After a difficult month for the Marlins, here are your top performers of July.
Well, in a month where the Marlins had a 13-15 record, the offense was poor, and their pitching allowed 122 runs (against 83 scored by their offense), someone still has to be the Marlin of the Month, right? After winning five straight games to begin July, the Marlins went 8-15 to finish the month. However, there were some individual performances that are worth the look.
As usual, we have chosen four names who performed the best for the Marlins over the past month based on statistical production and signature moments. The polls are open here on fishstripes.com and on our Twitter account (@fishstripes). The leading vote-getter will be recognized in the site’s awards section.
Your options for July, in alphabetical order…
Finalists
RHP Sandy Alcántara (July: 2.12 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 41 K in 34.0 IP)
Perennially on this list, Alcántara had five starts in July and struck out at least 10 hitters in three of them. Led all Marlins pitchers in strikeouts, innings pitched, ERA (among qualified pitchers), and quality starts (4). During his first three outings of the month, Sandy’s ERA was 0.78 across 23 innings with three walks and 26 punchouts. The Marlins of the Month in May and June has another strong case.
RHP Anthony Bass (July: 0.66 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 17 K in 13.2 IP)
Before being traded on Tuesday to the Blue Jays, Bass made sure to shine throughout his final month as a Marlin. Besides being brilliant all season long, Bass led all Marlins pitchers in games (14), ERA (among pitchers with at least 10.0 IP), and strikeouts as a reliever (17). Plus, he only gave up three walks and surrendered only one earned run with no home runs.
LHP Braxton Garrett (July: 3.00 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 33 K in 30 IP)
Before allowing five runs over five innings on July 27 against the Reds, Garrett was pretty outstanding in four starts, posting a 1.80 ERA with 25 punchouts in as many innings with only five free passes. In his first four outings, opponents hit for a weak .131 batting average off the left-hander. Then, he failed to finish the month strong, but what he did from July 4-22 still counts.
2B Joey Wendle (July: .277/.314/.351, 7 2Bs, 10 RBIs in 25 G)
It wasn’t easy to include a hitter on this list. Wendle was the most acceptable candidate on the team. In his first 20 games in July, the infielder knocked 23 hits with five doubles and nine runs batted in, along with a remarkable .319/.354/.389 slash line. However, he went 3-for-22 in his final five games of the month. Even with that slump, Wendle led all Marlins hitters in hits (26) and doubles (7), plus he ranked second in ribbies.
Here are your options. Choose wisely.
Honorable Mentions
- Dylan Floro—had a 1.59 ERA over 12 appearances (11.1 IP), recorded two saves, and K’d 13 hitters while giving up two walks.
- Richard Bleier—struggled to keep runners off base, but figured things out to win twice and post a 1.64 ERA.