After an 84-78 season and the club's first non-COVID playoff appearance since its World Series-winning campaign in 2003, the Miami Marlins look like a shadow of the team they were last year. The club is already 6-20 and only spared of the worst record in Major League Baseball thanks to the futility of the Chicago White Sox.

With so many underperformers on the roster, here are the four Marlins most to blame for the team's ugly start to the 2024 season.

Christian Bethancourt

The lack of production at the catcher position for the Marlins this year has been startling. Starter Nick Fortes is batting just .109 on the season in 46 at-bats while driving in one run. Fortunately for Miami, he is providing value in the field, ranking in the 98th percentile in blocks above average and the 83rd percentile in caught stealing above average. He is also putting the ball in play — striking out only five times on the year. With an expected batting average of .222, expect Fortes to start getting more base hits soon.

Backing up Fortes is the veteran Christian Bethancourt who is hitless in 26 at-bats to begin the season while striking out 30% of the time. He is not offering much defensively either, as he is in the 36th percentile in blocks above average and just the sixth percentile in pitch framing. This dynamic duo is batting a combined .069 on the year. At least Fortes is providing something defensively

A.J. Puk

While Christian Bethancourt is vying to go hitless in April, he does not have the worst WAR on the Marlins roster. That honor goes to closer-turned-starting pitcher A.J. Puk. The lefty — who never started a game in the Majors before this season — is 0-4 with an ugly 9.22 ERA after four starts. Puk has walked 17 batters in only 13.2 innings while his strikeout rate is a career-low 7.9 Ks per nine innings. If the 29-year-old continues to struggle, his stay in the starting rotation might not last much longer.

Jesus Luzardo

A starting rotation that was supposed to be the backbone of this Miami ballclub is suddenly becoming a weakness. The Marlins starting pitchers are 26th in ERA at 4.74, yet outside of A.J. Puk (9.22 ERA), Jesus Luzardo has been the only starter who has struggled. The presumptive ace with Sandy Alcantara recovering from Tommy John surgery, Luzardo has a 6.58 ERA and an 0-2 record across 26 innings to begin the season.

The home-run ball has harmed the talented lefty, as Luzardo has given up five dingers in only 26 innings. This should not be a surprise considering that Luzardo has a fly-ball rate of 37.5% — the highest of his career and up from 28.6% last year. He has especially struggled against left-handed hitters. Luzardo is allowing an OPS of 1.259 against lefties and they are batting .421 against him. Meanwhile, right-handed batters are hitting .205 with a .720 OPS against the Peruvian pitcher.

The Marlins will need Jesus Luzardo to bounce back from his slow start and lead this young but talented rotation.

Tim Anderson

Surely Tim Anderson could not play worse than last year when he batted .245 with a miserable .582 OPS — the latter the worst among all qualified batters? Well, somehow he has. Now with the Marlins, Anderson is hitting .229 with a truly terrible OPS of .517. He has two extra-base hits in 83 at-bats and is on pace for 182 strikeouts on the year. Add in a pair of errors at shortstop, and Tim Anderson is playing poorly enough to be benched on any other team besides the Marlins.