Miami Marlins (+6)
The Marlins are on a list for a good thing? Well, let’s not get too crazy about it just yet. Instead of being projected to have the league’s worst rotation, they’re currently ranked 24th.
Wei-Yin Chen is coming off a rough year (4.79 ERA and 1.34 WHIP), but Miami was probably happy that he was mostly healthy. The southpaw threw 133.1 innings in 2018 after tossing just 33 frames the year before. Jose Urena looks to be the leader, and he’ll hope to keep his strikeout rate (18.3% in ’18) on the rise while also bringing his hard-hit rate (38.2% in ’18) back down to normal.
Caleb Smith will be a hurler to watch because of what he did in 77.1 innings last season. His year was cut short due to shoulder troubles, but he did post a 27.0% strikeout rate to go along with a 4.08 SIERA. His month of May was the most impressive of all — in 27.2 innings, he posted a 2.60 ERA with a .243 wOBA allowed, 25.5% strikeout rate, 9.1% walk rate, and 22.2% soft-hit rate. He also loved pitching at home (3.13 ERA in 37.1 innings) more than he did on the road (5.18 ERA in 40 innings).
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