Fantasy baseball 2025: Which Miami Marlins are projected to have the best seasons?

[Kevin Barral]

The most talented Marlins players are not necessarily the most relevant for fantasy purposes. Here's how ESPN ranks them.

If the Miami Marlins aren't going to compete for a real-life championship this season, maybe they could at least help you to a fantasy league championship. We've reached that time of year where fantasy leagues are getting organized. Our staff at Fish On First uses ESPN and we naturally pay close attention to what Marlins players are projected to do.

Realistically, it will be hard to justify drafting many Marlins players in 2025 unless you are in a league with deep rosters or a lot of teams. This is a very inexperienced group with some key pitchers coming off injuries. Maybe they wind up making a fantasy impact as midseason waiver claims.

If you're in a standard ESPN head-to-head points league, these are the Marlins with the top projections.

 

Top Marlins position players

• Connor Norby (286)
• Xavier Edwards (282)
• Jesús Sánchez (238)
• Otto Lopez (223)
• Kyle Stowers (192)

Connor Norby will plug into the second or third spot in the Marlins lineup. ESPN projects Norby to lead the team in home runs and doubles. He is also expected to lead the team with 161 strikeouts, which are worth negative points in most leagues. In fantasy baseball, he's listed as a second baseman and third baseman, giving anyone who picks him up some positional flexibility.

Xavier Edwards should be the most consistent offensive player for the Marlins in 2025 thanks to his contact ability and speed. He is projected to lead the team in hits and stolen bases per ESPN. However, they believe his batting average will drop significantly from .328 last year to .273 this year. If you think Edwards has the skill set to avoid regressing that much, he's the Marlins position player who has the best case for being drafted.

Jesús Sánchez has the longest MLB track record among Marlins position players and ESPN projects him to put up pretty much the same numbers across the board as he did in 2024. The key question is whether he gets another shot to be an everyday player or if he settles into a platoon and only faces righties. He isn't an everyday option in fantasy, but there is a case for rostering him so he could be used in favorable matchups.

Otto Lopez is one player to keep an eye on. After getting off to a great start with the Marlins, he slowed down in the months of June and July before heating back up in August through the end of the season. Great defense should keep him in the lineup even during extended slumps. It's just hard to know what to expect on the offensive side of the ball for a player who was designated for assignment less than a year ago.

You may be surprised that ESPN is so high on Kyle Stowers. After joining the Marlins, he struck out 35.4% of the time with only two home runs in 50 games. His strikeout issues are projected to continue, but that goes along with a team-leading 65 RBI. For fantasy purposes, you want to hold off on acquiring Stowers until it's clear that he is receiving regular playing time. 

 

Top Marlins pitchers

• Sandy Alcantara (253)
• Edward Cabrera (210)
• Valente Bellozo (162)
• Max Meyer (154)
• Anthony Bender (140)

The last time that Sandy Alcantara was healthy entering a season (2023), he was among the first pitchers drafted. He was the reigning NL Cy Young award winner and was the safest bet to provide a high volume of innings. Coming off Tommy John surgery, ESPN is conservatively projecting him for only 127 innings. If Alcantara avoids the injured list, he will easily top that number and turn into a late-round steal.

Edward Cabrera is coming off a nice second half where in 13 starts, he posted a 3.57 ERA. In fantasy baseball, though, the length of each start plus how many strikeouts a pitcher can garner are also very important. In 2024, Cabrera only completed the seventh inning of a ballgame twice. ESPN has Cabrera leading the Marlins with 123 strikeouts and surpassing the 100-inning marker for the first time in his career. Maybe with a new pitching director and pitching coach in place, he'll finally come closer to unlocking his full potential.

Last season, Valente Bellozo posted a 3.67 ERA with a 5.73 FIP through 68 ⅔ innings pitched. Bellozo was lucky to say the least with a very low strikeout rate and tendency to allow homers. The uncertainty about whether he will make the Opening Day roster should take him out of draft consideration. 

Max Meyer got off to an exciting start in 2024, then really disappointed during the second half of the season. A primary reason for the former top prospect's struggles is his lack of quality pitches to complement his slider. Meyer could really take a leap forward if he shows a more consistent changeup, but there is also the risk that the Marlins begin turning him into a reliever if he doesn't make adjustments.

Bender's projection is boosted by a team-leading combination of saves and holds. He generally did a good job limiting walks last season except for a rough patch in September. It's unclear at this point whether he'll be in the mix for the closer's role.

The most puzzling projection is Ryan Weathers (126 points). He pitched well when healthy last season—3.63 ERA, 4.11 FIP, 8.3 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 through 86 ⅔ innings pitched—with an uptick in whiffs and has gotten into much better shape this winter. The ESPN projection seems to be based on his poor performance from 2021-2023. All of the other Weathers projections across the industry are more optimistic and he's worth thinking about picking toward the end of your draft.

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[rurrusuno]

Sandy's the only one I'd draft in a fantasy baseball league, and that would only be if I had no other choice

[Slacker Mills]

I think Edwards will run away with the NL batting crown and steal a bunch of bases. That's great late round performance.

Weathers will be very good.