2016 Miami Marlins Preview & Fantasy Baseball Draft Prep
Full seasons from Jose Fernandez and Giancarlo Stanton would be nice, and the lineup has a few other guys who should be on your radar. Also, aren't you curious to see the effect of new hitting coach Barry Bonds?
(Note: When a player's fantasy draft status is mentioned - e.g., "he's an SP4" - the number is based on 12-team mixed leagues. ADP references are from NFBC drafts.)
ALSO SEE: TEAM PREVIEWS ARCHIVE
Key additions: SP Wei-Yin Chen
Key losses: SP Henderson Alvarez
Projected Lineup
Gordon probably won't bat .333 again, but another probable season of 50-plus steals makes him a decent second-round pick ... Yelich is coming in at around OF30 due more to potential than performance. The BA is great and he might steal 20 bases, but a 62.5 percent ground-ball rate will need to change if he wants to hit more home runs ... If Stanton stays healthy, 50 homers are possible. That's where he was headed last season ... Bour's early ADP is 1B20, while we've got him a bit lower than that. He slugged 23 homers last season, but had lots of trouble hitting lefties, so a platoon is possible ... Ozuna was sent to the minors for five weeks last summer, and hit much better (six HR, .789 OPS in 42 games) after his return. He should hit 20 homers, at least ... Prado usually hit for a good BA, but will struggle to reach 10 homers, and is a better real player than fantasy player due to his glove. Not worthy of a mixed-league pick ... Realmuto had a solid rookie season, batting .259 with 10 home runs and eight stolen bases. As the 10th catcher per ADP, he might need to steal double that number of bases to be worth the investment ... Hechavarria has hit .276 and .281 over the last two seasons. That's all we have to say about him ... Let's hope that Derek Dietrich gets a chance to play at some point, because he can hit (10 HR in 289 PA last season). He's eligible at 3B/OF, and looks to be blocked on all fronts to start the season unless the team uses him in a platoon with Prado, as FishStripes suggests. Dietrich would be a nice option to stash on a bench in a deeper mixed league if the parameters allow.
Projected Rotation
CL: A.J. Ramos
Fernandez is ranked at SP6 here after 11 dominant post-TJ starts last season. His upside is SP1 ... Chen's K rate is about average, his control is pretty good, and as a fly-ball pitcher headed to a homer-suppressing ballpark, he's intriguing as an SP5 ... Koehler is 30 years old and has a 4.10 ERA in 535 career innings. Pass ... Cosart has a high-octane fastball and induces all the ground balls you could ever want. If he ever learns to throw strikes, he could be pretty good. Don't bet on that happening this year, though ... Phelps is probably a better reliever than starter, but that doesn't help you. You can consider him for NL-only leagues, which is more than we'd say for the always-disappointing Jackson ... Ramos was a pretty good closer last season, saving 32 games with a high K rate. However, the Miami Herald reported in January that Ramos might have to compete with Carter Capps for the job.
Sleeper: As noted in our article on breakout players, Ozuna is an interesting power option who's being ignored until the late rounds of mixed league drafts (ADP 238). Twenty-five homers - or more - are possible.
Top Prospects
Tyler Kolek, SP - The 20-year-old Kolek is the best prospect in a depleted Marlins' system. Unfortunately, he posted a 4.56 ERA at A ball last season thanks to horrible control. Don't expect to see him in Miami anytime soon.
