In the season subsequent to one that saw virtually every Miami Marlins starting position player go down due to injury, the key to that ever-elusive success is redoubtable health. This year, the team’s bench is doing anything but inhibiting the team’s progress toward that goal. The acquisition of Chris Johnson, the early emergence of Derek Dietrich, and the spark Ichiro seems to have found early on in the 2016 campaign have revitalized a Marlins bench that’s been given ample opportunities and has capitalized.
Marlins Bench Anything But a Deficiency Early On
The ingenuity of new bench boss Don Mattingly coupled with, to an extremely lesser extent, the arduous beginning to Marcell Ozuna’s 2016 campaign has seen the bench utilized in a more prominent role than most likely envisioned. However, the negative connotation that comes with reserves hasn’t been justified through seven games of 2016, which have seen the Marlins get out of the gate to a 4-8 start.
To begin a season that most prophesied as being one of secondary usage for him, Derek Dietrich has made the most of his opportunities thus far, and make no mistake, he’s been given ample. Supplementary to the pinch hit that pulled the Marlins to within one run of the Tigers with two outs and a two strike count in the bottom of the ninth of the team’s first game of the season, the former college shortstop has been crushing the ball. The 26-year-old has gone 2-3 off the bench this season and in his only start, which he received against the Mets on April 12th, he also went 2-3. The aforementioned game against the Mets also saw Dietrich hit the only extra-base hit of the night and knock in one of the two runs in a 2-1 win against New York’s ascendant franchise.
The N.L. leading .321 average that Marlins newcomer Chris Johnson sported during his magical 2013 season is a thing of the past, but the proficiency in which he hits lefties hasn’t dissipated. The former Braves third baseman currently has four hits in eleven at-bats as a member of the Marlins organization, with a pair of those base knocks coming in his lone start in a game against Mets lefty Steven Matz. Johnson, whose .462 on base percentage leads Marlins bench players and is only second to Christian Yelich’s for the team lead, has been a consistent contributor to a Fish bench that has contributed nineteen hits to the Marlins cause through twelve games this season.
As Ichiro Suzuki continues his quest towards the 3,000 hit plateau, Don Mattingly has given the veteran more than sufficient opportunities to fulfill the goal all Fish hope he attains. The veteran has gotten one start so far, to give Marcell Ozuna the day off, and the Japanese import has reached base in half of his twelve plate appearances through the first month of the season. The 42-year-old also has five hits in eleven at-bats, and his .545 slugging percentage is second only to that of Derek Dietrich for the team lead.
The Marlins bench that has seen the team’s pitchers see a league-low twenty-four at-bats, largely due to the team’s pitching inefficiencies, has been anything but an inadequacy through the team’s first twelve games of the 2016 campaign.
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