After having a successful April, the rollercoaster went down for the Marlins as they lost 19 of their 26 games in May (7-19). However, there were some individual performances that stood out regardless. Like every month, it’s your turn to choose the Marlin of the Month in May.

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 May, in alphabetical order...

Finalists

1B/DH Garrett Cooper (May: .289/.350/.456, 2 HR, 12 RBI in 25 G)

Cooper led the team in hits (26, tied with Jesús Aguilar), doubles (7), walks (9, tied with Jorge Soler), batting average (.289), and on-base percentage (.350) in May. Even though he didn’t have a good start to the month (.217 AVG, .602 OPS through his first 16 games), he thrived at the plate in his final nine games, slashing .433/.500/.700 with five extra-base hits.

RHP Pablo López (May: 2.78 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 38 K in 35.2 IP)

Despite showing a bit of inconsistency, López was still great in May over his six starts. He was second among Marlins starters in ERA with 2.78 and added three quality starts to his totals. His performance featured an eight-inning game and two seven-inning performances. López finished May as the National League ERA leader (1.83).

RHP Sandy Alcántara (May: 2.13 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 43 K in 42.1 IP)

After two initial rough outings against the Mariners and the Padres, Sandy was just filthy in May. He followed those two shaky lines with four starts of 0.84 ERA, three wins, and at least seven innings in every one of them. Alcántara led all Marlins hurlers in ERA (2.13), innings (42.1), wins (3), strikeouts (43), and WHIP (0.90).

LF Jorge Soler (May: .253/.330/.609, 9 HR, 19 RBI in 23 G)

Soler was a pure slugger at his best in May, swatting a team-leading nine homers and also leading the squad in RBIs. No one in the Marlins had more runs than him (13) nor a better OPS (.939). In 17 games between May 7 and 30, Soler posted a .284/.351/.702 slash line with four doubles, eight long balls, and 17 runs batted in. On May 29, he had his first multi-homer game since July 26, 2021.

Vote below:

Honorable mentions:

• Jesús Aguilar had 26 hits (including 11 extra-base hits) and 14 ribbies despite struggling with consistency.
• Louis Head was money for the Marlins bullpen with 10 ²⁄₃ innings of two-run ball and 12 strikeouts.
• Jazz Chisholm Jr. scored 12 times and drove in 12 runs, also hit four doubles, one triple, and three home runs, good for a .447 slugging percentage. If not for his week-long battle with hamstring tightness, he’d be a strong Marlin of the Month contender.