Colorado Rockies vs Miami Marlins: Series Preview

Jun 2, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton (27) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the seventh inning against the Chicago Cubs at Marlins Park. The Marlins won 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

After an emotional and up-and-down series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Colorado Rockies take on the Miami Marlins for three weekend games at Coors Field.

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An emotionally-charged four-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers – complete with back-to-back nights of wild ninth inning game-deciding events – is now behind the Colorado Rockies, who are 24-28 and slowly but surely getting better after a bad couple of weeks.

Now, they stay at home over the weekend to meet the Miami Marlins for the very first time this season. The Marlins had high expectations coming into this year, and didn’t live up to them early on, eventually letting go of manager Mike Redmond and replacing him with general manager Dan Jennings.

Now, Giancarlo Stanton and the boys are at Coors Field. Here are the probable pitchers for this week’s three-game set, plus some keys to victory for the Rockies and some information about the Marlins.

DATES, TIMES, AND PITCHERS (all times MT)

Friday, June 5, 6:40 pm
Eddie Butler (3-5, 4.22) vs. Tom Koehler (3-3. 4.01)

Saturday, June 6, 2:10 pm
Kyle Kendrick (2-7, 6.55) vs. David Phelps (2-2, 3.50)

Sunday, June 7, 2:10 pm
Jorge De La Rosa (2-2, 6.15) vs. Jose Urena (0-2, 7.24)

KEYS FOR THE ROCKIES

How will the starters fare, and can Kyle Kendrick keep the club in Saturday’s game?

The starting rotation has been much, much better lately – like, over the last ten games – and wouldn’t you know, the club has been winning as they’ve been pitching well! (You know, with a couple glaring deficiencies.) One of those deficiencies is Coors Field-scufflin’ Kyle Kendrick, who gets a Saturday start against the Marlins. Can he do well enough to keep the Rockies in the game Saturday night? And/or, can Butler and De La Rosa pitch the Rox to victory on Friday and Sunday to overcome Saturday’s turn on The Kyle Kendrick Experience?

Ben Paulsen

He’s not the only key on offense (remember those Arenado and Tulowitzki guys?) but the Rox will see three righties from the Fish, so I assume he’ll see the lion’s share of time at first base this weekend ahead of Wilin Rosario, who kills left-handed pitching. Staff writer Andrew Dill has more on Paulsen, expecting a notable series from him this weekend.

Let’s Meet The Marlins

I spoke to Ehsan Kassim, the editor of MarlinManiac.com (@MarlinManiac), FanSided’s Marlins site, about the club and what to watch for this weekend at Coors Field.

I loved Mike Redmond. I thought he was (still is) going to be a great manager. This Dan Jennings coming-from-the-front-office thing is… dumb? Brilliant? What should non-Marlins fans think about Loria & Co.’s decisions in manager changes this year?

I was truthfully never a fan of Mike Redmond as a manager. But that didn’t mean I wanted him fired so quickly into the season. The team had just given him a 3-year extension during the off-season, so changing their mind that quickly shows it was mostly an impulse move because the team wasn’t playing well.

I love the idea of a general manager becoming the manager, as he can execute on his picture of what the ballclub would look like. But I’m not sure Jennings is the right man for the job. He’s got a scouting background and doesn’t seem open to analytics at all (much like the rest of the Marlins organization.) Jennings was supposed to be a “new voice” in a clubhouse he’s been with for over the past decade, so overall the move made little sense to me.

Non-Marlins fans should still think of Loria as an impulsive owner that wants complete control of the baseball operations, despite not having the slightest clue on building a team correctly. The rest of baseball, like Marlins fans, should want Loria out of ownership.

Managerial changes aside, are we looking at a playoff team this year in Miami? I, like a lot of other people, liked the Marlins as a dark horse candidate in the NL East. Now that the season is one-third of the way over, how do you feel about their playoff chances?

I didn’t see this Marlins team as a playoff team before the season, as I felt they needed everything to break their way for them to contend. They had zero margin for error. Unfortunately, the team didn’t get off to a fast start and currently sit 10 games under .500 headed into this series.

If the Marlins want to contend, they need to be at or near .500 by the All-Star break, meaning they need to play above their talent level for the next month and a half. They should get Jose Fernandez back around that time, but lack the trade chips to help out on the teams many weaknesses.

I would be shocked to see this team finish the season with a .500 record, let alone be a playoff team.

We like the second baseman we have here in Denver, DJ LeMahieu – but we are pissed that he’s not even close to the top of All-Star balloting. The man who leads that vote at second base is one of yours – Dee Gordon. He’s been pretty damn good since coming from LA this winter; does he deserve to be the All-Star starter at second? And can we do a deal – you guys vote for DJ, we vote for Dee?!

Yes, Dee Gordon deserves the nod for the starting second baseman role in the All-Star game. He leads all NL second baseman with his 2.8 fWAR, his .395 OBP is barley ahead of LeMahieu, and his 20 stolen bases are second in the majors. His bat has been a major surprise for the Fish so far, but with it mainly being BABIP driven, it’s not sustainable. But we are enjoying the Dee Gordon ride while we can.

On top of the excellent offense, Dee has proven himself to be an elite second baseman defensively this season. Much of the credit goes to Perry Hill, whose done an excellent job of getting Dee to get to the right spots pre-pitch.

If Dee Gordon is not the starting second baseman at the All-Star game, I’d expect some rioting to take place in Miami. The fans would be that mad if he were snubbed. And they have every right to be, if that were to happen.

I don’t think many Marlins fans will agree to this deal, so we’ll have to decline. Sorry.

Jose Fernandez watch! How has his rehab been, and do you expect him to hit the ground running when he does come back (which thankfully won’t be this weekend against the Rockies!)

Jose Fernandez started his first rehab game on Monday, in extended spring training. He reportedly hit 97 on the radar gun and struck out 7 hitters in 3 innings of work. The most important thing, his arm felt good the next day and he didn’t suffer any sort of setback.

Jose will make his second rehab start this Saturday for the Marlins Low-A team, the Jupiter Hammerheads. The start will be one of at least 5 (if not more) Jose will make on his way back to the big league club. His expected debut is supposed to be around July 1st and I am holding out hope they debut him on July 5th, against the Cubs, when I’ll be at Wrigley Field for the first time.

I’d expect the Marlins putting Fernandez on a strict pitch limit upon his return, so whatever success he has will be limited by the number of innings he’ll throw. While a lot of Marlins fans expect the stud Fernandez rookie of the year guy to show up right away, I think he will have a bit of an adjustment period, as he hasn’t faced major league hitting in over a year.

Still, a Jose Fernandez at 85-90% is better than most the league. Yes, the Rockies should count their blessings they don’t have to face Jose.

Steve Cishek is down in AA now – who will close in his place, and what do we need to know about his demotion and replacements considering he’s throwing softer this year than before? Is the bullpen as a whole a weak link to watch for, or was Cishek just struggling?

A.J. Ramos took over the closing role a little over a month ago and has been dominant in the role. In 26 innings in 2015, Ramos owns a 1.03 ERA and a 1.56 FIP on the heels of a 34% strikeout rate and a lowly 8% walk rate. He’s 5/5 in the closer role for the Marlins, but has two blown saves from earlier innings, earlier in the season.

Ramos’ weakness was always his walk rate, which sits at a career mark of 13.1%. His cutting that down has helped him strike more hitters out and limit any damage off of him.

The Marlins own a 3.81 bullpen ERA, but their 2.76 FIP is second in the league and their 2.5 fWAR is 3rd. So that means they’ve been pretty unlucky, for the most part, with a .328 BABIP against them. That BABIP against is the tops in the league.

Cishek, on the other hand, has struggled. He owns a 6.98 ERA in in 19 innings of work. But while he’s not been good, he’s not as bad as the ERA. Cishek is striking out a career low 18.3% batters faced and walking a career high of 10.8%. He has a .375 BABIP against, and has been hit hard.

This is alarming for a guy that has had a 13th best fWAR among relievers since 2012. The Marlins hope that Cishek working on his mechanics in Double-A can help right the ship for the side armer. With a $6 million contract on a limited payroll, the Marlins need Cishek to come back and pitch well when they bring him back up.

However, he’s probably lost the closer role permanently at this point.

Joc Pederson hit two home runs at Coors this week that went 477 and 480 feet. If he can do that, will Giancarlo Stanton hit one into the Rock Pile?

I wouldn’t put it past Stanton to do that. He’s already hit the deepest home run in Citi Field history, hit one ball completely out of Dodger Stadium, and hit several 400+ foot shots this season. His batting practices are commonly watched closely by the opposition, as he usually puts on a show.

There is not a lot Stanton cannot do with his power. Every time Stanton and the Marlins go to Coors Field, it’s on my must watch games list.

Now don’t be surprised to see some monster shots from first baseman Justin Bour and center fielder Marcell Ozuna, either.

Finally, predict the series – how many games will the Marlins win in Denver this weekend?

After an 0-5 start under Dan Jennings, the Marlins have actually quietly gone 6-5 over their past 11. With back-to-back series wins over the Mets and Cubs, I expect the Marlins to come out and take this series as well. Stanton seems to be hitting a hot streak with his power and that should concern the Rockies pitching staff.

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But then again, the 2015 Marlins are anything from predictable. They could just as easily get swept this series and fire another manager.

With that said, I’ll take the Marlins taking 2 of 3.

Thanks again to Ehsan for taking the time to talk with us about the Marlins! The series begins tonight in Denver, and goes through Sunday afternoon.

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