2018 Miami Marlins Expert Predictions and Odds to Win the World Series

Prior to the 2012 season, the Marlins organization had been known as the Florida Marlins. That version of the Marlins franchise won two World Series Titles and was relatively competitive each year. Since the franchise changed its name to the Miami Marlins for the 2012 season, the team has been an absolute disaster. They have finished under .500 in every season and topped 90 losses three times in seven years. They've also finished no less than 15 games back of the division winners and have only two separate individual awards to boast about - Jose Fernandez won Rookie of the Year in 2013, and Giancarlo Stanton won the NL MVP last season. Maybe another name change would bring life to this quickly-sinking ship.

Last season, the Marlins finished with a record of 77-85, which was surprisingly good enough for second place in the NL East, 20 games back of the division-winning Nationals. What makes that feat so crazy is that the Marlins were still eight games under .500 despite benefiting from the amazing production of Stanton and Marcell Ozuna. As we already know, those two players are no longer with the organization, so one can only wonder how much worse the Marlins can be during the 2018 campaign.

The Miami Marlins kick off their 2018 campaign with a six-game homestand starting with a four-game set against the Chicago Cubs before welcoming the Boston Red Sox for a mini two-game interleague set. From there, the Marlins hit the road for three against the Philadelphia Phillies before returning home to host the Mets and Pirates. The fire sale was in full effect this offseason, and the odds reflect that. The Marlins have the worst odds in the Majors to win the World Series at +50000. They are also +20000 to win the NL and +10000 to win the NL East. Their season win total is 64.5 (-150 to the "under"). As you can see, the Marlins are not expected to be a respectable team this year.

All odds are courtesy of Bovada.

Marlins 2018 Projected Lineup

The Marlins' projected batting order is borderline embarrassing. They were forced to trade away the few talented pieces they had in Stanton and Ozuna because they are run by clowns. As of writing this, the Marlins' batting lineup looks something like this:

1. Cameron Maybin

2. Martin Prado

3. Starlin Castro

4. Justin Bour

5. J.T Realmuto

6. Derek Dietrich

7. Lewis Brinson

8. J.T. Riddle

9. Pitchers Spot

As you can see, this lineup leaves a lot to be desired. The only legitimate "star" is Castro, and if you are judging him by his last few seasons in the Majors then it would take a mini miracle to convince someone else that Castro is still a talented and useful player. Castro did make his fourth all-star team appearance last season as a member of the New York Yankees, but he will need to improve on his 16-home run, 63 RBI performance in order to help the Marlins win ball games.

Behind him, you will find Bour and Realmuto. Both players are coming off quality seasons that saw them combine for 42-home runs and 148 RBIs (Bour 25/83, Realmuto 17/65). With the absence of Ozuna and Stanton's stats from last season (96 home runs, 256 RBI's), the onus will fall on the shoulder of these two players to carry the bulk off the offensive production in order to help the Marlins avoid setting a record for futility.

Further down the lineup you'll find Dietrich, who will play right field, Brinson, who will play the left field, and Riddle, who will play shortstop. This trio is not exactly a whose-who of players, but when a team is in complete rebuilding mode the lesser players will have a chance to prove their worth. This trio combined to hit 18 home runs and drive in just 87, with Dietrich doing the bulk of it (13 dingers and 53 RBIs).

Marlins 2018 Projected Rotation & Closer

If you think the Marlins' batting order is bad, wait till you see the starting rotation and bullpen. Dan Straily is being forced into the "ace" role, which says it all. Straily is coming off a season where he pitched to a 10-9 record with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.30 ERA. There are no other "aces" in the Majors with those kinds of numbers.

Behind Straily, the Marlins will rely on a quartet that includes Wei-Yin Chen, Jose Urena, Odrisamer Despaigne, and one of Adam Conley, Dillon Peters or Jacob Turner. Out of this batch of pitchers, Urena has the most upside. He finished last season with a 14-7 record and a 3.82 ERA, which were team bests. The 26-year-old Dominican native will need to put together an even better campaign to help the Marlins finish the season with a somewhat respectable record.

Another issue the Marlins have is their bullpen. The closer for this season figures to be Brad Ziegler, but with a season win total of 64.5, how many games are the Marlins realistically going to need him to save? Last season, Iglesias was able to convert on 10 save opportunities while posting a 4.79 ERA. His set up men will consist of Drew Steckenrider, Kyle Barraclough and Junichi Tazawa.

Marlins 2018 Predictions

FanGraphs projects Miami to regress by a whopping 12 games this year to a record of 65-97. One look at this roster and you can see why. They have traded away their marquee players and are in full rebuild mode even if the owners don't want to admit to it. The season win total is relatively low even for the Marlins, but it's hard to imagine any scenario where they get to 65 wins. Taking the "under" (-150) here would have you avoid laying the -200 or higher price tag each game to fade the Marlins.

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