Loria's Finally Gone ~ A Miami Marlins Franchise Series (MLB The Show 15)

[Number999]

Miami Marlins ~ MLB The Show 15 Franchise

Entry - He's finally gone! The man who's been the bane of Marlins fans existence since he bought the team from Wayne Huizenga is finally out. Jeffrey Loria has sold the Miami Marlins. To what other man then Mark Cuban himself! Yes the out-spoken owner of the Dallas Mavericks is also now going to be having a franchise in South Beach. The official range was that the Marlins were sold for a little over 900M. Not a big deal for a team that's only made 2 playoffs in their entire franchise history (albeit both ending in World Series rings). The Marlins extended Giancarlo Stanton to a massive 13-year/325M deal in the offseason and made numerous win-now moves. Now the time has passed to win on paper, to now win on the field. It's time to turn this franchise around, and transfer South Florida from what was originally a football town, to a basketball town, to now a baseball town.

2015 Season -

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Archive for Roster Moves

2015 Season:

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Archive for big games/playoff series

2015 Season:

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Archive for Storylines

2015 Season:

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Miami Marlins Franchise ~ The Settings

Mode Entry Options:
GM Contracts: Off
Fantasy Draft: Off
Allowed Legend Free Agents: Off
CPU Roster Control: Off
CPU Trading: On
Instant Trades: Off
Ignore Budgets: On
Force Trades: Off
Designated Hitter: Auto

Sliders:
All at Normal/50 (subject to change)

Battings & Baserunning:
Hitting Difficulty: All-Star
Hitting Interface: Directional
Input Type: Buttons
Plate Coverage Indicator: On
Cameron Shift: On
Hitting View: Catcher
In-Play View Offense: Dynamic
Ball Trail: Daytime Only
Guess Pitch: Default

Pitching:
Pitching Difficulty: All-Star
Pitching Interface: Meter
Pitching View: Broadcast
Pitching Ball Marker: Classic Fade
Pitch Confidence: On

That's all of my basic settings. Very free to suggestions as to what you guys highly recommend that would enhance my experience and also just in general make the franchise more interesting.

[Number999]

Evaluating the Roster ~ Miami Marlins

While the Miami Marlins have made numerous moves to improve the squad, it wouldn't be right to not truly establish to see where the Marlins are at truly in terms of a win-now perspective. That means being honest with yourself and taking a good hard look at your roster, let's take a look.

Starting Pitchers:
Jose Fernandez (92): The ace of the Marlins are the face of the franchise alongside Giancarlo Stanton, Fernandez is a superstar. He'll be ready to go for Opening Day and he's just a straight up beast. The Marlins hope to have him around for a long-time in Miami but with Scott Boras you never know with these things. Regardless, the Marlins have him now at the moment and they should try to win as much as they can with him.

Mat Latos (84): The 27-year old came in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds for DesClafani. Now Latos provides a fantastic trio with Fernandez, himself, and Hendo. While he is set to become a free agent, if Latos performs well and the Marlins record complies with his success, you should expect Miami to try and extend him long-term.

Henderson Alvarez (80): At just 24-years old, Henderson Alvarez had a huge breakout season last year. Going 12-7 with a 2.65ERA, the Marlins pitching staff is young and has a huge amount of potential. The Marlins are looking for even more improvement out of Alvarez this season and if he can do that the Marlins will have a fearsome threesome at the top end of the rotation.

Jarred Cosart (79): Acquired at last season's trade deadline, Cosart showed quite a bit of potential for Miami. He hasn't been playing in the majors for very long but he's proven that his stuff is solid. One of the issues that bodes against Cosart based on these 3 pitchers is that they're all right-handed pitchers. It would be nice if Miami could find a legit-left hander in the rotation and while Cosart has shown he can play, he's certainly not untouchable.

Dan Haren (76): After much speculation if Dan Haren would want to play in the 2015 MLB Season, he announced he would in fact play for the Marlins. The 34-year old is on the final year of his deal and he like the rest of the Marlins pitchers is right-handed and he's certainly by far the veteran of the group. As long as Haren can survive going .500 the Marlins will be in great shape for the season.

Other SPs: Tom Koehler (76). Koehler will likely be used for long-relief situations and as an emergency starter throughout the season, of course with the potential to replace one of the starters in place should he be exceptional. Koehler is though 28-years old so unless Haren is the one who falls off, it's doubtful he sees regular game-time.

Bullpen:
Steve Cishek (83): The star closer for Miami, Cishek has been an awesome closer for Miami the last few seasons. At just 28-years old, the Marlins hope he continue being one of the best closers in MLB and be instrumental in Miami's success this season.

AJ Ramos (78): The best Marlins relief pitcher, he's the set-up man to Cishek's dealing. Ramos has been a consistent piece for Miami the last few seasons and he went 7-0 last season with a 2.11 ERA. Expect Ramos to be the premier relief pitcher for Miami this season.

Mike Dunn (75): Finally a left-handed pitcher for the Marlins! Dunn is a bit of an uncontrollable character in the sense he'll either strike out the side or implode in an inning. Regardless, he's going to be certainly kept for the simple fact he's one of the few MLB ready left-handed pitchers Miami has.

Bryan Morris (75): Morris was also acquired last season via trade. Morris was exceptional for Miami posting a 8-1 record on a 1.82 ERA. Of course some are concerned his pace isn't manageable and no one believes he'll be able to be as dominant as he was last season over the course of a year, but Morris is expected to be a solid asset.

Nick Masset (73): A new reliever for Miami, Masset spent last season with the Colorado Rockies. While certainly not a fantastic reliever, Masset is expected to do a good enough job to survive the roster on Miami.

Aaron Crow (71): A former All-Star with the Kansas City Royals, Crow isn't terribly likely to ever return to an All-Star game but the Marlins are hopeful he can recover some of what he previously had to be that bridge guy whenever Ramos is tired or a guy like Dunn is unreliable.

Other RPs: Carter Capps (71). Currently in AAA, Capps is in the minors simply because the Marlins don't really have any room for him at the moment. He'd be the youngest reliever on the team and he can bring the damn heat but he needs some more refinement to his game which is why he's back with the Zephyrs at the moment.

Catchers:
Jarrod Saltalamacchia (78): After winning a world series ring in Boston, Saltalamacchia decided to bring his talents to Miami to be a power hitter and provide a veteran presence for all the young pitching talent that Miami has. While he may have had an offseason last year, the Marlins have faith that Salty can turn it around and avoid JT Realmuto taking his place in the lineup.

Jeff Mathis (68): A solid backup, Mathis role is quite simple.. play whenever Salty is tired and don't be totally miserable on offense as a hitter.

JT Realmuto (66): Realmuto is an interesting scenario for Miami. At 24-years old he could potentially be the future catcher for Miami but with how poor the Marlins have been in developing catchers it's shaky business. If JT can bring his power and determination to the big leagues and replace Mathis role as the backup by the end of the season he may find himself in an even bigger role next season.

1st Basemen:
Michael Morse (74): Brought from the 3-time world champion San Francisco Giants, Michael Morse is now ready to start winding down his career in Miami. As the clean-up guy for Miami, Morse's job will be to bang in homers and protect Stanton. He's been moved from his atrocious out-fielding spot to now 1st baseman where he will hopefully be able to minimize his errors.

2nd Basemen:
Dee Gordon (83): The star picked up in the Marlins biggest deal this offseason, no more platooning at 2nd base! Dealing Andrew Heaney to the Los Angeles Dodgers who was later flipped, Dee Gordon is expected to be a main-stay for the Marlins at 2nd base. He'll likely be the lead-off hitter and hopefully will provide a dynamic duo speed wise with Christian Yelich.

Donovan Solano (73) The utility man for the Marlins, Solano is expected to chill on the bench and fill in where-ever needed minus the outfield. Solano hasn't exactly turned into a starter which the Marlins hoped he could have grown into, but there is still a place for role players, and Solano's job is to hold down that fort.

3rd Basemen:
Martin Prado (79): Probably the most interesting deal Miami made later in the offseason, the Marlins dealt the hard-throwing Nathan Eovaldi for Martin Prado of the Yankees. Prado will start at 3rd base for Miami and it just an all-around solid player who's expected to be a veteran and produce later down in the lineup, or higher in case of injury.

Jeff Baker (67): The other utility man for Miami, Jeff Baker may not have seen the success he would have ideally loved in his 1st year in Miami, but Baker's role is simplified with the infield being filed out now, do your job as a left-handed hitter and be solid on the defensive end. If Baker can do that, he'll find himself on the roster at the end of the season.

Shortstops:
Adeiny Hechavarria (77): Another Cuban on the Marlins, Adeiny quietly had a strong season by his standards last season. He was one of the few in-fielders who consistently produced. While he will likely be disregarded by many and will likely be the most consistent #8 hitter for Miami, Adeiny has speed and enough contact based on his %'s that you shouldn't simply gloss him over.

Left Fielders:
Christian Yelich (81): The incredibly promising left fielder for Miami, Christian Yelich is expected to be just 1/3 of the Marlins deadly outfield this season. His contact with speed along with his little pop in his bat has made him a fan favorite for many. If he can stay on track and grow to his full potential considering how young he is, Yelich will be an all-star for many years to come.

Don Kelly (66): The other outfielder, Don Kelly is in a similar situation to Jeff Baker. He's been brought him as backup to replace Reed Johnson and just... do his job. No blatant mistakes, nothing too stupid that'll make the fans crying for you to leave the squad, as long as Kelly holds his own he'll be fine.

Center Fielders:
Marcell Ozuna (79): Probably the most interesting prospect from an outside perspective to many. Ozuna had a fantastic 2014 campaign and looks to build off that and grow with his fellow outfielders in Miami. Some believe that last season was abnormal and he'll regress, while others think this could only be the beginning for what he can become in MLB. Perhaps he can become a 40+ home-run hitter! If that is the case and he can learn to be more patient at the plate, I feel bad for MLB pitchers.

Right Fielders:
Giancarlo Stanton (94): The star of Miami. Signing a 13-year/325M deal... Stanton is the face for Florida baseball, and most likely the face of Florida sports in general moving forward. He made a bold move to stay with the franchise and now his focus is on winning games and hopefully bringing Miami multiple World Series rings. If he can stay healthy we all know what he's capable power-wise... just please let him be the one to turn this ship around.

Ichiro Suzuki (79): Ichiro!!! A fan-favorite and beloved by all baseball enthusiasts, Ichiro was a fantastic pick-up for Miami. He's a left-handed, contact hitting, veteran outfielder which are all 3 things Miami needed. Ichiro may be 41-years old, but he can still produce at a decent enough rate to be implemented in the offense on occasion. With him mentoring such a young outfield core, you know that Miami will quickly be drawn to him.

So that's the MLB roster for the most part! Let's take a look at how lineups and rotations will be set up.

[ItsKB]

I'm following, love your Dolphins franchise, and from one South Floridian to another, go Marlins!

[Gronk4M13]

Definitely following, I love your Heat 'chise, and the Marlins are a good team to do a franchise with.