Marlin of the Month: April 2021

Despite the Marlins (11-14) are in last place of the NL East, they are only 1.5 games behind the first-place Phillies (13-13) and have had their exciting moments in the first month of the season. Miami is 10-8 since April 10 and there’s a reason for that—pitching has been outstanding and has combined with some great, individual offensive performances.

Fish Stripes is excited to introduce a new “Marlin of the Month” tradition! We will choose four finalists based on statistical production and signature moments, then open the polls here on fishstripes.com and our Twitter account (@fishstripes). The leading vote-getter will be recognized in the site’s awards section.

Your options for April, in alphabetical order...

Finalists

1B Jesús Aguilar (April: .296/.394/.531, 5 HR, 22 RBI in 24 G)

Aguilar’s pop did not show up until the final road trip of the month, as he enjoyed a power surge to close April as the NL leader in runs batted in. In his final seven games of the month, he posted a .320/.419/.920 slash line, along with five home runs and half (11) of his RBIs totals. The big fella is putting together quality at-bats and, at 30 years old, seems to be in his prime.

2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. (April: .290/.375/.551, 4 HR, 7 RBI in 21 G)

Now on the injured list with a left hamstring strain, Chisholm made a strong case for the Rookie of the Year award throughout April. He’s earned the definition of “electrifying player” thanks to his power-speed-spark combination. Four doubles, one triple, and four home runs while Jazz is leading the National League in steals (7).

Fish Stripes original GIF

RHP Pablo López (April: 2.34 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 34 K in 34.2 IP)

López has been a terrible victim of bad luck. Asides from a blowout against the Braves on April 13, López has been just outstanding. Subtract that outing at Atlanta, and he would own a 1.17 ERA. He’s yet to win a game in the 2021 season, but López has allowed one or zero runs in four of his six outings. After being painfully hit by the Braves, he carries a 0.47 ERA over 19 innings (18 strikeouts).

LHP Trevor Rogers (April: 1.29 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 38 K in 28.0 IP)

I can’t find enough words to describe how good Rogers has been so far, but finding his name among the best NL pitchers until now won’t take you much time. With 5.8 H/9 and 12.2 K/9 ratios, has been an unexpected ace for the Marlins just in his second MLB season and being only 23 years old. The lefty finished April with 13 shutout innings in his last two starts (1 BB, 15 SO), good enough to defeat the Orioles and the Brewers.

Trevor Rogers’ percentile rankings on Baseball Savant

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Honorable Mentions

• Yimi García—took over the closer’s role after Anthony Bass’s struggles; has registered four saves and two wins since that move.
• Corey Dickerson—has looked much better than last year and is off to a .320/.400/.453 start at the plate.
• Starling Marte—would be on the above list had not been for his recent injury. In 15 games, he owns a .912 OPS.
• Adam Duvall—Ok, I’m with you: he’s not having the best season so far. However, Duvall was a key part of a Marlins’ few wins in April. He had a memorable game on April 13 vs the Braves, with two home runs and seven ribbies.
• Sandy Alcántara—consistent as always. Four quality starts so far and an 0.98 WHIP across six outings and 36 ²⁄₃ innings.