5 reasons the Marlins are MLB's most intriguing team

At first glance, the Miami Marlins don't appear to be ready to contend. While playoff aspirations may indeed be pie-in-the-sky, a closer look at the roster shows why the Marlins will be the most intriguing, potentially maddening, team in all of MLB.

Here are five reasons why this is true, and why you need to follow the Marlins for this year alone:

The bullpen made of fire

Three relievers still on the Marlins posted K/9 ratios of 10 or higher while pitching at least 64 innings apiece. The lowest of those was closer A.J. Ramos. Alongside the ninth-inning anchor, right-handers Kyle Barraclough and David Phelps notched 14.0 and 11.84 K/9 rates, respectively.

The knock on them is their control, or lack thereof. Barraclough walked 5.45 batters per nine, and Ramos wasn't far behind at 4.92. Though they lack command - along with new recruits Brad Ziegler and Junichi Tazawa - the Marlins' bullpen could challenge for best in baseball. It will be fun to watch.

The rotation made of ...

Here's where things get dicey, but depending on how the rotation is deployed it may work out fairly well. It will require a fairly unique, and patient, approach detailed by Dave Cameron on Fangraphs in January.

If the Marlins limit starting pitchers' exposure to opposing lineups, turning to long relief options like Phelps and Pittsburgh Pirates washout Jeff Locke, the rotation's weaknesses could be mitigated. It's a turn away from tradition, but it could also be a step in preserving pitchers' arms.

Giancarlo Stanton's health

It's deja vu. Stanton crushes baseballs like no one else. He cruised to 27 long balls in 74 games in 2015 and struggled to match that production amidst false starts in 2016.

If Stanton plays close to a full schedule, he absolutely has 50 home-run power. In an era where everyone reaches 20 home runs, no one has hit 50 in a season since Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis did it in 2013.

Stanton hitting mammoth dingers, as he showed at the 2016 home-run derby, is massively entertaining. The longer he stays on the field, the better it is for everybody.

Everything about Christian Yelich

Yelich may not project as a top fielder (minus-0.1 UZR in 2016), but everything else has been slowly coming into place. But there remain question marks. Was his power a fluke after he posted a career-high 23.6 percent HR/FB? Is he done stealing bases after swiping only nine bags on 13 attempts?

The wide-eyed star is a rare breed, however, as he's consistently hitting close to .300, barely selling out average for power in 2016. At 25, we likely haven't seen the best of Yelich, and that could easily follow in 2017 as he truly breaks out as one of baseball's best young hitters.

Also, Ichiro

He's purely a utility player at this stage of his career, but baseball's equivalent to Jaromir Jagr just keeps plugging away. Anyone who claims to dislike Ichiro Suzuki is either lying or heartless. When other players like David Ortiz or Derek Jeter get swan songs in the form of a farewell tour, Ichiro will probably go quietly into the good night.

Or, he could play until he's 50. Every year he stays in baseball, optimism lives. He's four triples away from 100 for his career, so there's a milestone to look forward to. That his iconic stance and batting approach lives in 2017 and it isn't a complete shell of what it used to be is worth the price of admission, even if the Marlins don't compete in the postseason.