JUPITER, Fla. — It was maybe five minutes before the Miami Marlins’ final spring training game on Sunday, an eventual 10-2 win over the New York Mets, when manager Don Mattingly pulled Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the side to make some long-awaited news official.
Chisholm, ranked as the No. 4 prospect in the Marlins organization and No. 66 in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline, will be the Marlins’ starting second baseman when the 2021 season begins on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Rays at Marlins Park.
“The emotions ran wild,” Chisholm said. “It was just like getting another call up, but this time winning an Opening Day job, which is another big accomplishment.”
General manager Kim Ng, who was in the room when Mattingly told Chisholm the news, publicly announced the decision on the Marlins’ radio broadcast in the seventh inning of Sunday’s game. Isan Diaz, Chisholm’s main competition for the job and the more experienced of the two, will begin the season in Triple A Jacksonville.
Chisholm finished Grapefruit League play hitting .268 with an .821 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging), 3 home runs, 6 RBI and four stolen bases.
“He stayed loose all spring, and I liked that part of it,” Mattingly said. “A lot of it is unspoken, but Jazz seemed to stay relaxed and have fun when he was playing. I think that’s a good thing for him. And he’s making adjustments, which I think is the biggest thing for him.”
He got a taste of the big leagues during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The 23-year-old Bahamas native played in 21 games, posting a .161 batting average (9 for 56) with one double, one triple, two home runs, six RBI, eight runs scored, two stolen bases and five walks while striking out 19 times. He also flashed his potential on defense in the middle infield.
“It was hard-fought. It really was,” Ng said. “I think we just saw Jazz in the last couple of weeks step out a bit. He’s a player that plays both sides of the ball. I’m excited for Marlins fans to see him again this year. His defense is great. He has great speed. This guy, he’s a really exciting player. He adds a lot to our lineup.”
Diaz, meanwhile, fell into a slump over the final two-and-a-half weeks of camp. While his defense remains solid, the 24-year-old went 0 for his last 24 with five walks and 10 strikeouts.
But Ng also made clear that just because someone made the Opening Day roster doesn’t necessarily mean that player will be on the roster for the entire 162-game season.
“It was a tough decision,” Ng said, “because Isan does some some more experience in Triple A than Jazz and probably, in our minds, given his experience a little more prepared for it, but again it was a competition and Jazz stepped out.
“The one thing I will say,” Ng continued, “is that it’s a great problem to have when you have two prospects battling for that spot and it comes down to the final day.”
BREAKING DOWN THE LINEUP
When James Rowson joined the Miami Marlins as Mattingly’s bench coach and “offensive coordinator” before the 2020 season, he gave hitters a simple goal.
Do damage every time they step up to the plate.
Fast forward a year, and he is working with essentially the same group that he had when he sent that message.
Rowson hopes the continuity among the position players, a group whose only new addition from the end of their run to the National League Division Series is outfielder Adam Duvall,
“In my mind, I say sky’s the limit,” Rowson said during a Zoom call. “I hate to put ceilings on anything. I think these guys are a good group of guys as long as they continue to stay consistent and know what they want to do at the plate.”
The Marlins did see incremental improvement over the course of the shortened 2020 season.
The team’s OPS increased by 30 points year over year, from .673 to .703. They averaged 4.38 runs per game in 2020, more than a half-run improvement from a year earlier (3.80). They were also second in MLB with 51 stolen bases last year.
All seven Marlins players who had at least 100 plate appearances and a .700 OPS last season — Miguel Rojas (.888), Garrett Cooper (.853), Brian Anderson (.810), Jesus Aguilar (.809), Jon Berti (.738), Corey Dickerson (.713) and Starling Marte (.701) — are back, as well.
And the batting order is coming together.
Dickerson and Marte, two players with 17 combined years of MLB experience and respective career batting averages of .284 and .287, are expected to handle the top two spots in the lineup.
Two of Cooper, Duvall and Aguilar, a trio with a combined 205 home runs and 656 RBI, are pegged to be in the Nos. 3 and 4 spots. Aguilar and Duvall, respectively, are penciled in as the Marlins’ regular first baseman and right fielder, with Cooper splitting reps between the two positions.
Anderson is slated to bat fifth, with Chisholm, catcher Jorge Alfaro, Rojas and the pitcher rounding out the lineup.
“These guys click together,” Rowson said.
The players certainly agree.
“Nothing that’s happening here is a surprise,” Rojas said. “You know where you’re going to be and you should feel like you’re prepared for every single opportunity. I think this lineup is going to be a force.”
While the continuity among the lineup helps, Anderson appreciates having the continuity among the coaches with Rowson, hitting coach Eric Duncan and assistant hitting coach Robert Rodriguez.
“I think coming up through the minor leagues, I had five or six different hitting coordinators,” Anderson said. “Having that stability in that role has been huge for me as far as just being able to relate to them. They’ve seen me at my best. They’ve seen me at my worst.”
