The Marlins didn’t just redecorate the areas of their ballpark that will be in public view.
The interior of their clubhouse has some new additions, including a rendering of Miami’s skyline along the top wall above each player’s locker.
Another is a two-word message displayed above the exit, so players can see them every time they go to work.
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“Exceed expectations.”
According to BetOnline, the Marlins are one of the top 3 teams most wagered to win fewer games than expected.
And the betting line for wins was 63½.
When team owner and CEO Derek Jeter was asked what he’d consider a successful 2019 Marlins season one word came up repeatedly — “progress.”
So how can you measure success for the Marlins in 2019 regardless of final record?
Here are 10 things that would push the team’s long-term plan forward in the coming season.
1. The young rotation lives up to the hype
The Marlins committed to their pitching future even earlier than they expected with their recent decisions to release veteran Dan Straily and move Wei-Yin Chen to the bullpen. Choosing second-year starters Trevor Richards, Pablo Lopez, Sandy Alcantara and Caleb Smith to follow Opening Day starter Jose Urena signified the Marlins’ belief the four right-handers — all of whom are between ages 23 and 27 — are ready to form a solid core.
But the Marlins aren’t throwing their young guns to the wolves completely. Chen will be used as a spot starter as needed to conserve innings on pitchers such as Smith, who is coming off shoulder surgery last July, as well as Lopez and Alcantara, who have made only a combined 16 major-league starts.
The Marlins plan to carry an extra reliever to open the season, which gives them eight including Chen.
And the Marlins hope to see development from minor-league starters on the cusp of the majors, including righties Zac Gallen and Nick Neidert, who will start the season in Triple A but appear to be the first in line for a call-up.
The Marlins hope they can snap their string of five consecutive seasons using at least 12 different pitchers in their rotation.
2. Brian Anderson emerges as one of the NL’s best third basemen
The way Anderson looked this spring handling the bat and his transition back to third base could earn him a spot on the NL team come July and not just because each of the 30 MLB clubs gets at least one.
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Anderson ranked sixth in WAR (3.6), seventh in wOBA (.333) and Weighted Runs Created Plus (113) among third basemen during a rookie year in which he played as many games (156) as Nolan Arenado and Matt Carpenter.
Anderson, who started 90 games in right field in 2018, made eight errors in 71 games overall (64 starts) at third base last year but has looked much more comfortable fielding his position this spring under the tutelage of new infield coach Trey Hillman.
With all the big names from the 2016-17 core now departed, Anderson could be the next face of the Marlins’ franchise.
A significant jump in those numbers would be huge for a lineup that appears to lack many consistent run producers.
3. Lewis Brinson shows noticeable improvement
The approach at the plate has looked better and the five home runs early in spring gave a glimpse of what kind of power a consistent-hitting Brinson can produce.
Although he finished the spring slashing .278/.304/.593, Brinson struck out 18 times. While spring results don’t tell the full tale, Brinson making more consistent contact will be the key as to whether he can live up to the potential many scouts still believe is yet to emerge from the South Florida star the Marlins traded for in the Christian Yelich deal.
4. Jorge Alfaro overcomes incomplete spring and develops his skills
While not severe, Alfaro’s knee issues in spring training deprived him of some valuable time developing chemistry in games with the Marlins’ young pitching staff as well as precious at-bats.
The ceiling is still high for Alfaro, but the Marlins need to see improvement coming off his first full season in the majors. Alfaro is still very raw behind the plate defensively (11 errors and a league-high 10 passed balls in 2018) and at the plate (struck out 138 times in 377 plate appearances) but possesses the league’s strongest arm among catchers, according to Statcast.
Alfaro making up for lost time and quickly gelling with the team’s promising starters would be a huge step forward as the team looks to move forward at the position after trading the game’s current best in J.T. Realmuto.
5. The team’s top prospects continue to make progress
The cornerstone of the club’s rebuilding plan is their efforts to revive a dismal farm system. The Marlins have successfully added a strong foundation with eight of their top 11 prospects according to MLB Pipeline acquired in the trades they made in the past 18 months.
The Marlins need to see those players — some more than others — make major strides this season.
Potential future ace Sixto Sanchez, 20, will take it slow coming off elbow inflammation a year ago that has prompted the Marlins to keep him on a steady throwing program likely until late April.
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Victor Victor Mesa, who missed the first half of spring with a hamstring pull, needs as many reps as possible in the minors. Mesa, the club’s major international signing last October along with 17-year old brother Victor Jr., needs to shake off the rust of a nearly two-year layoff from organized baseball. The faster he can do that and get acclimated to United States pro baseball the faster track he’ll be on to the majors.
Outfielder Monte Harrison needs to prove the adjustments he made with his swing during the Arizona Fall League can translate to consistent contact and power.
Second baseman Isan Diaz is close to a call-up but must do the same at the triple-A level to prove he’s ready.
Jorge Guzman needs to keep developing his secondary pitches to go with the 100-mph fastball.
And bounce-back seasons from some of the club’s former draft picks, such as pitchers Braxton Garrett, Trevor Rogers and Jordan Holloway, would help, too.
6. The Marlins select an impact player with the No. 4 pick this June
The Marlins appear to have found a solid core of players in last year’s draft that should be ready by the time their contention window arrives.
It’s imperative they continue to add even more impact pieces beginning with the No. 4 pick in the first round of this year’s draft.
Baseball America projects Georgia high school shortstop C.J. Abrams, who is committed to the University of Alabama, as the Marlins’ choice at No. 4.
Abrams (6-2, 185 pounds) fits the profile of athletic speedy players the Marlins’ new management has been targeting over the past 18 months.
BA, which considers Abrams to have the best defensive ability among shortstops in the class, writes: “He uses his elite contact ability and plus-plus speed to drive balls to both outfield gaps for extra-base hits, and he beats out infield singles by routinely posting 70-grade run times from home to first.”
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The Marlins have some promising shortstop prospects already in their farm system, such as Jose Devers and Osiris Johnson.
So would they go big-impact bat at a bigger need position if one is available?
Andrew Vaughn, a first baseman at the University of California and the 2018 Golden Spikes winner, is considered the top overall hitter in this year’s class and could bring the Marlins an impact player at a position at which they are not nearly as deep.
7. Find another Victor Victor Mesa in the international market
The Marlins made it clear they want to be players when it comes to acquiring international talent by devoting more than $6 million to the Mesa brothers last year.
Though the signing period doesn’t open until July 2 and most of the top prospects have already made unofficial decisions to sign elsewhere, it will be interesting to see how much of a push the Marlins will make – possibly through trades as they did in 2018 – to acquire more pool money to make a run at the available talent.
8. The NL’s worst bullpen in 2018 improves and a closer emerges
The Marlins are not committing to using a single closer this season, instead looking at righties Drew Steckenrider and Sergio Romo and lefty Adam Conley as potential options depending on matchups.
The Marlins only converted 30 of 53 save chances a year ago, which contributed to their 63-98 finish.
FanGraphs projects Steckenrider, who has compiled a 3.35 ERA with six saves in 99 1/3 innings over two seasons in the majors, to finish with 26 saves in 2019.
Conley, who began his career as a starter, added 5.5-mph of velocity to his fastball and may have found his best possible role on the team pitching in late high-leverage spots.
The pen fell apart last year after Kyle Barraclough’s late-summer struggles and the trade of veteran Brad Ziegler. Romo, 36, can close, but he might prove even more valuable as that ground-ball-inducing, late-inning bridge to either Steckenrider or Conley.
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9. Chen is serviceable enough to help those young arms
With the Marlins owing Chen $42 million over his next two seasons, a painful yet necessary move was made to move him to the bullpen. But it’s paramount the club squeezes some value out of their highest-paid player not just because of the money, but also because of how much it could help alleviate the workload for both their young starters and bullpen arms.
An even greater boost would be if Chen can somehow figure out how to pitch significantly better than last season away from Marlins Park (9.27 ERA in 13 starts).
10. The veterans have solid years and provide leadership
Starlin Castro, Martin Prado, Curtis Granderson, Neil Walker, Chen and Sergio Romo form a group of players age 30 or over in the Marlins clubhouse.
If any, or all, of the six have strong seasons, it could increase their potential trade value at the July 31 deadline should the Marlins find themselves looking for ways to add more depth to their farm system or international pool money.
In the meantime, just staying healthy and productive is huge with Castro a steady presence in the lineup and at second base, with Walker, Granderson and Prado as movable pieces in the infield/outfield, and with Chen and Romo providing depth in the bullpen.
(Top photo of Brian Anderson: Steve Mitchell /USA Today)