The Miami Marlins are one of the strangest teams to rank in baseball for me. Ultimately, I decided to rank them at number 25.

This team has made some savvy moves in the past year and could be a team that decides the NL East. The division is arguably the best in baseball, but if the Marlins play their NL East adversaries well, it could decide who makes the playoffs and who sits at home on the couch watching.

Hall of Fame shortstop and novice owner Derek Jeter made two really interesting moves this offseason, trading for speedy middle infielder Jonathan Villar and claiming 2018 all-star Jesus Aguilar off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays. Both have the potential to be impact players in a Marlins lineup that has quietly been improving every year since the major sell off following Jeter’s group’s purchase of the franchise back in 2017.

The Marlins farm system is solid, ranked 9th in baseball according to Bleacher Report. It has come a long way since the mass sell off after the 2017 season. One of the big names they acquired back in 2017 was Lewis Brinson, but he has been a colossal failure since he debuted with the team. The former top prospect has a career batting average of .183 with a lackluster .531 on-base plus slugging (OPS).

Their top prospect going into 2020 is flame throwing right-hander Sixto Sanchez, who was acquired in the JT Realmuto trade with the Philadelphia Phillies last offseason. They also took Vanderbilt’s JJ Bleday with the fourth pick in last year’s draft and he is a pure hitter with high upside.

Ever since the death of star pitcher Jose Fernandez back in 2016, the Marlins have been spiraling downwards. Jeter was met with heavy criticism after trading away three of the team’s brightest stars but the team seems to be slowly improving as the years go by. The Marlins are going to look to play spoiler in the NL East this year, but will likely finish in last place.

Top Acquisition – Jonathan Villar

Biggest loss – Curtis Granderson

MVP – Brian Anderson

Projected Finish – 5th in NL East

Projected Lineup:

1. Jonathan Villar, 3B
2. Brian Anderson, RF
3. Corey Dickerson, LF
4. Jesus Aguilar, 1B
5. Jorge Alfaro, C
6. Isan Diaz, 2B
7. Miguel Rojas, SS
8. Lewis Brinson, CF
9. Pitcher

Projected Rotation:

1. Sandy Alcantara
2. Caleb Smith
3. Pablo Lopez
4. Jordan Yamamoto
5. Elieser Hernandez

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Twitter: @B_Murphy_MU