Jake Burger continues power surge as Marlins win series finale against Padres

From afar, the Miami Marlins series against the San Diego Padres this weekend is likely to be seen as the standard for a team currently in contention for the worst record in the National League. The Marlins lost its second straight series after losing three out of four to the Cincinnati Reds earlier this week.

Certainly Marlins manager Skip Schumaker understands that he is paid to win baseball games. But the second-year skipper said on Saturday night that he couldn’t be upset by the results on the field.

“There’s no doubt that they’re giving their best effort against one of the best teams in the National League,” Schumaker said on Saturday. “I can’t really be upset because of the fight. I know it’s a loss, I get it. We’re paid to win games, so I totally understand that. But when you lose and the other team can feel it on the other side, I think that’s a good thing.”

Despite losing the series, the Marlins were competitive throughout the weekend. The first two games resulted in extra-innings losses for Miami and the third game was just mere inches from going to the tenth inning. But luckily for the team, Ha Seong Kim’s potential home run was ruled a ground-rule double and George Soriano was able to punch out the last batter to secure a 7-6 win.

For Miami, improved performances by the starting rotation, highlighted by Edward Cabrera’s seven inning shutout on Friday, certainly left room for optimism going forward. But it’s Jake Burger’s hitting tear that is turning heads around the league.

The 6-2 slugger went 7 for 12 this series, homering in each game. The former White Sox player has hit 12 home runs since the All-Star break, which is the most in the MLB.

Burger may not be the hitter that he was in the back-half of the 2023 season, when he had a .303 batting average with nine home runs in 53 games. But according to Schumaker, there’s no reason that Burger can’t be one of the top sluggers in baseball.

“In my opinion, he’s a 30 to 40 home run guy a year,” Schumaker said. “I think this is just the start of a really good career.”

The good news for Miami is that Burger is under team-control for three more years, meaning he won’t be a free agent until 2028. His slugging is particularly valuable to the Marlins, who entered Sunday’s game 27th in the MLB in total home runs.

Before the all-star break, Burger struggled to replicate his success from the end of the 2023 season, as he slashed .225/.265/.370. However, in earlier weeks he has credited his recent power-surge to returning to a more loose and athletic approach in the box over his previous mechanical approach.

“I always look back to that day off in Cincinnati, right before the all-star break,” Burger said. “There was a certain thing with my hands that I saw that kind of enlightened me on what I needed to start doing. The next day I went four-for-five in Cincinnati. I’ve kind of kept that hand action while also working with [John Mabry] on holding my backside and making sure I’m in the right position.”

Schumaker has also put Burger in positions to succeed, moving him to DH so that he does not need to move his feet around as often.

“I like to give Burger days off,” Schumaker said on Saturday. “If you look at the numbers after an off day, or as a DH and then playing the next day, he’s pretty dang good.”

While Burger has done his damage in early innings, he has also delivered for the Marlins in the highest leverage moments. On Saturday, after the Marlins blew a 7-3 lead at the top of the eighth inning, it was Burger who tied up the game 8-8 with a solo shot to right field. Then in Sunday’s game, Burger’s single in the seventh inning added an extra insurance run, as Jesus Sanchez hit a home run in the next at-bat to extend the Marlin’s lead to 7-4.

“I think you’ve got to slow down even more in those moments,” Burger said. “For those situations, you’re feeling the adrenaline, you’re feeling the crowd. You almost have to be more bored than the pitcher in the sense of not trying to do too much and relaxing and calming yourself down.”

Burger’s hitting surge is not likely to last for a long period of time. But if he’s able to avoid prolonged droughts like he did at the start of this season, the former White Sox infielder could very well become a future all-star for Miami, and become a building block for the Bendix era.