Post by Ben_Dodgers on Jan 3, 2018 11:54:08 GMT -5
With opening day upon us teams are paring down their rosters to 25 players. Miami released their opening day roster earlier this morning. Let's take a look:
Catcher:
Chris Hoo
Tomas Telis
With A.J. Ellis leaving for free agency and J.T. Realmuto on the DL, we have two new faces here. Fans will remember Telis from his previous callups. Expect him to get the majority of starts until Realmuto returns. Rookie Hoo is known for his defense and pitch framing.
Infield:
Derek Dietrich
Mike Ford
Adeiny Hechavarria
J.T. Riddle
Joe Sclafani
Two off season trades change the corner infield spots. Last year's DH Mike Ford will take over as the everyday first baseman, while J.T. Riddle will start at third. Ford is a player in the mold of his predecessor Bour, though scouts project a higher ceiling for him. Riddle should be a better defender at the hot corner than Prado last year. Rookie Joe Sclafani has already made a big impact in the clubhouse with his leadership.
Outfield:
Abraham Almonte
Matt den Dekker
Tyler Naquin
Marcel Ozuna
Ichiro Suzuki
Christian Yelich
A bit of an unorthodox decision here to carry six outfielders. Naquin, acquired from Cleveland in the Justin Bour trade, will likely start in center field. He struggled at the plate last season in Cleveland but got off to a hot start this spring. Yelich and Ozuna will start at the corners with Almonte as DH, but the outfield depth gives the team the opportunity to give the stars a breather at DH to keep them fresh. Ichiro is a liability in the field at this point, but he is content with a bench role and the team thinks he can still be productive as a pinch hitter and runner (he also sells a lot of merchandise).
Starting Pitchers:
Wei-Yin Chen
Adam Conley
Jacob Faria
Josh Taylor
Jose Urena
Everyone expected the rotation to look different this year after several off season moves, but this is still the biggest surprise on the roster. After a superb spring showing LHP Josh Taylor beat out Jeff Locke and Justin Nicolino for the 5th spot in the rotation. Locke was designated for assignment this morning. Taylor will start the season in the bullpen as the team plans to use just 4 starters for the first couple weeks of the season.
Bullpen:
Kyle Barraclough
Andrew Edwards
Jason Gurka
A.J. Ramos
Matt Strahm
Junichi Tazawa
Nick Wittgren
Edwards and Gurka, both acquired in offseason trades, won spots on the staff with their performance this spring, beating out Drew Steckenrider and Hunter Cervenka. Expect Gurka to be the lefty specialist. Edwards has closer stuff, but with the return of Ramos he will slot into a setup role. Ramos was dominant last year prior to going down with an elbow injury. There was some concern over whether he'd be ready to start the season, but after striking out 20 batters in 12 innings this spring, the team plans to use him in the 9th again.
Projected lineup:
CF Tyler Naquin
LF Christian Yelich
RF Marcell Ozuna
1B Mike Ford
2B Derek Dietrich
DH Arbraham Almonte
C Tomas Telis
3B J.T. Riddle
SS Adeiny Hechavarria
Prospect Watch:
Last year's top draft picks Jeren Kendall and Stuart Fairchild will start the season in AAA New Orleans. Kendall looks to be the future Marlins centerfielder, but with six outfielder already on the roster the team is not in a hurry to promote him and start his arbitration clock. SS Imani Willis, also drafted last year, will join them in New Orleans.
3B Chih-Chieh Su hit .360 for Taiwan in the WCB and .313 over 14 spring games. The team would like to see some improvement in his defense before he reaches the major league club.
SP Dillon Peters threw 15.2 scoreless innings this spring, leading the squad with a 0.00 ERA.
Catcher:
Chris Hoo
Tomas Telis
With A.J. Ellis leaving for free agency and J.T. Realmuto on the DL, we have two new faces here. Fans will remember Telis from his previous callups. Expect him to get the majority of starts until Realmuto returns. Rookie Hoo is known for his defense and pitch framing.
Infield:
Derek Dietrich
Mike Ford
Adeiny Hechavarria
J.T. Riddle
Joe Sclafani
Two off season trades change the corner infield spots. Last year's DH Mike Ford will take over as the everyday first baseman, while J.T. Riddle will start at third. Ford is a player in the mold of his predecessor Bour, though scouts project a higher ceiling for him. Riddle should be a better defender at the hot corner than Prado last year. Rookie Joe Sclafani has already made a big impact in the clubhouse with his leadership.
Outfield:
Abraham Almonte
Matt den Dekker
Tyler Naquin
Marcel Ozuna
Ichiro Suzuki
Christian Yelich
A bit of an unorthodox decision here to carry six outfielders. Naquin, acquired from Cleveland in the Justin Bour trade, will likely start in center field. He struggled at the plate last season in Cleveland but got off to a hot start this spring. Yelich and Ozuna will start at the corners with Almonte as DH, but the outfield depth gives the team the opportunity to give the stars a breather at DH to keep them fresh. Ichiro is a liability in the field at this point, but he is content with a bench role and the team thinks he can still be productive as a pinch hitter and runner (he also sells a lot of merchandise).
Starting Pitchers:
Wei-Yin Chen
Adam Conley
Jacob Faria
Josh Taylor
Jose Urena
Everyone expected the rotation to look different this year after several off season moves, but this is still the biggest surprise on the roster. After a superb spring showing LHP Josh Taylor beat out Jeff Locke and Justin Nicolino for the 5th spot in the rotation. Locke was designated for assignment this morning. Taylor will start the season in the bullpen as the team plans to use just 4 starters for the first couple weeks of the season.
Bullpen:
Kyle Barraclough
Andrew Edwards
Jason Gurka
A.J. Ramos
Matt Strahm
Junichi Tazawa
Nick Wittgren
Edwards and Gurka, both acquired in offseason trades, won spots on the staff with their performance this spring, beating out Drew Steckenrider and Hunter Cervenka. Expect Gurka to be the lefty specialist. Edwards has closer stuff, but with the return of Ramos he will slot into a setup role. Ramos was dominant last year prior to going down with an elbow injury. There was some concern over whether he'd be ready to start the season, but after striking out 20 batters in 12 innings this spring, the team plans to use him in the 9th again.
Projected lineup:
CF Tyler Naquin
LF Christian Yelich
RF Marcell Ozuna
1B Mike Ford
2B Derek Dietrich
DH Arbraham Almonte
C Tomas Telis
3B J.T. Riddle
SS Adeiny Hechavarria
Prospect Watch:
Last year's top draft picks Jeren Kendall and Stuart Fairchild will start the season in AAA New Orleans. Kendall looks to be the future Marlins centerfielder, but with six outfielder already on the roster the team is not in a hurry to promote him and start his arbitration clock. SS Imani Willis, also drafted last year, will join them in New Orleans.
3B Chih-Chieh Su hit .360 for Taiwan in the WCB and .313 over 14 spring games. The team would like to see some improvement in his defense before he reaches the major league club.
SP Dillon Peters threw 15.2 scoreless innings this spring, leading the squad with a 0.00 ERA.
