5 amazing stats that 2025 Marlins are on pace for

Two full weeks before the MLB All-Star break, the Miami Marlins have already reached the halfway mark of their regular season schedule—81 games down, 81 games to go. The bottomline results so far are similar to what most folks anticipated on Opening Day, but as is always the case, there have been individual performances and other subplots that make this season notable.

The following stats from the first half of 2025 caught my attention. Will they be duplicated during the second half?

Stolen bases allowed 

The Marlins have made steady progress in this department, but were so vulnerable early in the season that they are still lapping the field. Steals have been prevalent regardless of who is behind the plate. The majority of the blame must be placed on Miami's pitchers for being slow with their deliveries and yielding so many walks and singles.

The Marlins are on pace to allow 210 stolen bases, so it'd take a miraculous second-half turnaround to stay under the franchise record of 139 set in 2024. It has been a quarter-century since any MLB team allowed at least 210—that was the 2001 Boston Red Sox (223 SB).

Unique batting orders used

All things considered, the Marlins have had decent injury luck in 2025. It's just been frustrating how often one of their players suffer a new setback just as somebody else has completed their own rehab. Partly as a consequence of that pattern, the batting order constantly changed throughout the first half of the season. They are on pace to use 156 different lineups. The franchise record for the universal designated hitter era is 154 from the 2022 season.

The Marlins active roster consisted of the same 13 position players throughout the month of June. That ain't happening in July with Derek Hill wrapping up a rehab assignment and the trade deadline looming, and it's safe to assume some standout hitters from the upper minors will earn the opportunity to debut in August/September.

I expect this pace to slow down, but only slightly. 

Xavier Edwards: homerless qualifier?

Edwards' first full-length season in the majors is going solidly, particularly since he made the switch from shortstop to second base. However, there is still a glaring deficiency in his skill set: the switch-hitting leadoff man has 20-grade power from both sides of the plate.

As researched by Davy Andrews of FanGraphs, no MLB player has had a qualified season (min. 502 PA) while hitting zero home runs since Myles Straw in 2022. All of the players currently on pace to qualify in 2025 have gone deep at least once with the exception of Edwards, and he frankly hasn't even come close yet.

The only player in Marlins history who has posted a homerless qualified season is somebody to whom X is frequently compared, Luis Castillo. He did so in 1999, which was coincidentally his first full-length MLB campaign as well. Castillo would go on to play six more seasons with the Fish after that, earning three All-Star selections and contributing to the 2003 World Series title.

Edwards could also become the league's first "barrel-less" qualifier since David Fletcher in 2021. That is less flattering company—during the ensuing years, Fletcher hasn't come close to re-establishing himself as an everyday big leaguer.

Closer carousel

Marlins pitchers have fared okay in the ninth inning this season, even though the man on the mound in those situations constantly changes. Batter handedness and earlier events often dictate who Clayton McCullough calls upon to protect a lead at the end of the game.

Calvin Faucher is Miami's saves leader with eight, and there was a stretch from late May through mid-June when he converted all of the team's saves. However, Faucher blew his latest opportunity in San Francisco, then entered a game in the seventh in Arizona, so it is back to being a guessing game. Anthony Bender, Ronny Henriquez, Janson Junk, Freddy Tarnok and Jesús Tinoco each have recorded saves at various points. The current pace of 12 different pitchers with saves would break the franchise record of eight (2019 and 2024).

I like the odds of the Marlins maintaining that pace. At least one of those aforementioned names should get dealt to a contending team during trade season and there are various arms doing well in the upper minors ready to fill their shoes. Maybe Andrew Nardi completes his comeback from a season-long injured list stint to handle high-leverage work at some point as well.

Let the kids hit

Signed by the Marlins to be more of a coach than a player, Rob Brantly was forced into action for a week early in the season when the club was thin on catching depth. It took only three games for his 35-year-old body to betray him—Brantly has been on the IL since April 21, initially because of a lat strain and now knee inflammation.

Aside from Brantly, every hitter used by the 2025 Marlins has been under the age of 30. They have accounted for 99.8% of all plate appearances. To the Marlins' credit, the youth movement is going well. Their offense has significantly exceeded preseason expectations, ranking 18th among MLB teams in runs scored per game.

The only 29-year-old position players with the organization, Dane Myers and Derek Hill, won't celebrate their next birthdays until after the season ends. Led by a pair of rookies, the catcher position has been a strength, so health permitting, there shouldn't be much need for Brantly or 30-year-old Brian Navarreto (assigned to Triple-A Jacksonville).

Most importantly from a team-building perspective, all of the Marlins' hitters are multiple years away from free agent eligibility. This is a core that can continue to develop together. There is zero pressure on the front office to shake things up unless they're blown away by overly generous trade offers or confident in internal alternatives at certain positions.