Cruz had decent power but was never really considered a home run hitter. De La Cruz hit 13 home runs in 2022 and slugged .432, and then hit 19 home runs in 2023 with a .411 slugging percentage. This year, however, De La Cruz has already hit 9 home runs and is slugging .448 in 208 plate appearances thus far. It’ll be very interesting to see if De La Cruz can reach the 30 home run mark for the first time in his four year career.

Via Baseball Savant.

Jazz Chisholm Jr: Becoming more patient at the plate

For the past few seasons, a big thing that had been holding Jazz back from performing like a star player was his low walk rate and high strikeout rate. By no means is Jazz performing like a star player in 2024, but he’s taken a huge step forward with plate discipline. Last year, Jazz had a 6.8 walk percentage and a 30.8 strikeout percentage; he’s improved that to 9.1% and 24.4% in ‘24. Jazz’s OPS+ has jumped from 101 last year to 113 this year thanks to his significant plate discipline improvements.

Via Baseball Savant.

Nick Fortes/Christian Bethancourt: Pop Time

One of the main reasons the Marlins brought in Christian Bethancourt during the offseason was to improve their ability to control the opposing run game. Not only has Bethancourt done what was anticipated of him (86th percentile pop time), but Nick Fortes also made big improvements in controlling the run game, going from an 11th percentile pop time last season to an 86th percentile pop time this season.

Via Megan Briggs/Getty Images.

Nick Gordon: Unexpected Power Surge

Nick Gordon has only played over 75 games once in his career, but his stats have made it pretty clear that he doesn’t hit many home runs, at least we thought. In 752 plate appearances from 2021-2023 with the Twins, Gordon hit just 15 home runs and recorded a .392 slugging percentage. To most people’s surprise, Gordon has already hit 5 home runs this season in his first 42 games this season, putting him in a good position to easily break his single-season career high of 9 home runs, which he achieved in 2022.

Via Baseball Savant.