Sports on Earth gives the club an Honorable Mention despite the fact it made several upgrades this offseason.
Miami has been notably active this offseason, and General Manager Dan Jennings recently noted the club could look to add another major league piece or two before the start of spring training. While the Marlins added a notable amount of depth to their lineup, the club was not listed as having one of the top ten lineups by Sports on Earth.
The Mariners and Padres should be drastically improved and the Marlins might have a better cast surrounding the game's best power threat, Giancarlo Stanton.
As it did in 2015, Miami's offense will almost certainly rely on Giancarlo Stanton. The club invested in Stanton, and is hoping he can put together another MVP-type season after being hit in the face by a Mike Fiers fastball last September. One of the Marlins' goals was to add offense this offseason, and the organization did so by signing Michael Morse and Ichiro Suzuki and trading for Dee Gordon and Martin Prado.
Christian Yelich spent most of last season in the leadoff spot as Rafael Furcal battled consistent injuries, but should be more effective batting second or third. Morse will likely prove to be a threat either in front of or behind Stanton, with Gordon serving as the basestealing threat the Marlins have lacked in recent seasons. The addition of Prado gives the Marlins another quality veteran bat, with Suzuki coming off the bench.
PECOTA projects the Marlins will score 636 runs, which is just under four (3.9) per game. Given the club's depth, in addition to one of the most productive outfields in baseball also featuring Marcell Ozuna, that number should prove to be notably low. While the Marlins' lineup should produce consistently, an experienced pitching staff should also prove to be beneficial.
Although the Marlins have an expectation with regard to who will start at each position, MLB.com's Joe Frisaro notes Manager Mike Redmond will use several different lineups this spring in order to determine which is most effective.
If Stanton remains in the third spot, he is guaranteed a plate appearance in the first inning. If he drops to fourth, then he potentially can hit with more runners on base.
Prado offers an option to hit either second, fifth or lower. And Morse was signed to protect Stanton, which means he may wind up fourth or fifth.
The most likely lineup remains Gordon, Yelich, Stanton, Morse, Marcell Ozuna, Prado, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Adeiny Hechavarria and the pitcher.
While several squads throughout the league upgraded their offenses, the Marlins made a handful of quiet but notable moves. Despite the fact that they may not have a top ten lineup in 2015, the Marlins should have an upper tier offense moving forward.