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Speaker 1: Fresh episode of Fish Bites. It is Eli Sussman here,

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Speaker 1: the managing editor of Fish Stripes, hosting a podcast for

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Speaker 1: one of the few times all year. He probably didn't

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Speaker 1: hear a lot of my voice during this twenty twenty

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Speaker 1: just concluded Miami Marlins season. Extremely successful season, making it

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Speaker 1: to the postseason for the first time in seventeen years,

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Speaker 1: and winning a series once that got there, all the

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Speaker 1: great individual stories that came out of that, and what

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Speaker 1: it means for the outlook of the franchise moving forward

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Speaker 1: very exciting. I mean, I've been on top of it,

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Speaker 1: but I just haven't been doing a whole lot of

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Speaker 1: the audio portion of it. Busy running all of the

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Speaker 1: articles we have on fishtripes dot com, the video editing

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Speaker 1: that we do, the social media presence I have my

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Speaker 1: fingers and all that, and it took a lot of time.

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Speaker 1: As you noticed, I shifted a lot of the podcasting

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Speaker 1: responsibilities to our Marlins Barbecue duo of Red Garcia and

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Speaker 1: Alex Contreras. They're going to be continuing with their podcasting

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Speaker 1: throughout this exciting twenty twenty twenty twenty one offseason coming up,

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Speaker 1: and I don't want to make excuses for myself, you know,

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Speaker 1: just busy with a lot of other things, and the

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Speaker 1: fact that I'm not great at multitasking. So when I'm

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Speaker 1: watching every play of every game, and I'm pretty sure

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Speaker 1: I did, I went sixty for sixty list tuning into games,

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Speaker 1: which is sometimes very hard to do over a full

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Speaker 1: length season. So in that way, the shortened season was

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Speaker 1: somewhat of a blessing that you're more intimately following every

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Speaker 1: pitch than ever before because there was extra pressure on

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Speaker 1: every single moment of the season, and I'm just not

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Speaker 1: great at multitasking, Like even if it was some of

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Speaker 1: those ugly blowouts, and you know, we did have a

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Speaker 1: handful of ugly bloods this season, as reflected in the

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Speaker 1: team's run differential. All the experts will tell you that

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Speaker 1: Marlins aren't any good because that lopsided run differential, But

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Speaker 1: you know what I mean, no matter what was going

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Speaker 1: on in the game, I'm just not great at the

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Speaker 1: recording while I'm watching. And now I finally have the

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Speaker 1: time to get back to the recording. So hopefully about

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Speaker 1: a new podcast episode from me every single week, both

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Speaker 1: myself individually, but also a whole lot of guests coming

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Speaker 1: up that I think you guys will be really engaged

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Speaker 1: with This is going to be a solo episode, and

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Speaker 1: I'm going to try to do better with them than

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Speaker 1: I did last offseason. If you remember when I started

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Speaker 1: doing a lot podcasting one off season ago, some of

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Speaker 1: those episodes ran like fifty five to minutes an hour.

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Speaker 1: Sometimes it went over an hour just talking with myself

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Speaker 1: about a terrible Marlins team. And even though the team

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Speaker 1: is now more exciting now, I want to be a

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Speaker 1: little bit more condensed and concise with my analysis about

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Speaker 1: the team. And we're starting with a topic that I

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Speaker 1: think everybody loves, which is predicting what the team is

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Speaker 1: going to look like at the started next season. And

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Speaker 1: if you've been following the Marlins over these last couple

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Speaker 1: of years under new ownership, they're so unpredictable with their

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Speaker 1: transactions and with the timing of their transactions. So I'm

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Speaker 1: not here trying to guarantee any correct answers with this,

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Speaker 1: but from following everything that's going on, from reading everything

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Speaker 1: that the key members of the organization have said, and

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Speaker 1: also reading between the lines of what they've said and

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Speaker 1: what they have not said, I feel like I have

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Speaker 1: a pretty good idea of what that opening Day twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty one lineup is going to look like. So

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Speaker 1: that's what this episode is going to be about, going

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Speaker 1: through my picks at the moment as of what are

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Speaker 1: we in the second week of October, about five and

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Speaker 1: a half months away from the actual opening day. This

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Speaker 1: is my way too early prediction about what that opening

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Speaker 1: day lineup is going to look like on April first,

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty one at Marlins Park against the Tampa Bay Rays.

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Speaker 1: And as things are going right now, Tampa Bay, if

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Speaker 1: they're not gonna be the reigning World Series champions, they're

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Speaker 1: going to be pretty close. They're in a great position

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Speaker 1: as things go right now, it will be a tough opponent.

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Speaker 1: And I'm gonna be making this prediction with the assumption

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Speaker 1: that they're going to be using some right handed picture

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Speaker 1: to start the game with the raid is they're even

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Speaker 1: more unpredictably. You don't know how exactly they're going to

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Speaker 1: stack up all those talented arms that they have. If

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Speaker 1: I'm under the impression right now, my guess would be

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Speaker 1: that Tyler Glass now gets that opening day assignment and

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Speaker 1: makes the start. So my prediction is going to be

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Speaker 1: assuming with a right hander on the mound that the

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Speaker 1: Marlins are facing. For a very quick review, we look

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Speaker 1: back at opening Day twenty twenty July twenty fourth, a

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Speaker 1: game that you guys probably remember. The team won very

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Speaker 1: convincingly against the Phillies. So just a review of where

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Speaker 1: we've come from to start the twenty twenty season. This

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Speaker 1: was the opening day lineup. In center field, leading off

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Speaker 1: Jonathan vr batting second at first base, heyesuss Agui Lar

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Speaker 1: batting third. Playing left field was Corey Dickerson. In the

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Speaker 1: cleanup spot in right field was my guy Harold Ramirez

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Speaker 1: in the fifth spot at third base, Brian Anderson batting sixth.

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Speaker 1: Designated hitter Garrett Cooper batting seventh, Second baseman Isan Diez

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Speaker 1: batting eighth, Starting catcher Francisco Cervelli and batting ninth was

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Speaker 1: shortstop Miguel Rojas. Starting pitcher Sandy Alcontra. As you guys

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Speaker 1: probably remember very vividly, Sandy was dealing in that game,

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Speaker 1: an excellent performance, and Aguilar hit a home run I

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Speaker 1: believe in that game as well. The team won that game.

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Speaker 1: This is one of those strange situations where we can guarantee,

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Speaker 1: we can guarantee that the opening day lineup next year

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Speaker 1: is going to be different than this past year, and

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Speaker 1: that's because Francisco Cervelli has retired. He retired a couple

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Speaker 1: weeks ago, right after the end of the regular season,

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Speaker 1: citing putting his health above all his other priorities. Someone

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Speaker 1: that unfortunately suffered repeated concussions as a catcher, and unfortunately

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Speaker 1: his career was cut short a little bit, even at

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Speaker 1: thirty four years old. He was performing so well when

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Speaker 1: he was actually healthy. And also, of course during the

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty season, the Marlins traded Jonathan vr to Toronto

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Speaker 1: during the year, and now he's going to be a

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Speaker 1: free agent at the time that the Marlins, I would guess,

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Speaker 1: are extremely extremely unlikely to resign him, but you never know,

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Speaker 1: he'll be available at a good value. So what's possible

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Speaker 1: in either case with Cervelli retiring, there's gonna have to

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Speaker 1: be some change to this lineup from one year to

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Speaker 1: the next. And again, just to fast forward to put

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Speaker 1: this in full context, this is where they were on

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Speaker 1: the final game of the twenty to twenty season, the

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Speaker 1: Game three of the National League Division Series against the Braves.

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Speaker 1: This lineup was the one that was shut out and

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Speaker 1: lost heading into the offseason on a sour note. It

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Speaker 1: had a lot of similarities to opening day leadoff man

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Speaker 1: in right field John Birdie batting second, left fielder Corey Dickerson.

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Speaker 1: Betting third was Aggie Lara playing first base. Cleanup was

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Speaker 1: Brian Anderson at third base. Batting fifth was Cooper the

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Speaker 1: designated hitter. Jazz Chisholm was a starting second baseman and

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Speaker 1: batting sixth in the lineup. Then it was Miguel Rojas.

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Speaker 1: Begneris Sierra was in the eighth spot in center field,

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Speaker 1: Chad Wallach the starting catcher batting ninth, and finally six

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Speaker 1: Oh Sanchez started that game on the mound. And once again,

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Speaker 1: you can't in this case, you can't totally guarantee that

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Speaker 1: the lineup is going to be different for opening Day

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty one, but I think it's highly likely with

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Speaker 1: some of those players being shifted into different roles and

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Speaker 1: maybe some that get traded altogether.

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Speaker 2: So without further ado, we go to.

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Speaker 1: My twenty twenty one opening day lineup prediction, way too

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Speaker 1: early prediction. I reserved the right to update this prediction

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Speaker 1: as we get closer to the real thing. First, we'll

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Speaker 1: get out of the way the starting pitcher, which to

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Speaker 1: me is a pretty easy, pretty obvious choice. I wouldn't

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Speaker 1: say it's an easy choice if I was in the

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Speaker 1: position of actually making the decision, but I believe it's

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Speaker 1: pretty clear that if Sandy el Contra is healthy in

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Speaker 1: April of twenty twenty one, that he's going to be

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Speaker 1: on the mound for opening Day. I'm someone that has

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Speaker 1: always been relatively low on Sandy at the time they

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Speaker 1: traded for him, at the time of his debut, even

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Speaker 1: at the time when he was named an All Star

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Speaker 1: midway through the twenty nineteen season, there was a lot

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Speaker 1: of concerns to me about his consistency, and he has

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Speaker 1: totally flipped that switch, I guess, starting in August of

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Speaker 1: twenty nineteen, making about fifteen or sixteen starts combined between

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Speaker 1: the end of that year and then in the shortened

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty season, and consistency has been the key for him.

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Speaker 1: I mean, it's been really incredible how he has limited

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Speaker 1: his walks. He didn't issue more than three walks in

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Speaker 1: any game during this past season, and also the length

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Speaker 1: that he is providing. He's a guy that you had

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Speaker 1: very real concerns about his control and his pitch efficiency,

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Speaker 1: and he's put those concerns to bed with how he

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Speaker 1: performed at the end of twenty nineteen and then in

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Speaker 1: this past twenty twenty season.

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Speaker 2: One two ohon he caught him.

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Speaker 3: It was out there for Acuonya at ninety eight, but

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Speaker 3: he could not connect big strikeout from Alcontra to leave

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Speaker 3: two stranded.

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Speaker 1: ERA of three even during this past year and during

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Speaker 1: down the stretch those last couple of months of twenty

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Speaker 1: nineteen and ERA in the high twos, that if he's

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Speaker 1: going to keep the ball in the ballpark and he's

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Speaker 1: gonna throw strikes the way his pitches move, he's gonna

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Speaker 1: avoid the barrel of the bat, he's going to generate

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Speaker 1: so many ground balls, and he's going to be a

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Speaker 1: really effective pitcher. And even more so than that, you know,

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Speaker 1: you've been able to see the kind of the way

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Speaker 1: that his teammates feel about him, the way that his

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Speaker 1: manager feels about him, and how he's grown into a

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Speaker 1: more mature, more confident player over these past couple of years.

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Speaker 1: And for that reason, he has distinguished himself as one

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Speaker 1: of the leaders of the team. And the way that

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Speaker 1: he's been performing so consistently, they're gonna give him that

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Speaker 1: assignment once again. He was the opening day start in

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty, and my prediction at this point is that

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Speaker 1: he's probably gonna be the guy for twenty twenty one,

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Speaker 1: even though I feel very strongly about Pablo Pablo Lopez.

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Speaker 1: Even before Pablo had the results that met up with

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Speaker 1: his pure ability and his I believed in him and

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Speaker 1: he really showed out last year.

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Speaker 2: Six do Sanchez.

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Speaker 1: I still think the world of him and his potential,

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Speaker 1: but we're just focusing on the first game of the season,

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Speaker 1: and Sandy I expect to be on the mound for that.

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Speaker 1: So now, going through the lineup one through nine in

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Speaker 1: the leadoff spot for the Marlins next year, I expect

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Speaker 1: to be center fielder Starling Marte. With all these players,

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Speaker 1: I don't want to drown too many numbers into the podcast,

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Speaker 1: so I'll just stick with some very simple stats, and

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Speaker 1: I'm going to tie the twenty nineteen and twenty twenty

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Speaker 1: seasons together because I know the most recent season is

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Speaker 1: always fresh on our mind and it's always a key

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Speaker 1: factor when trying to project what's going to happen next year.

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Speaker 1: But it being such a shortened season, and given some

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Speaker 1: of the really outlier performances we saw last year, I

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Speaker 1: think the responsible thing to do is to refer to

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Speaker 1: combined stats over the twenty nineteen and twenty twenty seasons

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Speaker 1: when discussing these players, and I imagine the Marlins themselves

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Speaker 1: will tell you that that's going to be a pretty

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Speaker 1: big factor going into this They're going to be combining

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Speaker 1: a larger sample size to get a more realistic feel

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Speaker 1: for these players. So over the last two seasons, Starling

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Speaker 1: Marte combined between the This is combined actually between three teams,

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Speaker 1: between the Pirates, the Diamondbacks, and the Marlins. Two ninety

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Speaker 1: one batting average, three p forty two on base for

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Speaker 1: eighty one slugging a one to sixteen weighted runs created plus.

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Speaker 1: So with weighted runs created plus one hundred is the

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Speaker 1: league average adjusted for the league you're playing in, the

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Speaker 1: ballparks you're playing in, and relative to that sixteen percent

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Speaker 1: better than the league average.

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Speaker 2: With his bat alone.

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Speaker 1: And thirty five stolen bases dating back to the start

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Speaker 1: of the twenty nineteen season, Starling was the key acquisition

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Speaker 1: they got at the trade deadline this past year. He

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Speaker 1: is under contract for twoin twenty one, they'll have to

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Speaker 1: pick up that club option for him, pay him twelve

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Speaker 1: point five million dollars, which will make him the highest

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Speaker 1: paid hitter on the team ever since this rebuild started.

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Speaker 1: I mean right when new ownership came in, they traded

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Speaker 1: away the most expensive hitters on the payroll. You guys

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Speaker 1: remember that, and Marte isn't quite in gian Carlo Stanton territory.

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Speaker 1: But he's a pretty big investment that the team is making.

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Speaker 1: They're making that investment because he has a long major

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Speaker 1: league track record, a very good major league track record,

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Speaker 1: and he helps the offense in a lot of ways

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Speaker 1: in addition to playing one of the most important defensive

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Speaker 1: positions on the field, being in center field. That was

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Speaker 1: such a huge question for the Marlins entering twenty twenty

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Speaker 1: and health permitting. You know, Startling did finish the year

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Speaker 1: with a fractured left pinky, but he has plenty of

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Speaker 1: time for that to heal, and I expect him to

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Speaker 1: be at the top of the lineup to start next year.

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Speaker 1: A guy that I was really excited for them to acquire,

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Speaker 1: and the early returns for him were very positive.

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Speaker 2: Just had that ill timed injury.

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Speaker 4: And Marte puts a charge into one to right Harper's back.

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Speaker 4: Goodbye home run, starling Marte to the opposite field.

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Speaker 3: Yes, he's got that kind of power the other way

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Speaker 3: it might have been. The only question I had about

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Speaker 3: is Charlie Bartay's game, and we saw it earlier this

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Speaker 3: series within long double basses, clearing double, game tying double

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Speaker 3: off the wall.

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Speaker 2: Let's take it another look.

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Speaker 3: At how much power he's got.

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Speaker 1: My goodness, batting seconds in my predicted lineup. Second baseman

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Speaker 1: Jazz Chisholm. His stats last year were pretty ugly during

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Speaker 1: the major league season. That goes with most of the

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Speaker 1: rookies that we saw debut for the Marlins. For Jazz,

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Speaker 1: he batted one sixty one, a two forty two on

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Speaker 1: base percentage, a three to twenty one slugging, a fifty

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Speaker 1: six waited to runs created, plus who was striking out

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Speaker 1: thirty percent of the time. He did finish the year

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Speaker 1: on a pretty encouraging note. The final game with the

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Speaker 1: regular season against the Yankees, he had his best overall

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Speaker 1: game on both sides of the ball. He nearly homered

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Speaker 1: his first time up at the plate, and then he

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Speaker 1: actually did homer.

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Speaker 2: To write center his next time up.

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Speaker 1: Played great defense really for most of the time that

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Speaker 1: he was up this year, and that especially stands out

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Speaker 1: because he spent almost all of that call up at

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Speaker 1: second base, which is somewhat of a foreign position for him.

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Speaker 1: Developed most of his minor league career as a shortstop,

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Speaker 1: and the only reason why I don't have him playing

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Speaker 1: spoiler alert, I have Miguel Rojas in the lineup at

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Speaker 1: shortstop here coming up, and that's a reason why Jazz

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Speaker 1: I believe, at least for the start of next year,

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Speaker 1: will be adopting this new position on the right side

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Speaker 1: of the infield at second base. Even with the performance,

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Speaker 1: there was some encouraging things to go along with it.

281
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Speaker 1: He was the victim of some bad luck. A two

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Speaker 1: hundred batting average on balls and play the league average

283
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Speaker 1: is pretty close to three hundred for everybody else, and

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Speaker 1: for someone that hits the ball as hard as he does,

285
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Speaker 1: someone who runs as well as Jazz does, that number

286
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Speaker 1: is going to come way up as he gets a

287
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Speaker 1: larger sample size under his belt. He's an electric player.

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Speaker 1: The Marlins did make a big investment in order to

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Speaker 1: acquire him from the Diamondbacks, trading away Zach Allen, they're

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Speaker 1: going to give him every chance to succeed. At this

291
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Speaker 1: time last year, we were talking about Isan as being

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Speaker 1: that homegrown second basement of the future. Eson also struggled

293
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Speaker 1: in his debut as a rookie in twenty nineteen, but

294
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Speaker 1: the tools aren't quite the same as what Jazz has.

295
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Speaker 1: I think what already stands out for both guys, who,

296
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Speaker 1: as I said, have have really not accomplished much of

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Speaker 1: anything in the major leagues at this point is that

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Speaker 1: Jazz has all the same raw power, but he had

299
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Speaker 1: so much more as a defender and as a base

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Speaker 1: runner that Esan doesn't.

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Speaker 2: So those guys I.

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Speaker 1: Would expect to both get their fair shot to compete

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Speaker 1: in spring training. I just think Jazz is going to

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Speaker 1: win that competition, and that he's going to have the

305
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Speaker 1: path maybe not to play every single day to start

306
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Speaker 1: the twenty twenty one season, but he's going to be

307
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Speaker 1: playing a lot, and especially against right handed pitching. So

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Speaker 1: I expect him to be on the field, and I

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Speaker 1: also expect him to be high up in the lineup

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Speaker 1: despite the lack of track record, just because of the

311
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Speaker 1: tools that he has. And one thing that stuck out

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Speaker 1: to me is that looking at the top of the lineup.

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Speaker 1: One thing that I know Don Mattingly puts a big

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Speaker 1: emphasis on is working deep counts and working quality counts.

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Speaker 1: Despite the pretty lousy results that Jazz had in the

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Speaker 1: major leagues during the twenty twenty season, he was averaging

317
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Speaker 1: four point twenty four pitches per plate appearance, a big number. Now,

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Speaker 1: to be fair, that number is always going to be

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Speaker 1: relatively high if you're striking out a lot, because it

320
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Speaker 1: does take a lot of pitches to strike out. But

321
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Speaker 1: what Jazz did is he he did have a pretty

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Speaker 1: patient approach. He only swung the first pitch about a

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Speaker 1: quarter of the time, and he despite the strikeouts, he

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Speaker 1: didn't really have this alarming issue of swinging and missing.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm pretty high on him.

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Speaker 1: I think the Marlins are high on him, and they're

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Speaker 1: going to give him an opportunity to get a whole

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Speaker 1: lot of plate appearances from the very star of the season.

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Speaker 1: So number three in my predicted lineup for opening day

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Speaker 1: designated hitter heyesus Aguilar arguably one of the most valuable

331
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Speaker 1: players on the whole team, mainly because.

332
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Speaker 2: Of his availability.

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Speaker 1: He was only one of a few players that actually

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Speaker 1: stuck on the active roster for the entire season, survives

335
00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:05,439
Speaker 1: the COVID outbreak, and he was pretty consistently great, especially

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Speaker 1: at the start of the year. He was a big

337
00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:10,000
Speaker 1: run producer, and he really heated up again towards the

338
00:17:10,080 --> 00:17:12,000
Speaker 1: end of the year as well. He was just a

339
00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:15,160
Speaker 1: really great find for this team as a waiver claim.

340
00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:17,720
Speaker 1: I mean, for all the intelligence that the Tampa Bay

341
00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:21,480
Speaker 1: Rays had, they just basically let this guy go. He's

342
00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:24,040
Speaker 1: going to be arbitration eligible again in twenty twenty one.

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Speaker 1: He's going to get a significant rays. So this is

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Speaker 1: where I guess there's some uncertainty. This is where I

345
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Speaker 1: could be looking pretty silly having Aguilar in my projected lineup,

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Speaker 1: because I'm not entirely sure that he's going to be here.

347
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Speaker 1: He's going to be earning a pretty significant race. I

348
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Speaker 1: would guess somewhere in the five million dollar range is

349
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Speaker 1: how much his salary is going to be next year

350
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Speaker 1: for a guy that did play every single day this

351
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Speaker 1: past season. He doesn't necessarily have a big track record

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Speaker 1: of being an everyday player though, even when he's been

353
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Speaker 1: successful with his previous teams, and there's only so many

354
00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:01,239
Speaker 1: players in the Marlins are going to put on their

355
00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:05,280
Speaker 1: roster that are first base DH only type of players.

356
00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:08,679
Speaker 1: They love that defensive versatility. That's been a pretty common

357
00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:13,320
Speaker 1: reframe from all the decision makers with them. I could

358
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Speaker 1: see a scenario where they do sell high on Aguilar

359
00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:18,840
Speaker 1: coming off this year in order to address other needs

360
00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:22,359
Speaker 1: on the team open up opportunities for other guys for

361
00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:25,200
Speaker 1: the time being, though, I think that is the safest bet,

362
00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:27,679
Speaker 1: And even though he is due a raise, he's a

363
00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:30,399
Speaker 1: lot more efficient than some of these other veteran players

364
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Speaker 1: available in free agency, and I think ultimately the Marlins

365
00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:35,080
Speaker 1: are going to stick with the guy who is so

366
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Speaker 1: consistent for them and very important to their clubhouse culture

367
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Speaker 1: as well. And just one season with the team, he

368
00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:45,200
Speaker 1: made an incredible impression as a guy in terms of

369
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Speaker 1: dealing with his teammates, dealing with the media, keeping morale

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Speaker 1: very high, and bringing just a great, infectious personality to

371
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Speaker 1: this team. If it's I expect ultimately that they're going

372
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Speaker 1: to decide to keep him. Adding fourth in my predicted lineup,

373
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Speaker 1: right behind Aguilar, Garrett Cooper starting at first base. It

374
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Speaker 1: was one of the head scratching I guess it went

375
00:19:10,119 --> 00:19:12,320
Speaker 1: somewhat under the radar. I may have been one of

376
00:19:12,359 --> 00:19:15,480
Speaker 1: the only people paying attention to this is how frequently

377
00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:19,800
Speaker 1: Don Mattingly flip flopped Aguilar and Cooper between DH and

378
00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:22,359
Speaker 1: first base. There didn't seem to be much rhyme or

379
00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:26,040
Speaker 1: reason for it. I believe there was no point during

380
00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:28,520
Speaker 1: the season when both were healthy that one of them

381
00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:32,639
Speaker 1: actually played first base more than two or three consecutive games.

382
00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:35,800
Speaker 1: It was constantly switching back and forth every single series

383
00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:37,919
Speaker 1: or even in the middle of series that they were

384
00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:42,639
Speaker 1: switching between DH and first base. Statistically, I mean, Garrett

385
00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:46,760
Speaker 1: Cooper appears to be the superior defensive player of them,

386
00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:51,640
Speaker 1: aside from being taller, a little bit rangier, and he

387
00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:56,320
Speaker 1: does statistically have a very good ability of scooping balls

388
00:19:56,359 --> 00:19:58,959
Speaker 1: in the dirt. I mean, aside from just reaching balls

389
00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:02,000
Speaker 1: that are high above its head. He's he offers a

390
00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:05,440
Speaker 1: big catch radius, to use a football term, a big

391
00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:07,600
Speaker 1: catch radius at first base in order to.

392
00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:09,560
Speaker 2: Convert those outs on ground ball.

393
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Speaker 1: So I would expect that he's gonna be playing more

394
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Speaker 1: first base than Aguilar going forward.

395
00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:16,280
Speaker 2: That's just a guess.

396
00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:20,280
Speaker 1: And Cooper, oh, statistically, I need to get caught up

397
00:20:20,359 --> 00:20:23,360
Speaker 1: on the stats from Aguilar over the past two seasons

398
00:20:23,400 --> 00:20:27,679
Speaker 1: really quick. Aguilar hit two point fifty one with a

399
00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:30,040
Speaker 1: three point thirty five on base a four to fourteen

400
00:20:30,119 --> 00:20:33,800
Speaker 1: slugging and a league average one hundred weighted runs created plus.

401
00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:37,840
Speaker 1: Since the start twenty nineteen with Garrett Cooper, he's been

402
00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:40,439
Speaker 1: even better than that. Cooper since the start of the

403
00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:43,560
Speaker 1: twenty nineteen season a two eighty one batting average, three

404
00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:47,000
Speaker 1: forty seven on base, four fifty nine slugging. That's a

405
00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:52,280
Speaker 1: one sixteen WRC plus, exactly the same as Starling Marte,

406
00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:55,600
Speaker 1: a little bit less slugging than Marte.

407
00:20:55,320 --> 00:20:57,040
Speaker 2: But even more raw power.

408
00:20:57,119 --> 00:21:01,400
Speaker 1: If you've seen any considerable amount of Garrett Cooper played appearances,

409
00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:03,879
Speaker 1: you know he's got huge pop.

410
00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:05,080
Speaker 2: He had some of the.

411
00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:07,880
Speaker 1: Longest home runs by any Marlins player over these past

412
00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:10,440
Speaker 1: couple of seasons, and he had one of the most

413
00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:13,359
Speaker 1: important home runs, really several of the most important home

414
00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:15,399
Speaker 1: runs for the team this year. That home run to

415
00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:19,879
Speaker 1: lead off the postseason clincher against the Yankees at Yankee

416
00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:24,240
Speaker 1: Stadium to put them ahead and ultimately made the difference

417
00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:27,760
Speaker 1: in that game. The home run at Wrigley Field, I

418
00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:30,040
Speaker 1: guess that was game It must have been Game two

419
00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:33,399
Speaker 1: of the Wild Card series. That's the one that also

420
00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:36,840
Speaker 1: made most of the difference in that clinching game for

421
00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:40,240
Speaker 1: that series. He's not a fraid of the moment. He's

422
00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:44,280
Speaker 1: someone that has always been fueled by some of the

423
00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:47,840
Speaker 1: skepticism about him, the fact that he is a late bloomer.

424
00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:49,920
Speaker 1: More or less, he's about to turn thirty years old.

425
00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:52,080
Speaker 1: He's gonna be thirty years old during this upcoming year.

426
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Speaker 1: He's almost as old as Aguilar is. So in the

427
00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:59,040
Speaker 1: fact that he's had a lot of unlucky injuries, including

428
00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:01,800
Speaker 1: most recently having catching COVID. I mean, that was pretty

429
00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:04,359
Speaker 1: tough luck on him to take away a good chunk

430
00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:07,520
Speaker 1: of his twenty twenty season because of that virus and

431
00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:10,439
Speaker 1: how it's spread through the clubhouse. He's but when he

432
00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:13,000
Speaker 1: is on the field and when he's available to play,

433
00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:16,600
Speaker 1: he is simply a great hitter, and his peripheral stats

434
00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:21,040
Speaker 1: back that up. His exivelocity, his peak exivelocity is the

435
00:22:21,119 --> 00:22:23,720
Speaker 1: highest on the team. When he really gets into the ball,

436
00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:26,640
Speaker 1: he hits it in a way that few other hitters

437
00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:30,360
Speaker 1: in the entire league can hit. You simply can't teach that.

438
00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:33,199
Speaker 1: You can work out as much as you like, but

439
00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:36,520
Speaker 1: there's some sort of natural gift that goes into being

440
00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:39,520
Speaker 1: able to simply crush the ball in such a way

441
00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:41,240
Speaker 1: that it will get out of any ballpark, and he

442
00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:44,480
Speaker 1: can do it to all fields. So he's another guy

443
00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:49,080
Speaker 1: like Aguilar because of some of his defensive limitations. It

444
00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:51,600
Speaker 1: was pretty telling that the Marlins didn't use him in

445
00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:54,439
Speaker 1: the outfield at any point during the twenty to twenty season.

446
00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:58,720
Speaker 1: That maybe they are worried about his jury risk out there,

447
00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:03,119
Speaker 1: that he doesn't bring that defensive versatility. Then I'm not

448
00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:05,080
Speaker 1: sure the Marlins are going to value him quite as

449
00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:08,360
Speaker 1: much as you would think on the surface, and there

450
00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:11,560
Speaker 1: are other needs for the team to reach, But he

451
00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:14,200
Speaker 1: simply has some qualities that are hard that I mentioned

452
00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:17,680
Speaker 1: are hard to teach that even if their highly regarded

453
00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:21,760
Speaker 1: prospects really pan out, they might not be able to

454
00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:24,600
Speaker 1: fully replace Cooper either. So when you have a good

455
00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:27,080
Speaker 1: thing that Cooper already brings to the table, and you

456
00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:29,960
Speaker 1: have team control over him for not just twenty twenty one,

457
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:32,760
Speaker 1: but several years after that, I see no urgency to

458
00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:35,000
Speaker 1: move him right now. He's going to hold down the

459
00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:40,119
Speaker 1: heart of this lineup batting fifth. I predict that Brian

460
00:23:40,359 --> 00:23:44,320
Speaker 1: Anderson will be starting at third base yet again. This

461
00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:47,119
Speaker 1: would be his fourth full season with the Marlins, with

462
00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:50,920
Speaker 1: an emphasis on full because he has been so durable

463
00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:54,560
Speaker 1: for this team. He could have played all sixty games

464
00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:58,360
Speaker 1: of this shortened season if they didn't elect to give

465
00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:01,560
Speaker 1: him a rest. Right there towards the very ends, he's

466
00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:04,360
Speaker 1: he checks all the boxes that you want for an

467
00:24:04,359 --> 00:24:06,920
Speaker 1: everyday player, for a guy that you should be signing

468
00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:10,440
Speaker 1: to a contract extension. Hopefully he does have that extension

469
00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:14,200
Speaker 1: in place before the start of next season. His stats

470
00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:17,720
Speaker 1: over the last couple of years, so this is excluding

471
00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:20,800
Speaker 1: his rookie year just twenty nineteen and twenty twenty a

472
00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:23,760
Speaker 1: two fifty nine batting average, three forty three on base

473
00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:28,359
Speaker 1: four sixty seven slugging a one seventeen WRC plus that

474
00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:31,480
Speaker 1: is higher than anybody else in this predicted lineup.

475
00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:32,320
Speaker 2: It's great.

476
00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:34,600
Speaker 1: It's great, and especially for someone that is a plus

477
00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:37,919
Speaker 1: defender at third base, explains why he is such an

478
00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:42,480
Speaker 1: important player to this team.

479
00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:46,720
Speaker 4: Right to third that might have gotten the bag, anderson

480
00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:51,000
Speaker 4: long throw got him it first. Wow, what a play

481
00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:55,399
Speaker 4: stop it Anderson to stick with it either took a

482
00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:59,200
Speaker 4: left turn or got the bag. But then a missile

483
00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:00,600
Speaker 4: throw across the diamond.

484
00:25:01,480 --> 00:25:04,479
Speaker 1: This is not to say that ba is a perfect player.

485
00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:05,639
Speaker 2: He isn't, you know.

486
00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:08,920
Speaker 1: He's never been a huge impact guy on the bases,

487
00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:12,040
Speaker 1: and his strikeout rate did take a bit of a

488
00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:16,359
Speaker 1: jump in during the twenty twenty year. Some struggles against

489
00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:18,320
Speaker 1: breaking balls that he's going to have to remedy if

490
00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:19,919
Speaker 1: he's going to be a complete hitter, if he's going

491
00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:22,520
Speaker 1: to want to be a more consistent hitter. He wasn't

492
00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:25,360
Speaker 1: totally consistent during the twenty twenty season. They were very

493
00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:29,560
Speaker 1: high highs and some frustrating rough patches, including one right

494
00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:33,160
Speaker 1: at the start of the postseason that was very inconveniently timed.

495
00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:37,080
Speaker 1: That being said, I mean, he's a big piece of

496
00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:39,880
Speaker 1: the solution here. I don't see a scenario in which

497
00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:44,040
Speaker 1: they trade him, and there's no other current challenger in

498
00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:47,639
Speaker 1: the organization that I would think is more deserving of playing.

499
00:25:47,359 --> 00:25:49,280
Speaker 2: Every single day at third base.

500
00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:52,600
Speaker 1: I'd like to see him hitting even higher in the lineup,

501
00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:56,520
Speaker 1: I guess, but in this situation, he's yet another right

502
00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:59,359
Speaker 1: handed hitter. So far, five players through the lineup, we

503
00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:04,680
Speaker 1: have Startling, Marte, Jazz, Chisholm, Hayesus Aguilar, Garrett Cooper, and

504
00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:08,720
Speaker 1: Brian Anderson, and of those, only Jazz is left handed batter.

505
00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:11,600
Speaker 1: I think that's another reason why you could see him

506
00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:13,720
Speaker 1: all the way up in the lineup despite the lack

507
00:26:13,760 --> 00:26:16,000
Speaker 1: of track record, because it is important in this day

508
00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:19,399
Speaker 1: and age, especially if the three batter rule remains in place,

509
00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:23,800
Speaker 1: that if later in the game everybody needs to stay

510
00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:25,880
Speaker 1: in the game for several batters at a time, then

511
00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:28,800
Speaker 1: you want to be sure to mix in lefties and righty's.

512
00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:31,560
Speaker 1: There is somewhat of a strategic advantage to doing that.

513
00:26:32,040 --> 00:26:35,520
Speaker 1: So even though I believe that Anderson's performance merits batting

514
00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:37,919
Speaker 1: a little bit higher in the lineup, this is my

515
00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:40,440
Speaker 1: prediction that they're going to keep him at the number

516
00:26:40,480 --> 00:26:42,720
Speaker 1: five spot, which is where he spent most of this

517
00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:46,160
Speaker 1: past season in the number six spot for the Marlins.

518
00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:52,000
Speaker 1: Left fielder Corey Dickerson. My buddy arm Leyden, the host

519
00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:55,080
Speaker 1: of the Great Lockdown Marlins podcast, he's trying to find

520
00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:57,640
Speaker 1: some ways to trade Corey Dickerson during the off season.

521
00:26:57,680 --> 00:27:00,159
Speaker 1: He has one more year remaining on his contract to

522
00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:02,600
Speaker 1: with the Marlins after signing in free agency the year before,

523
00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:05,679
Speaker 1: and it's a backloaded contract, so he's going to be

524
00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:09,000
Speaker 1: earning north of nine million dollars this coming year, which

525
00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:11,480
Speaker 1: is a significant amount of money to spend on someone

526
00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:15,240
Speaker 1: coming off a very disappointing season. But this is why,

527
00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:18,200
Speaker 1: again I think it's important to stretch out the sample

528
00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:21,840
Speaker 1: size a little bit more because twenty twenty isn't fully

529
00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:25,240
Speaker 1: representative of the skills that Dickerson can bring to the table.

530
00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:28,320
Speaker 1: Over the last two seasons combined, he's played one hundred

531
00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:32,400
Speaker 1: and thirty total games, two eighty four batting average, three

532
00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:36,320
Speaker 1: twenty eight on base four ninety six slugging for a

533
00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:40,399
Speaker 1: one thirteen weighted runs created, plus a lot of that

534
00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:43,480
Speaker 1: effectiveness coming when he was briefly with the Phillies in

535
00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:46,159
Speaker 1: twenty nineteen. So that explains why when you'll adjust the

536
00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:49,439
Speaker 1: league stats down a little bit, he's not quite at

537
00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:51,160
Speaker 1: the top of the heap when it comes to this.

538
00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:54,800
Speaker 1: For a lot of this past season, maddingly batted him

539
00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:56,320
Speaker 1: right near the top of the lineup, either at the

540
00:27:56,400 --> 00:27:59,960
Speaker 1: leadoff spot or number two, dropping him down much lower,

541
00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:02,960
Speaker 1: or when they were facing left handers. In my estimation,

542
00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:05,439
Speaker 1: I think he's still going to be playing a lot

543
00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:07,840
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty one. He's going to be difficult to

544
00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:10,199
Speaker 1: trade because as much as the Marlins are dealing with

545
00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:14,119
Speaker 1: some financial insecurity to do the lost revenue in twenty twenty,

546
00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:16,640
Speaker 1: you could say that for pretty much every single other

547
00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:18,399
Speaker 1: team as well. They're not going to be eager to

548
00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:22,359
Speaker 1: acquire Dickerson. There is a scenario, in my opinion, that

549
00:28:22,359 --> 00:28:23,879
Speaker 1: they would be able to trade him, they'd have to

550
00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:26,440
Speaker 1: eat some of the money, and they wouldn't be able

551
00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:28,959
Speaker 1: to expect much of anything back in return, essentially a

552
00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:31,760
Speaker 1: partial salary dump if they were so desperate to do so.

553
00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:35,959
Speaker 1: I'm cautiously optimistic that they're going to be more responsible

554
00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:39,760
Speaker 1: than that, that they understand despite all the intriguing outfield

555
00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:43,800
Speaker 1: prospects at the higher levels of this organization, you're entering

556
00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:47,840
Speaker 1: a season with pretty significant expectations for the team, and

557
00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:49,280
Speaker 1: if you want to put that team in the best

558
00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:51,760
Speaker 1: position to get off to a decent start and to

559
00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:55,240
Speaker 1: remain in contention for the entire year, then you do

560
00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:56,960
Speaker 1: that by putting in a guy that has a very

561
00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:00,400
Speaker 1: long track record and a very good offensive track record.

562
00:29:01,560 --> 00:29:04,000
Speaker 1: I mean, this is for a whole separate conversation trying

563
00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:06,320
Speaker 1: to break down what exactly went wrong for Dickerson. It

564
00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:10,200
Speaker 1: could be as simple as as non baseball reasons that

565
00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:11,280
Speaker 1: really set him back.

566
00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:13,560
Speaker 2: You don't want to read too much into.

567
00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:17,200
Speaker 1: This tiny, tiny sample size, but it was disappointing, no

568
00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:20,280
Speaker 1: doubt about it, Just as much defensively as anything. For

569
00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:22,640
Speaker 1: a guy that recently won a Gold Glove in left

570
00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:26,240
Speaker 1: field to be a clear liability out there in twenty twenty,

571
00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:30,400
Speaker 1: that was a little discouraging. And if that continues, then

572
00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:32,880
Speaker 1: the Marlins are in a really tough spot. My best

573
00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:35,240
Speaker 1: guess is that they're gonna bet on a bounce back

574
00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:37,240
Speaker 1: from Dickerson in twenty twenty.

575
00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:40,200
Speaker 2: In twenty twenty one. They're not gonna necessarily.

576
00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:41,360
Speaker 1: Stick him at the top of the lineup, they're not

577
00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:44,400
Speaker 1: gonna commit to playing him every single day, but he's

578
00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:47,280
Speaker 1: gonna have a big role on this team. And perhaps

579
00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:50,080
Speaker 1: if let's see, if I'm proven right batting sixth on

580
00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:53,320
Speaker 1: opening day next year in the number seven spot. Right

581
00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:57,920
Speaker 1: behind him starting in right field, Harold Ramirez hitting Harold

582
00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:02,480
Speaker 1: oh hitting Harold who we didn't get to see much of.

583
00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:03,200
Speaker 2: This past year.

584
00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:06,560
Speaker 1: He's one of the first players who was testing positive

585
00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:09,320
Speaker 1: for COVID. As soon as he came back, he had

586
00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:13,840
Speaker 1: that scary looking hamstring injury that ended his year prematurely. Thankfully,

587
00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:16,800
Speaker 1: it was only a hamstring and not something structural, nothing

588
00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:19,840
Speaker 1: wrong with his ligaments as far as I know. He

589
00:30:19,920 --> 00:30:25,600
Speaker 1: didn't undergo surgery, but a significant injury nonetheless that he

590
00:30:25,640 --> 00:30:28,320
Speaker 1: should have plenty of time to recover from heading against

591
00:30:28,040 --> 00:30:31,640
Speaker 1: the offseason. As I mentioned earlier in the episode, he

592
00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:34,560
Speaker 1: was the cleanup hitter on opening day in twenty twenty.

593
00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:38,000
Speaker 1: He was pretty impressive in summer camp leading up to

594
00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:40,800
Speaker 1: the start off last season, and he of course had

595
00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:42,320
Speaker 1: that pretty exciting rookie year.

596
00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:44,840
Speaker 2: His overall stats.

597
00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:46,760
Speaker 1: Since really these are now his career stats because he

598
00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:50,360
Speaker 1: just debuted in twenty nineteen, one hundred and twenty two games,

599
00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:53,400
Speaker 1: two seventy four banning average three to eleven on base

600
00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:57,560
Speaker 1: percentage for eleven slugging. That's a ninety one weighted runs

601
00:30:57,600 --> 00:31:00,120
Speaker 1: created plus. But I will point out much higher in

602
00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:03,040
Speaker 1: high leverage situations with the game on the line, above

603
00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:05,800
Speaker 1: average ability at putting balls in play, but someone that

604
00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:08,000
Speaker 1: could use a lot more plate discipline as well and

605
00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:11,440
Speaker 1: more places at the plate to boost up that OBP.

606
00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:15,160
Speaker 1: Another guy, just like Dickerson, that has some questions about

607
00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:18,960
Speaker 1: his defense. He started let's see, well last year he

608
00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:22,640
Speaker 1: was in right field, but I imagine now that assuming that

609
00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:24,960
Speaker 1: the DH is going to be in the National League

610
00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:27,440
Speaker 1: moving forward, he's the guy that would get a considerable

611
00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:32,160
Speaker 1: that amount of his playing time over there, and I think,

612
00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:34,240
Speaker 1: more so than anybody else that we've mentioned, he's the

613
00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:38,240
Speaker 1: one that I most worry about being traded between now

614
00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:41,240
Speaker 1: and opening day. The Marlins have so many outfield options,

615
00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:44,479
Speaker 1: and they have guys that are more well rounded players

616
00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:47,000
Speaker 1: coming up through the pipeline. As happy as I feel,

617
00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:49,960
Speaker 1: as a as much love as I have for Harold

618
00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:53,280
Speaker 1: only twenty six years old, someone that the team was

619
00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:56,320
Speaker 1: confident about taking it next step before he got injured.

620
00:31:57,960 --> 00:31:59,560
Speaker 2: Yeah, the reality is.

621
00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:01,280
Speaker 1: There's a bit of a roster crunch going on with

622
00:32:01,320 --> 00:32:03,560
Speaker 1: this team, and how many outfielders you can squeeze onto

623
00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:06,280
Speaker 1: the forty man roster at one time. You want to

624
00:32:06,360 --> 00:32:09,480
Speaker 1: use those spots very valuably, and I wouldn't be shocked

625
00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:12,760
Speaker 1: if he's on another team to start next season. Again,

626
00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:14,720
Speaker 1: my best guess is that they hold on to him

627
00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:17,680
Speaker 1: just because what we saw from some of these outfield

628
00:32:17,680 --> 00:32:19,880
Speaker 1: prospects in their tastes of the majors last year is

629
00:32:19,880 --> 00:32:22,720
Speaker 1: they didn't seem completely ready, especially not completely ready to

630
00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:26,240
Speaker 1: play every day. And that's why with Dickerson and with Harold,

631
00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:29,600
Speaker 1: they are good placeholders to have in place, because you

632
00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:31,240
Speaker 1: know when they are really on top of their game,

633
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:35,480
Speaker 1: they are fearsome hitters. And for a team that last

634
00:32:35,560 --> 00:32:39,360
Speaker 1: year was very mediocre offensively and one that especially towards

635
00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:41,560
Speaker 1: the end of the year, once you took Starling Mortea

636
00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:44,680
Speaker 1: the equation, they had a serious issue with the length

637
00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:47,960
Speaker 1: of their lineup that I think the simplest approach would

638
00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:51,080
Speaker 1: be to hold on, to hold on to those guys

639
00:32:51,080 --> 00:32:53,480
Speaker 1: and trust and their potential, and trust in the team

640
00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:55,080
Speaker 1: that you put together in the first place.

641
00:32:55,720 --> 00:32:56,560
Speaker 2: I gain's play.

642
00:32:56,560 --> 00:32:59,400
Speaker 1: How am I failed? Right now, I'm feel so good

643
00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:03,360
Speaker 1: moving to the number eight spot in my predicted opening

644
00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:06,840
Speaker 1: day lineup, we have the most familiar face of them all,

645
00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:11,360
Speaker 1: shortstop Miguel Rojas. Rojas took a nice step forward in

646
00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:13,680
Speaker 1: his game in twenty nineteen, and then when he was

647
00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:18,640
Speaker 1: healthy in twenty twenty, he was incredible. He was totally incredible,

648
00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:21,320
Speaker 1: in my opinion, the best position player that the team

649
00:33:21,360 --> 00:33:26,480
Speaker 1: had because of everything that he brought offensively, defensively, intangibly

650
00:33:26,760 --> 00:33:29,440
Speaker 1: all on the field off the field, he was such

651
00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:32,680
Speaker 1: a huge part of helping that team overachieve because of

652
00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:35,120
Speaker 1: what he did, and despite missing some time, he was

653
00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:39,160
Speaker 1: the first player that got back from being COVID positive.

654
00:33:40,160 --> 00:33:43,239
Speaker 1: His stats over the last two seasons one hundred and

655
00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:46,640
Speaker 1: seventy two games, a two eighty eight batting average, three

656
00:33:46,680 --> 00:33:50,080
Speaker 1: p forty four on base four to h three slugging.

657
00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:53,680
Speaker 1: That's a one poh one w RC plus red Rounds

658
00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:57,520
Speaker 1: league average, also with fourteen stolen bases added on to that,

659
00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:00,760
Speaker 1: despite the fact that he's not conventionally that of a speedster,

660
00:34:01,360 --> 00:34:03,640
Speaker 1: and you know what he does defensively, He's just been

661
00:34:04,480 --> 00:34:09,400
Speaker 1: extremely consistently good defensive players. Starred in some of the

662
00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:13,000
Speaker 1: most iconic plays of this past season, including that air

663
00:34:13,080 --> 00:34:17,600
Speaker 1: Rojas throw during that opening series of the season, and

664
00:34:18,120 --> 00:34:20,279
Speaker 1: it was a great year, and especially if you look

665
00:34:20,320 --> 00:34:23,880
Speaker 1: at last year in particular, it's really you'd think that

666
00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:26,040
Speaker 1: he's one of the best overall shortstops in the league.

667
00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:28,480
Speaker 1: Just to pump the brakes on that a little bit,

668
00:34:28,520 --> 00:34:31,799
Speaker 1: I stretch out the sample size and point out that, yeah,

669
00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:34,560
Speaker 1: I don't know how much of that power was legit

670
00:34:34,719 --> 00:34:37,880
Speaker 1: The contact skills are legit someone that has a twelve

671
00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:41,400
Speaker 1: percent strikeout rate over those last two years combined, and

672
00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:43,640
Speaker 1: he was drawing more walks this past year, which proved

673
00:34:43,680 --> 00:34:46,319
Speaker 1: to be an extremely valuable part of it. He did

674
00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:48,719
Speaker 1: hit near the top of the lineup on occasion, but

675
00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:52,080
Speaker 1: I agree with what was usually the case putting him

676
00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:57,000
Speaker 1: in the bottom third of this because ultimately not enough

677
00:34:57,239 --> 00:35:01,759
Speaker 1: really hard quality contact at the moment, and because he's

678
00:35:01,760 --> 00:35:05,520
Speaker 1: not quite the same speed demon that Starling Marte or

679
00:35:05,640 --> 00:35:08,560
Speaker 1: Jazz Chisholm is. I don't think he could justify giving

680
00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:11,480
Speaker 1: him more plate appearances than anybody else in the lineup.

681
00:35:11,880 --> 00:35:14,680
Speaker 1: But he is gonna be pretty much see every day

682
00:35:14,680 --> 00:35:17,799
Speaker 1: shortstop going forward as long as his performance continues to

683
00:35:17,880 --> 00:35:20,560
Speaker 1: justify it. This will be his age thirty two season

684
00:35:20,600 --> 00:35:24,120
Speaker 1: coming up. I think realistically you should brace yourself for

685
00:35:24,239 --> 00:35:26,279
Speaker 1: the fact that there will be some regression from where

686
00:35:26,320 --> 00:35:30,279
Speaker 1: he was last year, and I mean hopefully it's a

687
00:35:30,320 --> 00:35:34,040
Speaker 1: graceful decline. I think either way, he's really good value

688
00:35:34,200 --> 00:35:36,520
Speaker 1: for what The Marlins have him under contract for about

689
00:35:36,560 --> 00:35:38,520
Speaker 1: five million dollars, and then they have a club option

690
00:35:38,600 --> 00:35:41,920
Speaker 1: for him in twenty twenty two that health permitting, I

691
00:35:41,960 --> 00:35:45,239
Speaker 1: think they're extremely likely to pick up. He is someone that,

692
00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:47,720
Speaker 1: more so than any other player, you'd love to see

693
00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:49,920
Speaker 1: the team find a way to keep him forever for

694
00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:52,000
Speaker 1: the rest of his career in some capacity because he

695
00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:54,960
Speaker 1: brings so much to the table, and at least for

696
00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:56,680
Speaker 1: the start of the year, I think he's pretty much

697
00:35:56,760 --> 00:36:01,080
Speaker 1: unchallenged as the starting shortstop on the Marlin. To review

698
00:36:01,080 --> 00:36:04,560
Speaker 1: where we are almost all the way through this lineup.

699
00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:08,120
Speaker 1: The opening day starter for twenty twenty one, in my estimation,

700
00:36:08,280 --> 00:36:11,520
Speaker 1: is going to be Sandy al Contra, followed by in

701
00:36:11,560 --> 00:36:16,200
Speaker 1: the lineup, centerfielder Starling Marte, second basement Jazz Chisholm dh

702
00:36:16,480 --> 00:36:20,880
Speaker 1: Esus Aguilar, first baseman Garrett Cooper, third baseman Brian Anderson,

703
00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:25,920
Speaker 1: left fielder Corey Dickerson, right fielder hitting Harold Ramirez, shortstop

704
00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:26,920
Speaker 1: Miguel Rojas.

705
00:36:27,200 --> 00:36:29,040
Speaker 2: And that brings us to the number nine spot.

706
00:36:29,320 --> 00:36:31,239
Speaker 1: As you could already figure out in your head, that's

707
00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:33,080
Speaker 1: gonna be our catcher. And this is gonna be my

708
00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:36,600
Speaker 1: one significant outside edition. I wouldn't call him a big

709
00:36:36,640 --> 00:36:40,760
Speaker 1: addition because he is, in a literal sense an undersized player,

710
00:36:41,080 --> 00:36:43,799
Speaker 1: but I think it's clear. It was clear to me

711
00:36:44,560 --> 00:36:46,560
Speaker 1: frankly in the middle of the season that the Marlins

712
00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:48,960
Speaker 1: would need to go outside their organization to get a

713
00:36:48,960 --> 00:36:53,480
Speaker 1: new catcher for twenty twenty one. Just the production has

714
00:36:53,560 --> 00:36:56,719
Speaker 1: not been all that good. It hasn't been much better

715
00:36:56,760 --> 00:36:58,960
Speaker 1: than replacement level, and towards the end of the year

716
00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:03,080
Speaker 1: they were leaning so heavy on Chadwallack. With respect to Chadwalack,

717
00:37:03,120 --> 00:37:06,160
Speaker 1: I think he's still in the organization moving forward, but

718
00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:09,040
Speaker 1: not a guy that you want getting the lion's share

719
00:37:09,200 --> 00:37:11,920
Speaker 1: of your starting opportunities, no matter what you think he

720
00:37:12,040 --> 00:37:16,120
Speaker 1: brings in the intangible aspects of the game. My expectation

721
00:37:16,239 --> 00:37:19,719
Speaker 1: is that batting ninth next year on opening Day at

722
00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:24,640
Speaker 1: catcher will be Christian Vasquez, currently of the Boston Red Sox.

723
00:37:25,719 --> 00:37:29,880
Speaker 1: Vasquez is quietly one of the best catchers in baseball.

724
00:37:30,080 --> 00:37:32,799
Speaker 1: I've been doing this thing, combining stats over the last

725
00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:35,399
Speaker 1: two seasons for all these players we've been going through,

726
00:37:35,760 --> 00:37:39,320
Speaker 1: and these are the stats for Christian Vasquez. One hundred

727
00:37:39,320 --> 00:37:42,239
Speaker 1: and eighty five games played, one eighty five over the

728
00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:45,880
Speaker 1: last two years, which is a big total for a catcher,

729
00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:50,800
Speaker 1: batting two seventy eight three twenty seven on base percentage

730
00:37:50,960 --> 00:37:54,520
Speaker 1: for seventy two slugging even in hitter friendly Fenway Park.

731
00:37:54,560 --> 00:37:58,279
Speaker 1: That is a one TOZH five weighted runs created plus

732
00:37:58,360 --> 00:38:01,960
Speaker 1: better than league average thirty home runs since the start

733
00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:02,760
Speaker 1: of twenty nineteen.

734
00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:05,840
Speaker 2: At the catcher position, He's not JT. Real Muto.

735
00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:09,560
Speaker 1: He's not quite as toolsy as Jorge al farrow is.

736
00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:13,080
Speaker 1: But since the start of twenty nineteen, according to Fangrafts,

737
00:38:13,160 --> 00:38:16,960
Speaker 1: he has produced four point nine wins above replacement. That

738
00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:20,319
Speaker 1: is more than Rojas, That is more than BA, that

739
00:38:20,480 --> 00:38:23,120
Speaker 1: is more than Startling. He's been more valuable than any

740
00:38:23,120 --> 00:38:25,120
Speaker 1: of them, at least in that one metric.

741
00:38:26,080 --> 00:38:28,720
Speaker 5: I need to continue a big consistem on my heading,

742
00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:31,800
Speaker 5: on my catching. I don't know my defense they are always,

743
00:38:32,120 --> 00:38:36,479
Speaker 5: but my offense needs to try to do my best.

744
00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:39,280
Speaker 1: Who has a two win and that doesn't even include

745
00:38:39,320 --> 00:38:42,359
Speaker 1: his twenty eighteen season where he was a big part

746
00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:46,840
Speaker 1: of their World Series championship team. I expect the Marlins

747
00:38:46,920 --> 00:38:50,600
Speaker 1: to acquire a catcher and he's he's on a much

748
00:38:50,640 --> 00:38:53,080
Speaker 1: better value than some of these free agents out there,

749
00:38:53,120 --> 00:38:55,799
Speaker 1: whether it's real Muto, whether it's James McCann. I know

750
00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:58,520
Speaker 1: a lot of people have mentioned James McCann because he's

751
00:38:58,520 --> 00:39:01,080
Speaker 1: been hitting even better than Vasque has over the past

752
00:39:01,080 --> 00:39:03,879
Speaker 1: couple of years. But Vesquez is just such a well

753
00:39:03,960 --> 00:39:08,279
Speaker 1: rounded player, and he's shown that with a team that

754
00:39:08,520 --> 00:39:10,920
Speaker 1: obviously had a huge drop off in twenty twenty. The

755
00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:13,400
Speaker 1: Marlins were much better than the Red Sox. He was

756
00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:17,200
Speaker 1: pinned with one of the worst pitching staffs in all

757
00:39:17,200 --> 00:39:20,279
Speaker 1: Baseball I think, frankly, the worst pitching staff in all

758
00:39:20,280 --> 00:39:22,480
Speaker 1: of baseball, so that must have been a rough experience

759
00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:26,040
Speaker 1: for him and the Red Sox. They're not quite as

760
00:39:26,040 --> 00:39:28,799
Speaker 1: bad as their twenty twenty record would indicate, but they

761
00:39:28,880 --> 00:39:32,040
Speaker 1: are in a rebuild and they are looking to shed

762
00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:34,440
Speaker 1: some money. The Marlins, I don't think are going to

763
00:39:34,520 --> 00:39:36,560
Speaker 1: make that huge, splashy trade to get a J. D.

764
00:39:36,719 --> 00:39:41,560
Speaker 1: Martinez or a Xander Bogarts or anybody of that money

765
00:39:41,680 --> 00:39:44,320
Speaker 1: at this moment, but I think they would be willing

766
00:39:44,360 --> 00:39:47,480
Speaker 1: to roll the dice on Christian Vasquez because, frankly, it's

767
00:39:47,480 --> 00:39:50,560
Speaker 1: not that much of a dice to roll. I mean,

768
00:39:51,200 --> 00:39:53,640
Speaker 1: he's been really good for the past couple years, a

769
00:39:53,640 --> 00:39:57,640
Speaker 1: pretty significant upgrade over who they had throws out would

770
00:39:57,680 --> 00:40:01,080
Speaker 1: be bass dealers at an extremely high rate, and.

771
00:40:01,480 --> 00:40:02,760
Speaker 2: He works well with pitchers.

772
00:40:02,800 --> 00:40:05,600
Speaker 1: I mean that's the one that's really the one quality

773
00:40:05,640 --> 00:40:07,960
Speaker 1: that the Marlin cited in Chad Wall because they liked

774
00:40:08,520 --> 00:40:11,160
Speaker 1: the chemistry he had with pitchers and his feel for

775
00:40:11,239 --> 00:40:14,120
Speaker 1: which pitch to call at which moment. Vasquez has worked

776
00:40:14,120 --> 00:40:15,799
Speaker 1: with some of the best in the world. He's worked

777
00:40:15,840 --> 00:40:19,120
Speaker 1: with Chris Sale, He's worked with David Price, He's worked

778
00:40:19,120 --> 00:40:23,399
Speaker 1: with not this past year, but if you look back

779
00:40:23,600 --> 00:40:26,359
Speaker 1: to very recent history, the Red Sox have had some

780
00:40:26,600 --> 00:40:30,239
Speaker 1: key pitchers who have performed very well when paired with Vasquez.

781
00:40:31,239 --> 00:40:33,200
Speaker 1: The reason why he's attainable to the Marlins is his

782
00:40:33,239 --> 00:40:37,799
Speaker 1: contract is a pretty desirable one. Two more years to go, well,

783
00:40:37,840 --> 00:40:40,840
Speaker 1: really one more guaranteed year at about six and a

784
00:40:40,840 --> 00:40:43,640
Speaker 1: half million dollars and then a club option for twenty

785
00:40:43,680 --> 00:40:47,520
Speaker 1: twenty two in the low seven million dollar range. That's

786
00:40:47,560 --> 00:40:50,239
Speaker 1: an extremely good value if you think that player can

787
00:40:50,320 --> 00:40:54,239
Speaker 1: be your primary catcher. And he's been across the board.

788
00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:57,160
Speaker 1: He's been easily a top ten catcher in baseball, and

789
00:40:57,280 --> 00:40:59,120
Speaker 1: he has a very strong case for being a top

790
00:40:59,200 --> 00:41:04,440
Speaker 1: five in baseball right now. He's someone that you know

791
00:41:04,560 --> 00:41:07,040
Speaker 1: eventually he's gonna have some sort of dip, but he's

792
00:41:07,040 --> 00:41:09,080
Speaker 1: only thirty years old at the moment. He just turned

793
00:41:09,080 --> 00:41:14,759
Speaker 1: thirty in August, and he's he's just a pretty clear

794
00:41:14,840 --> 00:41:16,799
Speaker 1: upgrade for this team over who they had. And the

795
00:41:16,800 --> 00:41:18,839
Speaker 1: Marlins are in a position where they have all these

796
00:41:19,160 --> 00:41:22,040
Speaker 1: surplus players that are either on their forty men roster

797
00:41:22,200 --> 00:41:25,440
Speaker 1: or about to receive spots, and for the Red Sox

798
00:41:25,440 --> 00:41:27,960
Speaker 1: team that is in a rebuild, they're gonna be looking

799
00:41:28,040 --> 00:41:31,400
Speaker 1: for I would guess multiple prospects in this trade, but

800
00:41:31,400 --> 00:41:35,680
Speaker 1: at least one, you know, top thirty organizational type. The

801
00:41:35,719 --> 00:41:39,359
Speaker 1: Marlins have a surplus in that area, it's not much

802
00:41:39,440 --> 00:41:42,440
Speaker 1: of a sweat for them to send. I'm not gonna

803
00:41:42,480 --> 00:41:44,840
Speaker 1: name particular guys at this moment, and we'll work that

804
00:41:44,880 --> 00:41:47,680
Speaker 1: out in another piece of content, either another pot episode

805
00:41:47,760 --> 00:41:50,200
Speaker 1: or another article. But the Marlins had the kind of

806
00:41:50,200 --> 00:41:53,799
Speaker 1: players that are pretty much major league ready but not

807
00:41:54,120 --> 00:41:57,799
Speaker 1: super duper high upside that they're a bit expendable at

808
00:41:57,800 --> 00:42:00,439
Speaker 1: this stage for a team that had a win record

809
00:42:00,560 --> 00:42:04,600
Speaker 1: last year two games over five hundred and I don't

810
00:42:04,680 --> 00:42:07,680
Speaker 1: know what the internal expectations are for the Marlins at

811
00:42:07,719 --> 00:42:11,080
Speaker 1: this moment, but externally, I imagine a lot of you guys

812
00:42:11,120 --> 00:42:14,280
Speaker 1: will be expecting the team to take another step forward.

813
00:42:14,360 --> 00:42:17,760
Speaker 1: Or at least at least maintain the level of performance

814
00:42:17,760 --> 00:42:20,160
Speaker 1: that they had heading into twenty twenty one. You want

815
00:42:20,200 --> 00:42:22,960
Speaker 1: them to be a competitive team, a team that, if

816
00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:25,880
Speaker 1: the playoffs remain expanded, that will challenge for that kind

817
00:42:25,880 --> 00:42:28,120
Speaker 1: of spot, and that means they need to make some

818
00:42:28,200 --> 00:42:32,240
Speaker 1: clear upgrades. I can't just count on internal improvement, which

819
00:42:32,560 --> 00:42:34,920
Speaker 1: I've already stated I feel really good about. I feel

820
00:42:34,920 --> 00:42:38,960
Speaker 1: really good about Jazzism taking that next step about Corey

821
00:42:38,960 --> 00:42:43,120
Speaker 1: Dickerson bouncing back about Harold being really effective if he's healthy.

822
00:42:43,360 --> 00:42:45,799
Speaker 1: And that's not to mention all these other prospects that

823
00:42:46,160 --> 00:42:49,759
Speaker 1: would get opportunities as the twenty twenty one season goes on. Hey,

824
00:42:49,880 --> 00:42:53,560
Speaker 1: sus Sanchez, I think could supplant Harold as the right

825
00:42:53,600 --> 00:42:57,120
Speaker 1: fielder as the season goes on. Laywin Diaz Laywin Diaz

826
00:42:57,640 --> 00:43:00,319
Speaker 1: is one of the best hitters I've seen at the

827
00:43:00,320 --> 00:43:02,839
Speaker 1: minor league level, and see there was so much hype

828
00:43:02,880 --> 00:43:05,920
Speaker 1: for him heading into his debut last year. The results

829
00:43:05,920 --> 00:43:08,680
Speaker 1: were not there at all. But for what he is

830
00:43:08,719 --> 00:43:11,520
Speaker 1: as an overall prospect, I wouldn't be a surprised if

831
00:43:11,560 --> 00:43:13,719
Speaker 1: he takes over as the everyday first baseman for the

832
00:43:13,760 --> 00:43:16,160
Speaker 1: Marlins at some point during the twenty to twenty one season.

833
00:43:16,600 --> 00:43:20,480
Speaker 1: There's good reason to believe that this team has enough

834
00:43:20,560 --> 00:43:24,600
Speaker 1: talent internally to make that big jump offensively, because that's

835
00:43:24,600 --> 00:43:27,160
Speaker 1: what held them back ultimately last year. That's what held

836
00:43:27,200 --> 00:43:30,520
Speaker 1: them back from being a truly great team, is that

837
00:43:30,680 --> 00:43:32,480
Speaker 1: they just did not hit for a lot of power

838
00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:36,560
Speaker 1: and they did not consistently show enough patience at the plate.

839
00:43:37,120 --> 00:43:40,480
Speaker 1: They have the players in this organization that conceivably could

840
00:43:40,520 --> 00:43:43,759
Speaker 1: do that, with the exception of the catching position. The

841
00:43:43,880 --> 00:43:46,440
Speaker 1: catcher is one of the thinnest positions in the organization

842
00:43:46,480 --> 00:43:49,600
Speaker 1: at all levels, especially at the major league level and

843
00:43:49,640 --> 00:43:53,080
Speaker 1: at Triple A at the moment, and that's why I

844
00:43:53,120 --> 00:43:55,160
Speaker 1: think they're going to find a way to upgrade, and

845
00:43:55,280 --> 00:43:58,799
Speaker 1: Christian Vasquez is my pick for them to acquire and

846
00:43:58,880 --> 00:44:01,440
Speaker 1: to be in the starting life lineup come the twenty

847
00:44:01,600 --> 00:44:04,960
Speaker 1: twenty one season. So a full review for you to

848
00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:06,640
Speaker 1: get your hands on, and I'm going to be laying

849
00:44:06,640 --> 00:44:09,400
Speaker 1: this out on Twitter and of course on fish strips

850
00:44:09,440 --> 00:44:13,160
Speaker 1: dot com. My prediction for twenty twenty one opening day

851
00:44:13,200 --> 00:44:16,200
Speaker 1: lineup San Diel Contra on the mound and in a

852
00:44:16,200 --> 00:44:21,040
Speaker 1: batting order of Starling Marte Jazz Chisholm, Heesuss Aguilar, Garrett Cooper,

853
00:44:21,239 --> 00:44:27,880
Speaker 1: Brian Anderson, Corey Dickerson, Harold Ramirez, Miguel Rojas, and Christian Vazquez.

854
00:44:28,400 --> 00:44:30,960
Speaker 1: So I'd love to get your predictions as well. I

855
00:44:31,040 --> 00:44:33,360
Speaker 1: can almost guarantee that we're all going to be off

856
00:44:33,440 --> 00:44:36,360
Speaker 1: in one way or another because of how unpredictable this

857
00:44:36,400 --> 00:44:39,960
Speaker 1: game is, how unpredictable this front office is, and of

858
00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:43,640
Speaker 1: course with the pandemic and the effects of the pandemic,

859
00:44:43,719 --> 00:44:46,799
Speaker 1: we don't know exactly how that's going to change the

860
00:44:46,880 --> 00:44:48,840
Speaker 1: whole landscape of baseball.

861
00:44:48,400 --> 00:44:50,640
Speaker 2: Business during this offseason.

862
00:44:51,520 --> 00:44:54,080
Speaker 1: This is such a fun offseason for the team after

863
00:44:54,239 --> 00:44:58,080
Speaker 1: what was unequivocally a successful twenty twenty, and there are

864
00:44:58,800 --> 00:45:01,560
Speaker 1: an infinite number avenues that they can go to try

865
00:45:01,560 --> 00:45:03,120
Speaker 1: to improve for next year.

866
00:45:03,719 --> 00:45:05,040
Speaker 2: So I hope to see them do more.

867
00:45:05,880 --> 00:45:07,520
Speaker 1: I'll leave you on this that I want to see

868
00:45:07,520 --> 00:45:10,520
Speaker 1: the team do even more, spend even more than I'm

869
00:45:10,560 --> 00:45:12,640
Speaker 1: laying out right here. They're going to have that new

870
00:45:12,680 --> 00:45:15,840
Speaker 1: local TV deal kicking in. It was already reported the

871
00:45:15,920 --> 00:45:19,480
Speaker 1: new national extension on their television deal for all major

872
00:45:19,560 --> 00:45:22,520
Speaker 1: League teams to benefit from from Turner Sports. That's going

873
00:45:22,560 --> 00:45:25,839
Speaker 1: to infuse some more cash in the coming years. Hope

874
00:45:26,000 --> 00:45:30,080
Speaker 1: they could sell naming rights to Marlins Park. As I'm

875
00:45:30,120 --> 00:45:33,720
Speaker 1: recording this, the Marlins are also trying to sell tickets

876
00:45:33,719 --> 00:45:36,480
Speaker 1: to attend games in twenty twenty one, based on the

877
00:45:36,520 --> 00:45:41,319
Speaker 1: schedule that has already been released. It's in everybody's best

878
00:45:41,360 --> 00:45:44,040
Speaker 1: judgment to determine whether or not you're comfortable doing that.

879
00:45:44,120 --> 00:45:46,960
Speaker 1: And it's still get to be fully determined what kind

880
00:45:46,960 --> 00:45:50,080
Speaker 1: of capacity that the park will have for those games

881
00:45:51,080 --> 00:45:54,200
Speaker 1: until we get this this pandemic fully behind us. It

882
00:45:54,239 --> 00:45:57,760
Speaker 1: is not behind us yet. Please wear your masks, people,

883
00:45:57,880 --> 00:46:01,040
Speaker 1: especially when you're in the ballpark. But that being said,

884
00:46:01,800 --> 00:46:04,319
Speaker 1: people taking them up on that offer, that'll be even

885
00:46:04,400 --> 00:46:07,000
Speaker 1: more revenue that you'd like to see them put back

886
00:46:07,040 --> 00:46:09,960
Speaker 1: into the team. So I'd be pleasantly surprised if they

887
00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:13,839
Speaker 1: make a bolder move than this. But for the time being,

888
00:46:13,960 --> 00:46:16,520
Speaker 1: my expectations is that more or less a lot of

889
00:46:16,520 --> 00:46:18,600
Speaker 1: this lineup will look the same as it did in

890
00:46:18,640 --> 00:46:21,080
Speaker 1: twenty twenty and they're just going to bank on some

891
00:46:21,239 --> 00:46:26,200
Speaker 1: improvements from year to year. And if there is any improvement, man,

892
00:46:26,760 --> 00:46:29,200
Speaker 1: the bandwagon is going to keep filling up even more

893
00:46:29,239 --> 00:46:31,960
Speaker 1: and more. It's an exciting time to be covering the marlins.

894
00:46:32,280 --> 00:46:34,239
Speaker 1: I thank you guys again for tuning in.

895
00:46:35,000 --> 00:46:53,000
Speaker 2: Go Fish,