Marlins Shortstop Could Take Leap at Plate Entering Third Season in Miami
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The Miami Marlins have had a rollercoaster past few seasons. In 2023, the team made the playoffs one year after losing more than 90 games. Despite the sudden success, they lost 100 games the following season and new president of baseball operations, Peter Bendix, fired his manager Skip Schumaker.
Bendix went to work on his vision, bringing in manager Clayton McCullough, along with several young pieces to bolster the roster. In 2025, they skyrocketed to third place behind breakouts from Kyle Stowers and Jacob Marsee, among others.
However, one of Miami's best finds came in the form of a waiver pickup in April of 2024, Otto López. An elite defender and good base runner, the 27-year-old shortstop has been a big reason for the Marlins' success in their rebuild, but there is another step he will have to take in order to become a true star.
With Miami not making any big splashes this offseason, they will be counting on players from within to make strides at the plate. ESPN's Alden Gonzalez listed López as a player to watch this spring training for that reason.
López Has All of the Pieces To Improve at the Plate
A valuable player due to his defense and base running, López has accumulated 6.1 bWAR through his first two seasons as a Marlin. However, López has posted below league average stats at the plate. In 260 games in a Marlins uniform, the shortstop has a career 88 OPS+ and .680 OPS.
Though his slash line may not show any improvement, with every mark down from 2024 to 2025, López did make big strides at the plate in his second season.
The first noticeable difference came in the power. In 2025, López cranked 15 homers and drove in 77 runs, a huge boost from his previous total of six home runs in just 26 more games. His isolated power (ISO) jumped from .107 to .121 and the under the hood stats confirm it.
According to Baseball Savant, López's barrel rate jumped from 5.1 percent to 7.1 percent, showing that he was making better contact with the ball. That caused his expected slugging jumped from .402 to .434, in the 59th percentile.
López is never going to hit 30 home runs, but if he continue to be a 15-20 home runs player like he showed in 2025, he becomes much more valuable at the plate. Couple that with his improved walk and strikeout rate, and that unlocks the potential to be closer to a league average or above league average bat.
