After a slow start, solid hitting is helping the Marlins surge

Looking at the Miami Marlins in the National League East standings, you see a team that’s in fourth place behind last year’s sad sack losers, the Philadelphia Phillies. But when you look behind that, you see a team on the rise after a slow start. The Marlins have gone 16-6 after starting the season 5-11. What’s their secret?

Their pitching by starters and relievers places them solidly in the middle of baseball. Not exceptional, but certainly not Milwaukee Brewers level bad. Where the Marlins are really excelling is hitting. They’re currently third in batting average in all of baseball, hitting .275/.337/.424 as a team. And behind those numbers isn’t just one player or two. It’s a whole bunch.

[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now]

You can watch this team of offensive dyanamos take on the Phillies in Yahoo Sports’ Free Game of the Day. The game, which starts at 7:05 p.m. ET, can be streamed for free on Yahoo’s Sports Home, MLB index and video home, except where MLB blackouts apply.

Catcher J.T. Realmuto has been giving the team a boost with his .315/.333/.435 triple slash, continuing to take steps forward with his offense and improve on his great 2015 numbers. Left fielder Christian Yelich is doing the same — improving on his 2015 performance with his 311/.420/.511 line, numbers that are all significantly better than where he was hitting just one year ago at this time.

Second baseman Derek Dietrich has hit .276 since he started playing full time in late-April after Dee Gordon’s suspension, and while those aren’t Gordon level numbers, no one could really replace Gordon. Even Ichiro Suzuki has been doing well in limited use, hitting .295 in 51 plate appearances.

The two stars of the Marlins offense in 2016 are centerfielder Marcell Ozuna and third baseman Martin Prado. On April 30, Ozuna was hitting .229. On that day, he began using bats that belonged to the Marlins’ hitting coach, a guy you may know by the name of Barry Bonds. Since then, he’s been on a 16-game hitting streak, batting .415/.441/.708 over those games, and swatting five homers. His .229 average is long gone. Now he’s hitting .308, nearly 100 points higher. In just 15 games!

Martin Prado’s story isn’t nearly as flashy as Ozuna’s but his numbers are even more impressive. Prado is hitting .381/.418/.448 over 34 games, and his batting average hasn’t been below .300 since the third game of the season. Prado is a well-respected veteran and a positive clubhouse presence, but he has no explanation for his blistering pace. Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald quoted Prado saying this:

“I’ve been telling everybody I don’t like talking about hitting because hitting is numbers,” Prado said. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

Prado’s attitude about hitting is clearly working for him. Ozuna’s attitude is working for him as well, and Realmuto, Yelich, Dietrich, and so on. Even with slugging right fielder Giancarlo Stanton hitting just .233 (but with a team high 11 homers), and Dee Gordon (2015 NL batting title winner) suspended for PEDs, the Marlins are making it work. If a few more things go right for them, the Miami Marlins could be a team the National League needs to watch out for.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports: