{"time":1778733367680,"blocks":[{"id":"mp3lpb1l","type":"video","data":{"url":"https://us-central1-deweb-519a7.cloudfunctions.net/mediaService-api/videos/531adb26-da93-4017-8680-9ddca8802aad/mp4","caption":"","autoplay":false,"controls":true,"muted":false,"stretched":true,"width":0,"height":0,"image":{"url":"https://us-central1-deweb-519a7.cloudfunctions.net/mediaService-api/videos/531adb26-da93-4017-8680-9ddca8802aad/thumbnail"},"cdn":{"videoId":"531adb26-da93-4017-8680-9ddca8802aad","libraryId":"372172","collectionId":"30032062-eefd-4041-a355-12ad05bc987b","cdnBaseUrl":"https://vz-052fc010-b27.b-cdn.net","mp4Url":"https://us-central1-deweb-519a7.cloudfunctions.net/mediaService-api/videos/531adb26-da93-4017-8680-9ddca8802aad/mp4","thumbnailUrl":"https://us-central1-deweb-519a7.cloudfunctions.net/mediaService-api/videos/531adb26-da93-4017-8680-9ddca8802aad/thumbnail","previewAnimationUrl":"https://vz-052fc010-b27.b-cdn.net/531adb26-da93-4017-8680-9ddca8802aad/preview.webp"}}},{"id":"eMry1fxTcq","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Sports media attention is usually focused on the superstars\nwho earn the biggest contracts, produce at the highest level, and take home the sport top awards. The only difference in Major League Baseball is that the\nstars are compressed on a handful of teams, which makes the spotlight on them\neven brighter."}},{"id":"sRWcNkHCSO","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"As the focus remains fixed on the biggest names, three players on the Miami Marlins have\nbeen flying under the radar despite emerging as one of the more productive\noffensive trios in the Major Leagues."}},{"id":"IkFGYdCLg-","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Having played past the 40-game mark, Otto Lopez,\nXavier Edwards and Liam Hicks have emerged as legitimate offensive threats in\nMiami’s everyday lineup. The 40-game mark is significant, according to Hall of Fame manager\nSparky Anderson, who said “You can’t tell anything about a team until they’ve\nplayed 40 games.” A benchmark that many people still use to judge a team or its\nplayers."}},{"id":"_gb4NgZ8zN","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The philosophy behind it is simple, by the 40-game mark in the season,\nearly hot streaks and slumps begin to level out, making performances and\nstandings more meaningful."}},{"id":"6IBs9AYiGE","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Lopez, Edwards and Hicks each had their way with the bat in the Marlins’ 9-5 win over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday. Edwards went 2-for-4 with a double, triple and two runs scored to improve his batting average to .318 and his OPS to .890 on the season. Lopez’s (.335/.367/.497) lone hit was an RBI and Hicks drove in three runs to add to his lead league at 38 RBI. "}},{"id":"E6qzDYiCTl","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Miami manager Clayton McCullough acknowledged during his press conference on May 10 the challenge\nof relying so heavily on the trio and how difficult it will be to sustain what they are doing."}},{"id":"nluU85xuPb","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“The guys have been going so good, [but] they can't do this forever,\nand they'll still be good,” McCullough said, “but some other guys are going to have to\ncontribute.”"}},{"id":"KNybEPlhdC","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Despite their offensive productivity to this point, they continue to\nreceive limited national attention. So much so that when Joel Reuter of\nBleacher Report released his MLB power rankings this week, he posed the question: “Is\nthere a more unheralded trio in baseball right now than Otto Lopez, Xavier\nEdwards and Liam Hicks?”"}},{"id":"qLfkelFend","type":"header","data":{"text":"An Unlikely\nMiami Core Emerges","level":1,"linkUrl":"","anchor":""}},{"id":"CpXK7itJl3","type":"image","data":{"caption":"Sep 23, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Miami Marlins shortstop Xavier Edwards (9) and second base Otto Lopez (6) celebrate win against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images","withBorder":false,"withBackground":false,"size":"full","alignment":"center","linkUrl":"","file":{"url":"https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/5a7cbcba-5936-4706-a7db-5a5dbc8794ab.jpeg","width":3060,"height":2040}}},{"id":"JmvzWxRqA2","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"What makes the trio’s performance newsworthy is both their individual\nproduction and the fact that they have largely carried the Miami offense. Their\nsuccess is a key reason the Marlins are only five games out of a Wild Card\nspot."}},{"id":"wB1JGwkUUr","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Together, the three have accounted for 42 percent of the hits and runs\nthe team has scored this season. Yet despite that level of impact, the trio has\ngone without the recognition typically given to high-performing offensive\ngroups."}},{"id":"UXmJdFjQzU","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"In MLB, it’s the top teams with star-heavy lineups are the ones that\nusually get national attention. It's the Los Angeles Dodgers with stars such as\nShohei Ohtani, Max Muncy and Freddie Freeman. The New York Yankees marquee trio\nof Aaron Judge, Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger or the Braves Ronald Acuna Jr.,\nMatt Olson and Austin Riley, that continually receive attention."}},{"id":"LRlhxRQI7O","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"All three teams have top-10 payrolls: Dodgers ($390.5M), Yankees\n($325.4M) and Braves ($233.0M), and have rosters expected to produce. They\ndominate media coverage because of their massive payrolls, star-studded rosters\nand postseason expectations."}},{"id":"UWaH-WK9DW","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Miami’s trio plays in a completely different playground, on a team with\none of the lowest payroll in baseball, surrounded by players who are not\nhousehold names."}},{"id":"JibwUIXgzD","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Lopez, Edwards and Hicks came into the season unknown, with very few\nexpectations and no national discussion. Yet their production has matched the\ngame’s top players, and they are now beginning to get the recognition they\ndeserve. "}},{"id":"cu2HnnHTLv","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Lopez has entered the conversation as one of the best shortstops\nin baseball, according to Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald: “MLB’s best\nshortstop a month into the season? Marlins’ Otto Lopez is making a case.” "}},{"id":"mznJxm5yeJ","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The\nGood Phight said, “Xavier Edwards is emerging as a top-of-the-order\ncatalyst with elite on-base ability.”"}},{"id":"lBK6RoTwlS","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"In a league often driven by star power and payroll comparisons, the\nMarlins may have found something just as valuable: production from overlooked\ncontributors. And while they may not command the same spotlight as baseball’s\nbiggest names, Lopez, Edwards and Hicks are beginning to force their way into\nthe conversation."}},{"id":"q53BiZ3FXE","type":"header","data":{"text":"Marlins Trio\nOutproducing Big Stars","level":1,"linkUrl":"","anchor":""}},{"id":"3ml9j4dqBO","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Despite being unknowns entering the season, Lopez, Edwards and Hicks are\nposting OPS numbers that stack up against the biggest names in the game. OPS\ncombines on-base percentage and slugging percentage, its gives an indication of\noverall offensive production because it measures a hitter’s ability to reach\nbase and produce power."}},{"id":"RAbHsBV79c","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Lopez, through 40 games, has posted an .886 OPS, with a .373 on-base\npercentage and .513 slugging percentage. Jordan McPherson of the Miami\nHerald described Lopez’s offensive breakout as “He just looks very hitter-ish\nright now.”"}},{"id":"fBm1yOH_bq","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Edwards, after 41 games, posted a .886 mark, and when asked about what\nallows him to have the power this year, opposed to last season, Edwards states,\n“I think it's just my swing, I have been trying to get my A-swing as much as I\ncan. I kind of try to make a lot of the at-bats end on my terms.” "}},{"id":"hNGyOS914Q","type":"embed","data":{"service":"twitter","source":"https://x.com/Marlins/status/2054290552154189911","embed":"https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?id=2054290552154189911","width":600,"height":300,"caption":"","meta":{"title":"Miami Marlins (@Marlins) on X","site_name":"X (formerly Twitter)","description":"Xavier Edwards has already passed his home run total from last season 👀\n\nHe sits down with @Jack_McMullen11 to talk adjustments at the plate.\n\n📺 Full episode live now on https://t.co/6SPbeLqH20!","image":{"url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/amplify_video_thumb/2054290357806882817/img/vSuucB3CW41R4zHb.jpg:large"}}}},{"id":"0rRT2NMoc-","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Hicks leads the team with 9 home runs this season and has a .958 OPS\nthanks to a .370 on-base percentage and .588 slugging percentage."}},{"id":"w_xVGsVdR0","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Those numbers put Miami’s trio on the same playing field as some of the biggest names in the game. Lopez, Edwards and Hicks'\nOPS at this point in the season is higher than Ohtani (.767 OPS), Acuna Jr.\n(.740 OPS), and Freeman (.772 OPS), while Cody Bellinger (.895 OPS) sits just\nabove Lopez and Edwards."}},{"id":"CAKXHcIsvT","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“Is there a more unheralded trio in baseball right now than Otto Lopez,\nXavier Edwards and Liam Hicks?”"}},{"id":"GXB3hLdaeu","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"There very well could be other trios in MLB that are flying under the\nradar right now. But very few have combined for the level of production with\nthe lack of recognition that the trio from Miami have. "}},{"id":"n9TNTJugf8","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Are they Unheralded, yes, but if they continue producing at this level, it is only a\nmatter of time before they find themselves in the same spotlight as the others."}},{"id":"5Tn8HVqzUm","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Join our ROUNDTABLE community! It's free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members."}},{"id":"anQAE73Leh","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected!"}}],"version":"2.31.5"}

Marlins Turn to Alcantara for Series Versus Orioles