Hype has such versatile usage in sports, like the English language’s version of Will Smith—a rapper, comedian and actor.
It’s employed to characterize a player, group of players, team, franchise, manager, executive and even owners. Basically, sports’ hype machine is applicable to any breathing organism in the world of sports.
But hype isn’t real. It’s an attempt at speculation—a hope we have for a burgeoning talent. It sets expectations. When someone is hyped, it means they haven’t accomplished anything yet. So hype runs out like gas in your car—only you can’t refill it.
You can only hope, by that time, it takes you to a destination of success. When it runs out for a group of players, we ask: Have they gotten there?
All of which brings us to the Miami Marlins’ talented outfield trio of Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich. They are a trio of stalwarts in their mid-20s, formerly saddled with great expectations, who are proving to be one of Major League Baseball's best outfields.
The aforementioned destination? They have arrived.
It’s obviously still early in the season, but through Tuesday night’s games, Stanton is hitting .227/.344/.515, Ozuna .301/.350/.514 and Yelich .317/.422/.525. Stanton’s low batting average isn’t concerning because of his high on-base percentage, which is a statistic valued far more than average in today's game. His slugging numbers, 11 homers and 25 RBI, are what’s most important in his game.
According to FanGraphs, Ozuna (1.2) and Yelich (1.5) rank 15th and 10th, respectively, among outfielders in WAR. Stanton’s 0.5 WAR ranks 39th among outfielders.
Compare that to other notable outfield trios in baseball, and the Marlins may have the game’s best through the first quarter of the season.
The Pittsburgh Pirates' Gregory Polanco, Andrew McCutchen and Starling Marte are hitting .307/.409/.518, .255/.345/.484 and .326/.374/.479, respectively. The Los Angeles Angels outfield of Daniel Nava, Mike Trout and Kole Calhoun boast slash lines of .222/.286/.311, .308/.396/.541 and .298/.377/.418, respectively.
(Note: The Chicago Cubs also have one of MLB’s quality outfields. But given that they don’t have an everyday left fielder—Jorge Soler and Kris Bryant, who also plays third, split time—they couldn’t be included in this conversation by virtue of logistics.)
The ascension of Miami’s group was delayed by injury. In 2015, Stanton was limited to 74 games, Ozuna to 123 and Yelich to 126. Ozuna and Yelich broke into the major leagues in 2013 when Stanton was limited to 116 games.
Each has proved to have the abilities we are seeing collectively this season.
In 2011 and 2014, the only seasons in which he played over 140 games, Stanton hit 34 and 37 homers, respectively. He played just 123 games in 2012 yet still managed to go yard 37 times, giving reason to believe a healthy year would make him a 40-home run guy.
Yelich has never finished a season with a batting average worse than .284, hitting a career-best .300/.366/.416 last season. In his healthiest season of 2014, when he played in 153 games, Ozuna hit 23 homers and 85 RBI.
Hopefully that collective health lends itself to continued success for the trio. At least that’s the likelihood.
Among the reasons that each has had such a strong start to the season is that one player’s success is having a residual effect on another’s in the order.
Yelich and Stanton bat third and fourth in the Miami order. Yelich’s high on-base percentage allows Stanton’s slugging to do more damage. Stanton has had just one 100-RBI season, in part due to injury, but also because hitters were not getting on base in front of him.
Likewise, Yelich’s high batting average can be attributed to Stanton’s slugging numbers protecting him in the order. Because opposing pitchers fear facing Stanton with runners on base, they shy away from walking him. Therefore, Yelich is seeing more pitches in the strike zone that he can drive.
The left-handed bat of Justin Bour bats fifth, breaking up the right-handed-hitting Stanton and Ozuna, who hits sixth, in the order. Still, Ozuna’s solid hitting protects the entire middle of the order—making trips through the Marlins lineup a challenge to any pitcher.
Miami fans will, though, still need to pray for health. It’s a group that has proved to be injury-prone.
Just last Sunday, Ozuna and Stanton collided in the outfield. However, both players recovered. On his at-bat after the collision, Stanton homered.
It all gives credence to the idea that the hype surrounding Miami’s outfield has all of a sudden become real.
Seth Gruen is a national baseball columnist for Bleacher Report. Talk baseball with Seth and follow him on Twitter @SethGruen and like his Facebook page.
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