Three Marlins Players Who Need Solid Starts to Retain Roster Spots
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The Miami Marlins will begin a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers this weekend.
It will present them with a good challenge to see how their talented lineup can hang with the Tigers' strong rotation. The Marlins will also need three of their players to come through and have a big series. While the team has started the season strongly, there's inconsistency among some Miami players.
Three Marlins Must Step Up Right Now
Heriberto Hernandez
The 26-year-old out of the Dominican Republic has shown some potential at the plate, especially in the series against the New York Yankees. Aside from that series, Hernandez hasn't taken full advantage of his opportunities while key players are injured.
Hernandez is currently slashing .125/.243/.431 with four hits, five RBIs, and one stolen base in 32 at-bats. Reaching base safely in all three games against Detroit will be a major boost for him. The talent is there, but he must be reliable and disciplined when he steps in the batter's box.
Connor Norby
Although Norby is proving that he can be a reliable first baseman, there is still some skepticism about his consistency at the plate. Norby has made some terrific plays defensively, along with delivering some timely hits. Can he do it nightly? That's the main question.
The 25-year-old is slashing .206/.357/.710 with one home run, two RBIs, seven hits, three runs in 34 at-bats this season. Norby belted his first home run of the season against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday, but he has also been striking out a lot as well. He has eleven so far.
Norby batted .310 in spring training. In the regular season, he's a lifetime career .243 hitter. He has to be better on the plate. It's his third season with the Marlins, and this series against the Tigers will be important for him to see where he stands.
Chris Paddack
The biggest example of someone from the Marlins who has a lot riding on the line is Chris Paddack. The 30-year-old has faced many challenging times in his career.
As much as the Marlins are thriving, Paddack needs to get going. His next start has to be impressive. If he finds himself giving up over three runs, it will not be a good look for him.
In two starts, Paddack has posted a 0-1 record with an 8.31 ERA, 10 strikeouts, and a 1.73 WHIP. In his previous start, which came against the Yankees, Paddack tossed 4.2 innings, allowing three hits, no earned runs, three walks, and four strikeouts. It's not a bad performance compared to his first outing against the Chicago White Sox.
Regardless, his position as a number five starter is not safe. Paddack will get his chance to secure his first win of the season on Friday night against the Tigers. The game begins at 6:40 pm. Paddack is familiar with the Tigers, having pitched for them last season. The right-hander went 2-3 with a 6.32 ERA last season with the Tigers.
After graduating from City College of New York in 2014, Miguel created his own blog. Since 2021, he has written for FanSided, where he covered the Toronto Blue Jays, College Football and Utah Mammoth hockey team. He also wrote for Miami Heat on SI and Cleveland Sports Talk. Miguel is the creator and host of his podcast, Baseball Heat Podcast with Mike.