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2020 Miami Marlins Predictions and Odds to Win the World Series


by Robert Ferringo - 3/31/2020

Miguel Rojas Miami Marlins

If you are reading an article about the Miami Marlins baseball season, you are either extraordinarily desperate and reaching the end of your mental rope or you one of like 34 actual Marlins fans in existence. Either way, you should probably start to question some of your life choices.

There's really only one word needed to predict the Marlins' immediate baseball future: grim.

Miami isn't a real baseball organization. They are more like a facsimile of one. Like a bobblehead version of what a Major League team would be like if they didn't care about competing. They haven't finished above .500 in a decade, and somehow they continue to get worse, watching their win total decrease each of the past three years.

Miami, much like Baltimore and Detroit, will actually be beneficiaries of a truncated MLB season. The Marlins weren't going to be competitive this year, so they essentially get to painlessly fast-forward through another year of their rebuilding effort, such as it is, without having to deal with the actual losses.

Miami Marlins 2020 Projected Lineup (updated expert MLB picks daily)

1. Jonathan Villar - 3B

2. Brian Anderson - OF

3. Corey Dickerson - OF

4. Jesus Aguilar - 1B

5. Matt Joyce - OF

6. Jorge Alfaro - C

7. Isan Diaz - 2B

8. Miguel Rojas - SS

9. Pitcher

Despite 2019 serving as a record-breaking year for home run production, Miami only had two players on the entire roster hit more than 20 home runs, and zero players hit more than 22. As a team they combined to hit just 146 home runs, less than half as many as the Twins and Yankees managed to sock for the season.

Starlin Castro led the team with 22 home runs and 86 RBI (the only player with over 70 RBI), so naturally the Marlins didn't retain him.

Jonathan Villar decided that playing for the Orioles for three years wasn't bad enough, so he signed with the Marlins in the offseason. I actually like the Jesus Aguilar signing. He exploded for 35 home runs and 108 RBI in 2018 and could be a prime bounce back candidate after struggling through 2019 with the Brewers and Rays.

Corey Dickerson is a professional hitter and a really underrated player. However, when he's the best player on your team, and the best bat in the middle of your lineup, then your team is not very good.

Brian Anderson, who finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting in 2018, is the team's best homegrown talent. He's not the only one that Miami will be looking to develop this year. Monte Harrison, Jerar Encarnacion and Jesus Sanchez should all expect to be called up at some point this year as Miami continues to look to the future.

Miami Marlins 2020 Projected Rotation And Closer

1. Sandy Alcantara (R)

2. Caleb Smith (L)

3. Jose Urena (R)

4. Pablo Lopez (R)

5. Jordan Yamamoto (R)

Closer: Ken Giles

The Miami offense is anemic. Not to be outdone, their pitching is pretty terrible as well.

Sandy Alcantara and Caleb Smith will be 1-2 in this rotation, with either one serving as the team's nominal ace. They would be No. 4 or No. 5 starters on a real team but instead serve as the core of this rotation. There is some hope for Alcantara, who managed two complete game shutouts last year and is just 23 years old.

After that is a mess. We know who Pablo Lopez and Jose Urena are. At best they are fringe MLB-caliber starters, and both have been maddeningly inconsistent. Urena was bumped to the bullpen last year and finished with a 5.21 ERA after back-to-back seasons with sub-4.00 seasons. Miami is desperate for him to bounce back. Lopez is a lost cause.

The fifth starter slot will be filled out by another Triple-A quality arm in either Elieser Hernandez or Jordan Yamamoto. And the projected closer is on his fourth team in three years and recorded just three saves the past two seasons.

Miami Marlins Odds To Win The World Series

The Marlins have the worst odds in the Majors to win the World Series at 750-to-1. They are 350-to-1 to win the National League and 200-to-1 to win their division. They actually do not have the worst odds to win their division; Baltimore is 250-to-1 to win the American League East.

Miami Marlins 2020 Predictions

I am basing all of my predictions on my belief in an 81-game season that starts on July 1. I have absolutely no inside information about MLB's plans for the 2020 season. However, for the sake of discussion, 81 games are what I have in mind while writing these previews.

The Marlins have firmly secured their place as the team that drafts and develops young stars for other teams. Consider: it was just three seasons ago that Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna and J.T. Realmuto - four All-Stars - were all in the same lineup. Miami didn't lock any of them up long term, and now all four are crucial pieces for other playoff and championship contenders.

Miami made some moves this offseason to improve its lineup. And they are better than the 105-loss mess that they were last season. But only modestly. And it is going to be tough to justify giving at-bats to a guy like Matt Joyce rather than one of the Marlins' prospects. And if recent past is any indication, the Marlins may have signed the veterans that they did in the offseason merely to have more pieces to trade to a contender later in the season.

It doesn't help that the Marlins play in by far the best division in baseball. There are four teams in the East that all have the potential to win the National League. And they will all continue to take turns beating up on the pathetic South Beach franchise while the Marlins continue to develop players that will eventually service other teams.

Robert Ferringo is a professional sports bettor and handicapper for Doc's Sports and is considered one of the top MLB betting experts in the country. He has posted three consecutive winning MLB seasons and closed the 2019 season on a +$10,000 baseball run for his followers. Robert has beaten the books for six of seven profitable seasons on the diamond and is looking forward to another winning season for his clients. If you would like some help winning more bets in MLB this season the good news is that you can try out Ferringo's MLB picks for free when you set up your complimentary $60 account here.

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