Miami Has Realized Pitching Isn’t Everything Without Consistent Hitting

It’s going to be a long season for Miami fans. The Marlins are currently 4-15 to start the season after making the MLB postseason last year.

While the season has been bad, it has the potential to get worse over the weekend. Miami has a four-game series against the Chicago Cubs on the road. The Cubs are currently 11-7 and will be playoff contenders this year.

Meanwhile, the Marlins are already considering trades for the MLB Trade Deadline at this point.

We’ve got a lot to cover in our Marlins vs Cubs series preview. So, let’s get right to it!
Miami Marlins vs. Chicago Cubs

Explaining Max Meyer’s Demotion

The Marlins demoted Max Meyer to the minor leagues and activated Edward Cabrera. This wasn’t any contract manipulation. But the Marlins decided they wanted to do whatever they could to keep Meyer healthy.

The rookie sensation, who had a 2.12 ERA in three starts, was one of the positives for the four-win Marlins team.

Miami has a surplus of pitching, but that surplus of pitching has been injured frequently heading into this season.

We’ll see Meyer again. Just not right now.

Seiya Suzuki Will Spend Next Couple Of Weeks Sideliend

The Chicago Cubs lost Seiya Suzuki for at least the next ten days due to an ab oblique strain. However, it’s more likely he’ll miss about a month. Therefore, the Cubs recalled top prospect Alexander Canario from Triple-A to take his spot.

Suzuki had been hitting .305 with three home runs, 13 RBIs, and an OPS of .893 before his injury.

Marlins vs Cubs Series Preview & Odds For Game 1: RL: Cubs -1.5 (+140) ML: Cubs -150, O/U 8 +100/-120.

The Marlins will pitch A.J. Puk for the first game of the series against the Cubs. Puk is a left-handed thrower who has a 5.91 ERA with only eight strikeouts against 58 batters. To begin the year, he has allowed a .186 ISO and wOBA of .404 with 24.1% of walks. He’s been atrocious, just like the Marlins as a whole.

On the other hand, it’ll be Jameson Taillon’s first start of the season tonight. The Chicago veteran struggled last season, giving up a .248 ISO and wOBA of .370 to 326 lefties. Taillon won’t go deep in this game, but he’s one of the few matchups that might work out for the Marlins.

The Marlins’ projected lineup against righties has hit a .150 ISO and wOBA of .312 since last season. Only Jazz Chisholm has really stood out with power, but he’s also struck out 31.1% of the time. However, Taillon earned only 21.3% of strikeouts and gave up a .184 ISO and wOBA of .329 to 656 batters last season.

It’s obvious why the Marlins continue to lose games. The pitching depth is good but young, and the lineup just isn’t contributing much from top to bottom. Miami will have to face four righties against the Cubs throughout the series. If they’re going to win a game or two, this one would be one that they can get.

Conversely, the Cubs also have five players who have hit an above-average ISO and wOBA against lefties since last season. Dansby Swanson, Cody Bellinger, and Christopher Morel are the three bats to watch. We’d consider backing the Over 8 (+100) instead of backing the Marlins outright. This will be included in the MLB today’s picks.

In the second game of the Marlins vs Cubs series preview, the Marlins will pencil in Jesus Luzardo for the start. He’s another left-handed pitcher with a 7.65 ERA with the Marlins this season. He’s also yet to win a game this year and has allowed a .293 ISO and wOBA of .394 to his first 87 batters faced. If nothing else, at least Luzardo has earned 23% of strikeouts. Still, that rate is much lower than his 27.7% rate last season.

While Luzardo has struggled, his opponent has been absolutely terrific. Shota Imanaga has allowed no runs in three starts for the Cubs. He’s faced 59 batters and has earned 27.1% of strikeouts with 3.4% of walks. In addition, Imanaga has given up a .018 ISO and wOBA of .166. He’s been everything the Cubs had hoped for.

With his high fly ball and low ground ball rates, Imanaga will eventually give up some runs. But the Marlins aren’t the team that will light him up.

Edward Cabrera will be the only right-handed starter for the Marlins in this series. Cabrera made his season debut last week and earned 45.5% of strikeouts, a .000 ISO, and a wOBA of .234 against 22 batters. He also walked only 4.5% of batters, which was encouraging because he walked 15.2% of batters last season.

Cabrera will face Javier Assad. To begin the season, he’s had a 2.16 ERA and has held opponents to a .123 ISO and wOBA of .266. Assad has still been bad against lefties, but again, the Marlins don’t have an offense that can put up big numbers against any pitcher.

Meanwhile, the Cubs have hit a .168 ISO and wOBA of .331 against right-handed pitchers. They’ve got five batters who have hit an above-average ISO and wOBA against righties since last season. Chicago stacks up way better than the Marlins’ offense, no matter what the MLB baseball weather looks like on this day.

In the series finale, Ryan Weathers will get the ball. He’s another left-handed pitcher in the Miami rotation. Weathers has been up and down this season. But overall, he’s got a 2.70 ERA with 22 strikeouts against 65 batters.

Weathers doesn’t have the highest strikeout rate, but he’s also held teams to a .111 ISO and earned 52.4% of ground balls. There’s potential with Weathers. He’s just struggled too much against lefties, who have hit a .162 ISO and wOBA of .387. That’s because he rarely earns strikeouts against righties as a left-handed pitcher.

Weathers will duel it out against Kyle Hendricks. He’s a right-handed pitcher who has watched his first 66 batters this season hit a .355 ISO and wOBA of .524. Hendricks looks washed up, earning 12.1% of strikeouts.

Consider the Marlins in the series finale when the MLB betting odds come out.

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