The Scrappy Fish

The Miami Marlins find themselves headed into 2025 as one of the MLB’s more intriguing teams. The Fish have consistently dominated on the bump, but that trend may be flirting with making its way into the batter's box. Miami finished with a record of 79-83, overachieving as a team in a season that wasn’t supposed to see much competition. With the emergence of players like Kyle Stowers, Agustin Ramirez, and Jakob Marsee, alongside steady production from Xavier Edwards, the Marlins have a foundation to build towards legitimate competitiveness in the near future. That leaves the question: What should fans expect from their young and dynamic Miami lineup headed into 2026?

Peaks and Valleys

With such a young starting lineup (average age of 25.9), Miami fans need to be understanding of the potential for extreme highs and lows throughout the lengthy season. A perfect example of this is Marlins catcher Agustin Ramirez. In the first half, the burly right-handed backstop put up a .759 OPS. Sadly, the second half saw Ramirez come back down to Earth to the lowly melody of a .637 OPS. The best way to approach stretches like this in Miami is to chalk it up to growing pains. At some point, the growing pains will subside, and you’ll find your stars, or they’ll persist, and the organization will move on. The Fish have plenty of opportunities to hand out, and although it may get rough at times, patience is key in Miami.

Stars Shining, Frauds Flailing

It’s very normal for young players to get blown out of proportion when they find early success in their careers. For example, Jakob Marsee’s projections have him remaining a very valuable player for the Marlins. However, due to the nature of the game, it would be a regularity for the league to adjust to Marsee and for his numbers to tail off slightly. Baseball is a game of consistent adjustments, and the winner of the chess match gets millions of dollars. Marsee’s data is very encouraging in terms of his underlying metrics. The young slugger rarely swings and misses (19.5 Whiff%) and doesn’t expand for anyone (19.9 Chase%). Those numbers usually aren’t swayed. A good eye at the plate is a great baseline for a young hitter to build from. Expect Marsee to have a productive season in Miami, but don’t hit the big red button if things aren’t sunshine and rainbows out of the gate.

Chippy, Gritty Approach

This lineup, as a whole, looks to be an absolute PAIN to pitch to. Including the starters and bench pieces, hitters like Jakob Marsee, Xavier Edwards, Otto Lopez, Liam Hicks, and Javier Sanoja, all DOMINATE with precise swing decisions and little to no holes in their contact rates. This lineup is going to give good teams headaches. They have been socially distancing from strikeouts for two years, and with the emergence of Kyle Stowers and Agustin Ramirez as power threats, expect the Marlins to give big teams a consistent run for their money. Not to mention the addition of Cubs’ former top prospect Owen Caissie in the Edward Cabrera trade has added immense upside to an already steady lineup of young grinders.

Conclusion

The Marlins have put together a 1-9 that should often be a pain to pitch against. Mixing power, speed, and ELITE contact rates, Miami has devised a plan of attack that’s likely to give pitching coaches and catchers across the league migraines. Watch out for the Fish, they’ve given up on swimming upstream and have decided to stay true to their nature. Miami could surprise some people in 2026.

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