The Marlins have three outfielders that are all heading for greatness. We already know everything about Giancarlo Stanton, but what about the other two outfielders. Marcell Ozuna is 24 years old, and from the Dominican Republic. Last year Ozuna got the chance to start full-time, and he didn't disappoint. He finished with a .269 batting average, 23 home runs, 85 RBI's, and played some solid defense in the outfield. Ozuna has the second most power on the team, of course behind Stanton. That division has gotten a lot tougher due to the pitchers coming back off injury, and newly signed pitchers.With that being said I wouldn't expect his average to go up by too much, if even at all, and I believe he can get to the 25 plus home runs. I also wouldn't expect him to get 100 RBI's either, for it is obvious there is a lot of offense on this club, and they will need to share the love. With that being said Ozuna would be a great third outfield spot for any fantasy owners out there looking at him. The third and final outfielder in the group is Christian Yelich. He was the Marlins lead off hitter for most of the year, and put up some solid numbers for a 22 year old. He finished with a .284 average, 9 home runs, 54 RBI's, .362 OBP, and 21 stolen bases. Any team in baseball would love to have those numbers in their lead off spots any day of the week. The is not even the best part of Yelich's game, he is a great defensive outfielder and won the Gold Glove last year to prove it. If I were a fantasy owner, I would be looking at drafting Yelich, especially if you are in a dynasty league.
The other pair of players I want to talk about are the infielders in Colorado. First, Nolan Arenado with 23 year old was drafted out of high school, and made it to the show two years ago. Arenado played in more games his rookie season in 2013, but put up better offensive numbers this past season. He hit .287, with 18 home runs, 61 RBI's, and only played in 111 games. If he were to play 140 games, you can see the potential numbers he could put up. This man will be in the line-up everyday he can be, but not because of his offense, but for his defense. Arenado won his second straight Gold Glove at the third base position last year. The improvement in the offensive numbers is only a bonus. What he really needs to work on is staying on the field for 140 plus games this up coming season, if he can do that, then he will be worthy of a starting spot on a fantasy roster. The other guy I want to talk about is on the other side of the field at second base, D.J. LeMahieu. He finished last season with a .267 average, 5 home runs, 42 RBI's, and 10 stolen bases. Nothing impressive with those offensive numbers, but LeMahieu isn't known for his offense, he is known for his defense after winning the Gold Glove last year. Lemahieu is fantasy irrelevant at the time being, but if you are a Rockies fan you are pumped that you have three gold glovers on your infield.
So, if I were too choose who will do better this upcoming season, I would have to say the Marlins boys. Both the Outfielders are young, and have showed so much promise already at a young age. They both can play defense, like the boys in Colorado. What the boys in Colorado can't do is hit as good as Yelich, and Ozuna in a ballpark known for hitting, while the Marlins ballpark is a pitchers ballpark.
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