The Miami Marlins are a fun team to watch to start the 2026 season. They are 6-3 to start the season. They swept the Rockies to kick off the season, then took two of three from the White Sox. The Marlins then entered their first tough series of the season, heading to the Bronx for three games against the Yankees this weekend. They dropped the first two despite scoring first in both games. In the finale, they scored first but ended up trailing 4-1 after three innings before inching back into the game. A four-run eighth inning gave them a 7-4 lead. The Yankees would get two runs in the eighth to make it 7-6, but the Marlins came away with a win.
The things about the Marlins this season are that they have the young bats, and with an arm like Pete Fairbanks, signed to stabilize the back half of the bullpen, it’s fun to watch. Fairbanks started today’s game, as he is headed to the paternity list, so the Marlins gave him the ball to start the game against the Yankees.
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Pitching
The real strength of this team is their excitement in their pitching. It’s headlined by a two-headed monster led by former National League Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara and young phenom Eury Perez. The two have combined for a 2.33 ERA, a 0.85 WHIP, and 24 strikeouts in 27 innings combined. A majority of those numbers came in Perez’s second start against the Yankees on Friday.
After Perez and Alcantara, Max Meyer is an up-and-coming name. In his first two starts this season, he has a 4.66 ERA, a 1.34 WHIP, and 11 strikeouts in 9.2 innings. Also, some inflated numbers after facing the Yankees.
Lineup
In the sixth, the Marlins got a run back after being down 4-2. They could have gotten more if not for some bad base-running mistakes. The youth of this team may be what costs them, but they are scrappy. One big name is Xavier Edwards, who can get on base and steal bases; another is Liam Hicks, and also Otto Lopez. Owen Caissie has been a pleasant surprise, a young piece acquired in the Edward Cabrera deal this past offseason. It’s also worth noting they have another power bat in Connor Norby and some more speed in Javier Sanoja. They are a hard team to keep down, being able to steal bases and even hit for power.
More Coming
The Marlins have five prospects in the top 100. Caissie is already up in the big leagues. Two are still in single-A and won’t contribute this season, but will in the future. The two names to watch are lefty Robby Snelling, who they acquired from the Rays, and catcher Joe Mack, who are both at Triple-A and could be call-ups throughout the season. Two others worth noting, not in the Top 100, are infielder Starlyn Caba and right-handed pitcher Noble Meyer. Both are in High-A but could certainly reach Triple-A by season’s end if not the big leagues, depending on where Miami is and what route they go this season.
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Wrap Up
The Marlins have consistently been a pitching factory. They seem to be able to move arms, such as Cabrera, and then have another arm coming right back. Perez’s first start of the season showed flashes of what he could be this season and beyond. It’s hard to know where the Marlins are now, and if Jose Fernandez was still here, and they didn’t blow the team up if they could have been a dynasty. I wrote two years ago that to me the Marlins were a winner at the trade deadline, and now they are reaping the benefits of that trade deadline with more coming, and 2026 will be a fun season.
The season may not result in a playoff appearance, but it certainly could be on the way to a potential dynasty for years to come, especially if they continue to hang on to their ace in Sandy Alcantara. There’s one thing about this team, though, that today alone proved, and that’s they have no quit, and the “Fightin Fishies are Frisky.”
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