Our MLB 2015 Predictions Simulation From MLB 15: The Show

Miami Marlins

When Jeff Loria committed the great Fire Sale of 2012, it appeared as though he had taken Miami for a wild ride. When it comes to convincing the city to spend hundreds of millions on a stadium with payroll promises in triple digits, he had deceived the city, his fans and his players about his true intentions, just a year after offering huge contracts to players like Mark Buehrle and Jose Reyes. That said, just 3 years later, that fire sale strategy seems to pay off, when the Marlins building with a strong core from within and just squeaking into the playoffs.

Enter Jose Fernandez, Mat Latos and Henderson Alvarez. Each starter sported a 2.75 ERA or better, with Fernandez leading the charge with 2.12 ERA. They also share 18 complete games, more than 650 innings, 552 strikeouts and a combined WHIP of roughly 1.09. Those three are ridiculous, with Jarred Cosart’s 3.62 ERA not too bad, and Tom Koehler’s 4.28 ERA pretty good as the worst in rotation. You could do much worse elsewhere. The Bullpen kept things going with 4 pitchers that posted 45+ innings of sub-3 ERA.

Marlins batters held their own in the 2015 MLB season, as well. Dee Gordon’s 55 stolen bases accounted for half the team’s output, while Marcell Ozuna knocked in roughly 20% of his team’s home runs by himself. His RBI count at 93 seemed to nearly double those individual teammates of his, which doesn’t exactly say much about the team’s win chances in of itself. What’s the most shocking part is that no player seemed to hit over .800 OPS. which suggests the winning balance tipped in the favor of pitching.

Next: Philadelphia Phillies