Atlanta Braves vs. NL East position by position: First Base.
Marlins – Justin Bour
I almost put Justin Bour up a notch… until I realized that he could easily be the only true offensive threat in the Miami Marlins entire lineup.
Gone are Giancarlo Stanton (6.9 fWAR), Marcell Ozuna (4.8), and Dee Gordon (3.3). Probably following him – at least by mid-season – are Christian Yelich (4.5) and J.T. Realmuto (3.6).
Those constituted the top 5 producers for the Fish in ’17… that’s 23.1 lost fWAR… and Bour was #6 at 2.2.
Beyond that, they might have Starling Castro and Derek Dietrich. Miguel Rojas did well in limited action.
Heck, you could probably win some bets if you can name the members of their starting lineup on a day-to-day basis for the upcoming season. No wonder that their fans are upset.
Fact is: Justin Bour just isn’t going to have a lot of help with him for a while… and that means he’ll see a lot fewer pitches to drive and a lot fewer than 25 homers this time around.
This year is Bour’s first foray into arbitration. He’s filed for $3.4 million while the team countered with $3.0 million.
I seriously hope he wins, for he’s gonna be earning every single dollar. He ranks…