ZiPS 2021 Projections: Miami Marlins

December 16, 2020

After having typically appeared in the hallowed pages of Baseball Think Factory, Dan Szymborski’s ZiPS projections have now been released at FanGraphs for nine years. The exercise continues this offseason. Below are the projections for the Miami Marlins.

ZiPS Projections

20212020

BAL	CHW	HOU
BOS	CLE	LAA
NYY	DET	OAK
TBR	KCR	SEA
TOR	MIN	TEX

ATL	CHC	ARI
MIA	CIN	COL
NYM	MIL	LAD
PHI	PIT	SDP
WSN	STL	SFG

BAL	CHW	HOU
BOS	CLE	LAA
NYY	DET	OAK
TBR	KCR	SEA
TOR	MIN	TEX

ATL	CHC	ARI
MIA	CIN	COL
NYM	MIL	LAD
PHI	PIT	SDP
WSN	STL	SFG

Batters

To make the playoffs in 2020, the Marlins needed a few things to happen. First, some of their young starting pitching, the organization’s strength, had to take a big step forward. The other thing was that the offense had to become, well, an MLB-ready lineup. With a 2018 team wRC+ of 83 and 2019’s woeful 79, run scoring (or the lack thereof) was a serious drag on the team’s hopes. Doubling this humiliation is the fact that Miami’s punchless attack could be directly linked to the trades of Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna, and J.T. Realmuto.

But with the lineup improving to a 95 wRC+ and the pitching being a plus, the Marlins snuck into the playoffs for the first time since 2003. The temporary (crossing fingers) expansion to the playoff field and some fortune also aided, allowing Miami to play October baseball despite a record right around .500 and a Pythagorean record of 26-34. But again, flags fly forever!

The challenge is that the offense remains a team weakness, and it’s unlikely there’s any savior in the organization. While it would be incorrect to say that the Marlins didn’t get anyone solid in return for their quartet of traded stars — Sixto Sanchez is a wonderful young pitcher to have under your employ — it is fair to say that there’s a real chance they didn’t get any offensive contributors in these trades. Starlin Castro is already one (and wasn’t a prospect), and none of Jorge Alfaro, Lewis Brinson, Monte Harrison, Isan Diaz, or Magneuris Sierra were the reasons they made the playoffs. Miami did indirectly pick up a solid prospect by the transitive property of trade-ality — Zac Gallen was acquired in the Ozuna trade and was later swapped for Jazz Chisholm — but only Chisholm projects by ZiPS to have a 10-WAR career. Only two position players project to have at least 10 WAR remaining: Chisholm and Brian Anderson. The average in ZiPS is about five hitters per team, and a young team emerging from a rebuild ought to have more than this at this point.

I’m a fan of Anderson at third base and glad that the Marlins seem to be content with him there. He’ll simply have more value long-term if he can handle the hot corner; his bat just isn’t that potent for a corner outfielder, and he’s not at an age at which he’s likely hiding another gear or two. Starling Marte is no longer the borderline star he was at his best, but he remains solid, as his glove hasn’t dropped too far to force a move to a corner. A free-agent-to-be, there’s no indication that a trade is in the works — something that should make people happy, as this franchise has a lot to do to repair its reputation long-term. Saddling Kim Ng, the team’s new GM, with the team’s latest cynical sell-off would be a depressing follow-up to 2020.

I don’t imagine JJ Bleday, a 2019 first-rounder, gets this much playing time when 2020 actually happens, but his projected PA in our depth charts reflect how empty the upper minors are of interesting bats. The Marlins need to do better than simply not going on a selling spree; they need to add real offensive talent at the corners. Yes, they’re paying Corey Dickerson for another season, but he should be a fallback option, not Plan A.

Pitchers

The rotation is the happiest part of the Marlins. The starters combined for a 4.31 ERA, and while that’s not the most exciting number on the surface, 53 of the team’s 60 starts were made by pitchers 25 and under for the 2020 season.

There’s no true No. 1 starter right now, but Sanchez becoming an ace at any time in the next few years should not be the least bit shocking to any observer. Between Pablo Lopez, Sandy Alcantara, Elieser Hernandez, and Trevor Rogers, the team has both upside and depth. That’s not to say there’s no risk involved, but because of the ages of these pitchers, the probability is that they’ll improve as a group, even if not every pitcher is going to develop further. And that’s even before considering someone like Edward Cabrera, a pitcher ZiPS already thinks is a legitimate major leaguer and who was behind only Sanchez among pitchers in Eric Longenhagen’s Marlins prospect list from 2020.

Losing Gallen hurts given how much he developed after his trade to Arizona, but Miami was dealing from a source of strength here and was also able to afford losing Caleb Smith to bring Marte to town. If the Marlins are serious about contention, I’d like them to bring in at least one plug-and-play veteran, but they don’t necessarily have to due to the strength elsewhere.

The bullpen may eventually be strengthened by the pitching prospects who don’t make the cut in the rotation, but 2021 is likely a little too soon to get those kinds of reinforcements. The highs aren’t that high; even with ZiPS being optimistic on Richard Bleier and James Hoyt, not a single Miami reliever projects with an ERA+ of 120. And some of the options at the back of the pen, such as Zach Pop or Jordan Holloway, project around replacement level. Nobody in baseball seems like they’re eager to give big deals to relief pitchers this winter, so there’s certainly an opportunity for ownership to let the front office sign a spicy arm or two here.

Ballpark graphic courtesy Eephus League. Depth charts constructed by way of those listed here.

Batters – Standard

Player	B	Age	PO	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS
Brian Anderson	R	28	3B	593	523	69	133	28	3	22	80	52	148	3	2
Miguel Rojas	R	32	SS	494	448	51	121	22	1	8	50	35	60	9	4
Starling Marte	R	32	CF	590	545	80	148	27	4	15	64	25	105	25	8
Jon Berti	R	31	3B	395	341	51	81	12	2	6	33	42	94	24	6
Garrett Cooper	R	30	1B	424	381	52	100	19	0	15	58	36	99	0	0
Corey Dickerson	L	32	LF	502	468	57	126	26	3	15	57	29	95	3	2
Jesus Aguilar	R	31	1B	482	420	58	105	18	0	18	75	50	112	0	1
Griffin Conine	L	23	RF	385	349	53	70	20	2	14	61	31	149	3	0
Francisco Cervelli	R	35	C	303	258	33	58	10	1	8	34	34	75	3	1
Isan Diaz	L	25	2B	500	448	62	103	18	3	12	58	48	133	6	3
Sean Rodriguez	R	36	3B	186	160	22	35	4	1	5	15	20	66	1	1
Ryan Lavarnway	R	33	C	255	228	24	53	10	0	6	22	20	58	0	1
Jazz Chisholm	L	23	SS	454	406	53	80	10	6	17	51	40	158	14	7
Jorge Alfaro	R	28	C	418	388	39	89	13	1	12	51	18	147	4	2
Matt Joyce	L	36	RF	318	273	38	64	12	0	7	29	43	76	1	1
Monte Harrison	R	25	CF	404	367	46	73	11	2	11	35	30	163	25	4
Chad Wallach	R	29	C	232	209	21	43	9	0	5	21	17	67	0	0
Travis Snider	L	33	RF	389	349	38	78	16	2	7	30	37	109	2	2
Julian Leon	R	25	C	313	269	31	44	9	0	8	26	33	125	0	1
JJ Bleday	L	23	RF	454	425	42	92	18	0	11	43	29	111	1	1
Nick Fortes	R	24	C	346	308	29	63	12	2	4	28	27	66	1	1
Logan Forsythe	R	34	2B	361	316	34	65	14	1	5	26	40	99	2	1
Jesus Sanchez???	L	23	RF	470	427	46	93	16	2	11	51	35	117	4	4
Lewis Brinson	R	27	CF	454	416	46	86	16	4	12	48	29	138	11	3
Wilkin Castillo	B	37	C	231	216	18	43	8	1	3	19	12	40	3	1
Harold Ramirez	R	26	LF	514	479	56	121	23	2	10	53	24	104	5	3
Lewin Diaz	L	24	1B	447	419	43	91	20	2	14	48	21	109	0	1
Bryson Brigman	R	26	SS	513	468	44	100	15	2	3	29	35	100	8	5
Brian Miller	L	25	LF	535	496	49	121	21	4	1	34	32	97	23	9
Tristan Pompey	B	24	LF	218	189	20	33	7	1	2	13	26	82	6	4
Brett Eibner	R	32	RF	286	260	29	58	9	1	8	28	22	80	2	1
Jose Devers	L	21	SS	418	387	36	87	12	5	0	21	22	77	12	6
Demetrius Sims	R	25	SS	399	353	36	63	12	2	6	27	31	142	8	9
Joe Dunand	R	25	SS	538	487	48	98	19	1	8	44	33	152	1	1
J.D. Osborne	R	25	C	269	247	23	45	9	0	5	22	13	82	2	0
Stone Garrett	R	25	LF	442	420	38	87	17	3	9	40	16	149	10	5
Marcus Chiu	R	24	1B	376	331	36	55	11	3	8	28	28	153	6	3
Lazaro Alonso	L	26	1B	446	391	42	76	14	0	8	36	52	160	1	1
Riley Mahan	L	25	2B	490	450	41	86	17	2	7	38	28	175	3	1
Jerar Encarnacion	R	23	RF	474	445	43	91	15	1	11	44	26	159	4	3
Victor Victor Mesa	R	24	CF	521	488	37	115	6	4	0	23	20	84	13	2
Connor Scott	L	21	CF	451	416	40	79	16	4	4	30	32	139	14	12

Batters – Advanced

Player	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS+	ISO	BABIP	RC/27	Def	WAR	No. 1 Comp
Brian Anderson	.254	.337	.446	112	.191	.314	5.4	0	3.0	Mike Shannon
Miguel Rojas	.270	.331	.377	94	.107	.297	4.6	8	2.5	Johnny Logan
Starling Marte	.272	.321	.418	101	.147	.313	5.2	-2	2.2	Bake McBride
Jon Berti	.238	.333	.337	85	.100	.311	4.4	4	1.5	Esteban German
Garrett Cooper	.262	.333	.430	107	.168	.318	5.2	1	1.3	Matthew LeCroy
Corey Dickerson	.269	.313	.434	102	.165	.310	5.0	2	1.2	Raul Ibanez
Jesus Aguilar	.250	.330	.421	104	.171	.300	5.0	1	1.2	Ryan Shealy
Griffin Conine	.201	.273	.390	79	.189	.301	3.7	3	0.2	Ronnie Gideon
Francisco Cervelli	.225	.334	.364	92	.140	.286	4.3	-4	0.9	Mike Heath
Isan Diaz	.230	.307	.364	83	.134	.300	3.9	-1	0.8	Paul Runge
Sean Rodriguez	.219	.315	.350	83	.131	.337	3.7	3	0.5	Jim Davenport
Ryan Lavarnway	.232	.303	.355	80	.123	.287	3.7	-1	0.5	Robert Machado
Jazz Chisholm	.197	.278	.377	77	.180	.273	3.5	-2	0.4	Brandon Cromer
Jorge Alfaro	.229	.282	.361	75	.131	.336	3.6	-4	0.1	Dan Wilson
Matt Joyce	.234	.336	.355	90	.121	.300	4.2	-4	0.1	Ernie Young
Monte Harrison	.199	.270	.330	63	.131	.321	3.5	0	0.0	Damon Mashore
Chad Wallach	.206	.274	.321	63	.115	.277	3.0	0	0.0	Bill Dobrolsky
Travis Snider	.223	.298	.341	75	.117	.305	3.5	3	-0.1	Cesar Geronimo
Julian Leon	.164	.269	.286	53	.123	.265	2.4	2	-0.1	J.C. Boscan
JJ Bleday	.216	.267	.336	64	.120	.267	3.1	1	-0.9	Brennan Boesch
Nick Fortes	.205	.277	.295	58	.091	.248	2.7	1	-0.2	Brian Moon
Logan Forsythe	.206	.299	.304	66	.098	.283	3.1	-2	-0.2	Jason Wood
Jesus Sanchez	.218	.279	.342	69	.124	.274	3.2	5	-0.3	Garrick Haltiwanger
Lewis Brinson	.207	.267	.351	68	.144	.278	3.3	-1	-0.3	Victor Mendez
Wilkin Castillo	.199	.245	.287	45	.088	.231	2.4	1	-0.5	Tony Pena
Harold Ramirez	.253	.296	.372	82	.119	.304	4.0	-4	-0.5	Bill Ortega
Lewin Diaz	.217	.257	.375	70	.158	.260	3.3	5	-0.6	Kevin Reimer
Bryson Brigman	.214	.275	.274	51	.060	.266	2.5	3	-0.7	Mike Terhune
Brian Miller	.244	.293	.308	66	.065	.302	3.3	4	-0.7	Bruce Fields
Tristan Pompey	.175	.276	.254	47	.079	.295	2.2	2	-0.8	Brent Gjesdal
Brett Eibner	.223	.284	.358	75	.135	.291	3.5	-5	-0.8	Alan Cockrell
Jose Devers	.225	.278	.282	55	.057	.281	2.7	-3	-0.9	Tom Foley
Demetrius Sims	.178	.263	.275	48	.096	.278	2.1	1	-1.0	Brett King
Joe Dunand	.201	.262	.294	52	.092	.275	2.6	-1	-1.1	Randy Blood
J.D. Osborne	.182	.238	.279	41	.097	.250	2.3	-5	-1.3	Jeff Winchester
Stone Garrett	.207	.244	.326	55	.119	.298	2.7	4	-1.3	Darrell Nicholas
Marcus Chiu	.166	.261	.290	51	.124	.276	2.5	-3	-1.7	Blake Bone
Lazaro Alonso	.194	.291	.292	61	.097	.305	2.8	-5	-1.8	Dustin Yount
Riley Mahan	.191	.246	.284	45	.093	.295	2.4	-2	-1.8	Chris Shaddy
Jerar Encarnacion	.204	.251	.317	55	.112	.291	2.7	-1	-1.9	Eli Tintor
Victor Victor Mesa	.236	.269	.264	48	.029	.285	2.7	7	-0.7	Orlando Blackwell
Connor Scott	.190	.249	.276	44	.087	.275	2.1	-5	-2.3	Johnny Hernandez

Pitchers – Standard

Player	T	Age	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	FIP
Pablo Lopez	R	25	10	9	4.15	27	27	134.3	127	62	18	40	129	4.10
Sixto Sanchez	R	22	7	6	3.86	20	20	109.7	107	47	12	31	94	3.93
Sandy Alcantara	R	25	9	9	4.51	30	30	171.7	164	86	22	76	142	4.66
Trevor Rogers	L	23	8	7	4.28	25	24	124.0	120	59	17	48	119	4.37
Edward Cabrera	R	23	7	7	4.57	22	22	100.3	93	51	14	55	103	4.76
Daniel Castano	L	26	7	7	4.63	27	16	116.7	123	60	17	42	86	4.86
Braxton Garrett	L	23	6	6	4.45	19	19	89.0	84	44	12	44	88	4.61
Elieser Hernandez	R	26	4	4	4.68	27	19	100.0	93	52	19	35	112	4.64
Richard Bleier	L	34	3	2	3.64	47	0	47.0	49	19	4	9	29	3.82
James Hoyt	R	34	2	1	3.74	47	1	43.3	38	18	5	19	47	3.96
Jeff Brigham	R	29	3	2	3.89	40	0	44.0	39	19	5	20	46	4.07
Brandon Leibrandt	L	28	3	4	4.70	13	10	53.7	56	28	7	22	39	4.82
Jose Urena	R	29	3	3	4.20	52	3	64.3	61	30	8	25	53	4.50
Paul Campbell	R	25	8	10	5.15	25	20	122.3	137	70	20	40	81	5.13
Brandon Kintzler	R	36	4	3	4.06	56	0	51.0	50	23	6	16	39	4.30
Cody Poteet	R	26	6	7	5.25	22	22	116.7	129	68	18	46	76	5.22
Nick Vincent	R	34	3	3	4.15	48	1	52.0	52	24	8	13	44	4.35
Ryne Stanek	R	29	2	2	4.06	55	0	62.0	52	28	9	32	75	4.24
Drew Steckenrider	R	30	3	3	4.04	52	0	49.0	41	22	7	22	61	4.02
Alexander Guillen	R	25	3	3	4.23	44	0	72.3	64	34	10	34	80	4.34
Jordan Holloway	R	25	5	6	5.09	17	16	63.7	61	36	7	47	57	5.22
Jake Fishman	L	26	1	0	4.23	44	0	61.7	61	29	8	19	54	4.19
Yimi Garcia	R	30	3	3	4.11	50	0	46.0	42	21	7	14	47	4.29
Preston Guilmet	R	33	3	3	4.60	38	4	58.7	59	30	11	18	60	4.65
Alex Vesia	L	25	4	3	4.12	31	0	48.0	43	22	6	23	52	4.26
Stephen Tarpley	L	28	4	4	4.47	36	2	54.3	50	27	5	32	56	4.30
Tyler Stevens	R	25	4	4	4.30	47	0	67.0	63	32	9	27	68	4.24
Josh D. Smith	L	31	4	4	4.68	34	4	59.7	56	31	8	35	63	4.77
Mike Morin	R	30	2	2	4.37	43	1	47.3	50	23	6	12	31	4.47
Aaron Northcraft	R	31	3	4	4.96	27	7	61.7	62	34	9	30	53	4.96
Adam Cimber	R	30	3	3	4.30	55	0	52.3	54	25	6	15	36	4.38
Nick Neidert	R	24	4	5	5.21	16	13	65.7	69	38	11	29	53	5.21
Tommy Eveld	R	27	4	4	4.31	45	0	48.0	44	23	6	22	50	4.22
Pat Venditte	R	36	3	3	4.39	32	1	41.0	37	20	6	18	45	4.42
Jordan Yamamoto	R	25	5	7	5.38	22	21	103.7	101	62	18	51	94	5.27
Zach Thompson	R	27	3	3	4.46	48	0	72.7	72	36	9	33	64	4.56
C.J. Carter	R	24	3	3	4.47	39	0	54.3	51	27	6	31	51	4.62
Brian Moran	L	32	2	2	4.53	40	0	45.7	42	23	6	23	45	4.63
Dylan Lee	L	26	3	3	4.55	51	0	59.3	57	30	7	30	52	4.68
Ryan Cook	R	34	1	2	4.67	30	0	27.0	25	14	4	16	28	5.03
Zach Pop	R	24	3	3	4.89	34	0	42.3	43	23	7	18	37	5.07
Adam Conley	L	31	5	5	4.81	64	0	63.7	65	34	10	24	55	4.77
Brad Boxberger	R	33	3	3	4.99	46	0	39.7	35	22	7	26	47	5.15
Justin Shafer	R	28	2	3	5.08	47	0	56.7	55	32	9	31	52	5.21
Jorge Guzman	R	25	5	8	5.98	20	18	87.3	87	58	15	67	78	6.13

Pitchers – Advanced

Player	K/9	BB/9	HR/9	BB%	K%	BABIP	ERA+	ERA-	WAR	No. 1 Comp
Pablo Lopez	8.6	2.7	1.2	7.0%	22.6%	.291	104	96	2.0	Jaime Navarro
Sixto Sanchez	7.7	2.5	1.0	6.7%	20.2%	.295	112	90	2.0	Fred Newman
Sandy Alcantara	7.4	4.0	1.2	10.1%	18.9%	.283	96	105	1.9	Bump Hadley
Trevor Rogers	8.6	3.5	1.2	8.9%	22.1%	.297	101	99	1.7	Jimmy Anderson
Edward Cabrera	9.2	4.9	1.3	12.3%	23.0%	.293	94	106	1.1	Dick Ruthven
Daniel Castano	6.6	3.2	1.3	8.2%	16.8%	.294	93	107	1.0	Chuck Stobbs
Braxton Garrett	8.9	4.4	1.2	11.2%	22.3%	.294	97	103	1.0	Andy Hassler
Elieser Hernandez	10.1	3.2	1.7	8.2%	26.2%	.289	92	109	0.8	John Butcher
Richard Bleier	5.6	1.7	0.8	4.5%	14.6%	.294	118	84	0.5	Dick Coffman
James Hoyt	9.8	3.9	1.0	10.2%	25.3%	.292	115	87	0.5	Jumbo Brown
Jeff Brigham	9.4	4.1	1.0	10.5%	24.2%	.291	111	90	0.5	Ed Farmer
Brandon Leibrandt	6.5	3.7	1.2	9.2%	16.4%	.293	92	109	0.5	Bill Wight
Jose Urena	7.4	3.5	1.1	9.0%	19.1%	.282	103	97	0.5	Dick Hyde
Paul Campbell	6.0	2.9	1.5	7.4%	15.0%	.298	84	120	0.4	Nate Cornejo
Brandon Kintzler	6.9	2.8	1.1	7.3%	17.9%	.286	106	94	0.4	Clay Carroll
Cody Poteet	5.9	3.5	1.4	8.8%	14.6%	.295	82	122	0.3	Mike MacDonald
Nick Vincent	7.6	2.3	1.4	5.9%	20.1%	.289	104	96	0.3	Bobby Tiefenauer
Ryne Stanek	10.9	4.6	1.3	12.0%	28.1%	.287	106	94	0.3	Jack Meyer
Drew Steckenrider	11.2	4.0	1.3	10.5%	29.2%	.291	107	94	0.3	Ken Ryan
Alexander Guillen	10.0	4.2	1.2	10.8%	25.5%	.290	102	98	0.3	John Stuper
Jordan Holloway	8.1	6.6	1.0	15.8%	19.1%	.295	85	118	0.3	Preston Hanna
Jake Fishman	7.9	2.8	1.2	7.2%	20.5%	.294	102	98	0.3	Steve Sharts
Yimi Garcia	9.2	2.7	1.4	7.2%	24.1%	.285	105	95	0.2	Chris Spurling
Preston Guilmet	9.2	2.8	1.7	7.1%	23.8%	.300	94	107	0.2	Chuck Crim
Alex Vesia	9.8	4.3	1.1	11.0%	24.8%	.294	104	96	0.2	Marcelino Lopez
Stephen Tarpley	9.3	5.3	0.8	13.1%	22.9%	.304	96	104	0.2	Tippy Martinez
Tyler Stevens	9.1	3.6	1.2	9.3%	23.5%	.297	100	100	0.2	Scott Munter
Josh D. Smith	9.5	5.3	1.2	13.0%	23.3%	.300	92	109	0.2	John Curtis
Mike Morin	5.9	2.3	1.1	5.9%	15.3%	.291	98	102	0.2	Ron Taylor
Aaron Northcraft	7.7	4.4	1.3	10.9%	19.2%	.293	87	115	0.2	Rob Stanifer
Adam Cimber	6.2	2.6	1.0	6.6%	15.9%	.291	100	100	0.2	Johnny Hetki
Nick Neidert	7.3	4.0	1.5	9.9%	18.1%	.294	83	121	0.2	Ronnie Ray
Tommy Eveld	9.4	4.1	1.1	10.5%	23.9%	.295	100	100	0.1	Matt Ryan
Pat Venditte	9.9	4.0	1.3	10.1%	25.3%	.292	98	102	0.1	Don Aase
Jordan Yamamoto	8.2	4.4	1.6	11.0%	20.3%	.283	80	125	0.1	Dennis Lamp
Zach Thompson	7.9	4.1	1.1	10.2%	19.9%	.297	97	104	0.1	Laddie Renfroe
C.J. Carter	8.4	5.1	1.0	12.7%	20.9%	.294	96	104	0.1	George Grant
Brian Moran	8.9	4.5	1.2	11.4%	22.3%	.288	95	105	0.0	Hal Woodeshick
Dylan Lee	7.9	4.6	1.1	11.3%	19.6%	.291	95	106	0.0	Mike Cosgrove
Ryan Cook	9.3	5.3	1.3	13.1%	23.0%	.292	92	108	0.0	Milo Candini
Zach Pop	7.9	3.8	1.5	9.6%	19.7%	.293	88	114	-0.2	Rosman Garcia
Adam Conley	7.8	3.4	1.4	8.6%	19.8%	.296	90	112	-0.2	Tom Burgmeier
Brad Boxberger	10.7	5.9	1.6	14.5%	26.3%	.286	86	116	-0.2	Dennis Higgins
Justin Shafer	8.3	4.9	1.4	12.2%	20.4%	.288	85	118	-0.3	Jim Dickson
Jorge Guzman	8.0	6.9	1.5	16.1%	18.8%	.288	72	139	-0.5	John D’Acquisto

Players are listed with their most recent teams wherever possible. This includes players who are unsigned, players who will miss 2021 due to injury, and players who were released in 2020. So yes, if you see Joe Schmoe, who quit baseball back in August to form a Finnish industrial death metal fourth-wave ska J-pop band, he’s still listed here intentionally.

Both hitters and pitchers are ranked by projected zWAR, which is to say, WAR values as calculated by me, Dan Szymborski, whose surname is spelled with a z. WAR values might differ slightly from those which appear in the full release of ZiPS. Finally, I will advise anyone against — and might karate chop anyone guilty of — merely adding up WAR totals on a depth chart to produce projected team WAR. ZiPS is assuming that the designated hitter will continue in force in 2021; if it does not, there will be widespread minor adjustments across the board come April.

ZiPS is agnostic about future playing time by design. For more information about ZiPS, please refer to this article, or get angry at Dan on Twitter or something.

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Dan Szymborski is a senior writer for FanGraphs and the developer of the ZiPS projection system. He was a writer for ESPN.com from 2010-2018, a regular guest on a number of radio shows and podcasts, and a voting BBWAA member. He also maintains a terrible Twitter account at @DSzymborski.