$Predicting The Miami Marlins\' 2016 Opening Day Lineup$

Predicting The Miami Marlins' 2016 Opening Day Lineup

By Brad Faber

In 2015, the Miami Marlins played well enough to finish in third place in the NL East, but still posted their sixth consecutive losing season with a record of 71-91. Over the offseason, the Marlins brought in a new skipper in Don Mattingly, and it should be interesting to see if he can take this young, talented club in the right direction. Here is a spring training prediction of how the Fish’s starting lineup may look when they take on Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers on opening day.

$Predicting The Miami Marlins\' 2016 Opening Day Lineup$

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Dee Gordon, 2B — After leading the National League in batting average (.333) and all of MLB in hits (205) and stolen bases (58) last season, Dee Gordon signed a reported five-year, $50 million extension with the Marlins this offseason. The speedy Gordon should serve as an excellent leadoff man once again in 2016.

Martin Prado, 3B — In his first season with the Marlins last year, Martin Prado hit a very solid .288/.338/.394 with nine homers and 63 RBIs. He logged 267 plate appearances in the No. 2 spot last year and would fit nicely there in 2016.

Christian Yelich, LF — Through 126 games last season, Christian Yelich hit an excellent .300/.366/.416 with seven homers and 44 RBIs. Yelich's power game hasn't really taken off yet, but he would be a great fit in the No. 3 spot in 2016.

Giancarlo Stanton, RF — Although his season was shortened by a hand injury last year, Giancarlo Stanton still hit 27 homers in just 74 games. Stanton is quite arguably the best pure power hitter in the game, and the Marlins will absolutely need him to stay healthy in 2016.

Justin Bour, 1B — At 27 years of age, Justin Bour truly burst onto the scene last year, hitting .262/.321/.479 with 23 homers and 73 RBIs through 129 games. If the left-handed slugger can repeat that performance, he should obviously be capable of providing some protection for Stanton in 2016.

Marcell Ozuna, CF — Although he seemed to take a bit of a step back last year, hitting .259/.308/.383 with 10 homers and 44 RBIs through 123 games, Marcell Ozuna is still only 25 and should be more than capable of bouncing back. Ozuna hit .269/.317/.455 with 23 homers and 85 RBIs for the Fish in 2014.

J.T. Realmuto, C — In his first full season in the big leagues last year, J.T. Realmuto hit .259/.290/.406 with 10 homers and 47 RBIs in a 1.8 fWAR campaign. The 25-year-old Realmuto should give the Marlins a solid backstop going forward.

Adeiny Hechavarria, SS — Last year, Adeiny Hechavarria had his best MLB season yet, hitting .281/.315/.374 and playing excellent defense in a 3.0 fWAR campaign. Hechavarria should have plenty to add once again in 2016, especially with the glove.

Wei-Yin Chen, P — To the surprise of quite a few, it was recently announced that Wei-Yin Chen will be getting the ball for the Marlins on opening day rather than ace Jose Fernandez. Chen signed a reported five-year, $80 million deal with the Marlins over the offseason and is coming off of a season in which he went 11-8 with a 3.34 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP for the Baltimore Orioles.

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