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One MLB team that has experienced a surprisingly strong start to the 2023 MLB season is the Miami Marlins. On the back of a strong pitching staff, the Marlins are currently 28-26 — good enough for second place in the NL East and the second wild card spot in the National League.
The Marlins are an MLB-best 15-4 in one-run games. While Miami does have a strong bullpen, this rate is likely not sustainable, as the team has an expected record of 22-32, per MLB.com, and the worst run differential in its division.
Among the biggest shocks for the Marlins though is the underperformance of some of their most prominent players — most notably Sandy Alcantara. The 2022 NL Cy Young winner has seen his ERA more than double this year and has a miserable 2-5 record during the first two months of the season.
He is not the only Marlin who has struggled so far. Here is the three players who have frustrated Miami baseball fans the most during the 2023 season.
3 Marlins players fans are fed up with in 2023
Sandy Alcantara
Sandy Alcantara dominated MLB batters last season, posting a 2.28 ERA across 228.2 innings pitched. Perhaps facing a league-high 886 batters in 2022 was not good for the workhorse pitcher.
This year, Alcantara has an ERA of 4.86, including an April 10 start against the Philadelphia Phillies in which he allowed nine earned runs in four innings. One area of concern for the pitcher: a decreasing ground ball to fly ball rate. This change has resulted in the righty allowing far more extra-base hits in 2023.
Even if Sandy Alcantara improves to the level of his expected ERA of 4.25, this has been an extremely disappointing season for the 2022 NL Cy Young winner. Miami will need more from him to become a serious playoff contender.
Jean Segura
It has been half a decade since Jean Segura could have been considered among baseball's best infielders. Yet even with his declining speed, Segura has still been a solid on-base option and an above-average fielder. Over the last four years, Segura hit .281 while striking out just 15% of the time.
In 2023, Segura is batting .197 and any power he once had has not surfaced in Miami. He has grounded into 10 double plays versus just four extra-base hits. A switch to third base has not helped, as Segura is currently posting a negative Defensive WAR for the first time in his career. His -1.3 WAR overall is also tied for the worst among MLB batters.
Father Time has finally caught up with one of baseball's most consistent infielders, and he has been a glaring weakness for the Marlins this season.
Jazz Chisholm
One of the most exciting players in the majors when healthy, Jazz Chisholm has played less than 60% of possible games over the last three seasons — a number that will continue to drop with the speedy 25-year-old on the IL with turf toe for the next few weeks.
The Marlins switched Chisholm from second base to center field prior to this season, and he has struggled to make the adjustment — both at the plate and in the field. His .229 batting average and .694 OPS are both career lows, and his strikeout numbers, already high, have risen even more this year. Chisholm has also cost Miami five runs in the outfield.
This combination of injuries and underperformance makes it tough for Marlins fans to keep trusting Jazz Chisholm.
