Young, dumb and full of fun - 2026 Miami Marlins

Thread spurred by two things:

- The fact that I currently enjoy the Marlins
- clemenza’s statement on 31st March 2026 that he wasn’t sure he could name two Marlins

Roster is moving towards something that could contend. They traded Edward Cabrera to the Cubs but they still have Sandy (probably gone at the deadline though) and the enigmatic Eury Perez, Pete Fairbanks and Tyler Phillips holding up the back end of the pen, plus a charismatic young catching tandem (Toronto’s own Liam Hicks and Agustin Ramirez). The roster is average age 25 or so and a pleasing alliance of Dominicans, Venezuelans, Canadians and white guys from the South. Last season’s MVP Kyle Stowers just got activated from the IL, Xavier Edwards remains a solid local stud presence in the middle infield, and the Stowers/Marsee/Caissie outfield is as fun and potentially electric as any in the game.

The vibes are great. They have some of the best City connects in the league - I’ve considered buying the Retrowave purely because it’s a banger - and they take a cheesy team photo after every win.
https://i.postimg.cc/QCgLy6JS/IMG-3032.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/Znztjkp2/IMG-3031.jpg

I can’t promise that they’ll finish over .500 this year but they weren’t far off last year and they’re probably a couple of pieces away from being a team to worry about in a tough division, if not contend.

Their tiktok is full of good brainless fun like this video: https://streamable.com/bi4tk7

But ultimately seems like a roster full of young guys and some veteran pieces that appears to enjoy playing together and are pretty fun to watch even when they lose!

I did put that to the test, by the way, and outside of Alcantara, I didn't know anyone else, not even the Canadians. (Which, as always, says as much or more about me than them.) Will try to keep an eye on them, though; looks like Atlanta's division, but maybe they can stay close to a WC.

Looking at their BRef page, their position players seem noticeably younger than their pitchers.

Beat the Dodgers (should have swept) but can we just discuss this heads up play from Xavier Edwards!

https://www.mlb.com/app/atbat/video/calvin-faucher-in-play-out-s-to-freddie-freeman

He and Otto Lopez are a fantastic middle infield.

It’s true, the Miami Marlins have had the best record in June!

Some other fun facts that demonstrate why you should pay attention to this team:

Miami's pitching staff, which entered Sunday with a Major League-best 2.87 ERA and a 3.05 rotation ERA while allowing two runs or fewer in eight consecutive games.

We talk about Tampa and Milwaukee and Cleveland’s pitching labs but how about Miami? The above stat is from an article about Tyler Phillips, who started out the season a late inning reliever, now logging innings as a starter with some success. (Latest outing: 7.1 IP 2ER against CHAIM BLOOM’S SURGING CARDINALS).

Who is Tyler Phillips? The psycho who slaps his face on the mound but looks like an adorable fella off it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZPHKmZ6PgQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGAjlevxWts

His Thanksgiving food review? Slaps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqUI680-uzU

From their beat reporter’s AMA:

The Marlins are playing the way they did over the final 3 1/2 months of the 2025 season, and they got to 40 wins 10 games sooner this time around. Everything seems to be clicking right now, which is crazy to think because of the starting-pitching injuries. Some hops are going their way, but they're also playing a good brand of baseball and creating their own luck.

20 wins in June, only team in MLB to do that this season so far. Also a franchise record.

The Marlins are the first team to enter a calendar month 8+ games under .500 and leave said month 6+ games over .500

I love them

His Thanksgiving food review? Slaps

Bay area here: food doesn't slap, it smacks.