Marlins Star Slugger On Pace For Career Year Amidst Chaos
The disappointing start to the Miami Marlins 2024 season has been well documented, but not all things have been terrible.
As Miami celebrates the first series split of the season against Chicago Cubs, they can point to one of their emerging stars as a key reason for finally not straight out losing a series.
Bryan De La Cruz took Cubs closer Adbert Alzolay deep in the ninth inning on Saturday to push the Marlins ahead by one. The fish would go on to win that game.
Bryan De La Cruz has an extra-base hit and RBI in SEVEN straight games.
— MLB (@MLB) April 20, 2024
This time it was EXTRA-LARGE. pic.twitter.com/uvtzTgazux
De La Cruz has been the team's best hitter this season, leading the team in pretty much every major category including home runs (five) and OPS (.767).
While the big question about most of their players is 'where will they end up,' the designated hitter could actually end up in the plans for the future in their club. A younger, successful hitter is exactly the type of player that the team needs right now and for the future.
The 27-year-old signed with the Houston Astros out of the Dominican Republic back in 2013. He was traded to the Marlins in 2021 and made his debut later that season.
He batted a .296/.356/.427 line during his first 58-game campaign that year, but has been closer to a .250 hitter the last two seasons. Now, he's up to .274/.293/.474 so far in 2024.
He won't be an unrestricted free agent until 2028 and should remain a Marlin until at least then, especially if he can continue playing around this level or even better.
Senior Writer Also: Contributing Writer for Braves Today and recent graduate of the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication! You can reach him on X: @DillySanders