Marlins' Hicks already heading for career year

Marlins' Hicks already heading for career year originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Miami Marlins are a single game back of the National League East, and it has been thanks to a lot of main contributors. One in particular is already heading toward a career year in 2026.

Catcher Liam Hicks has been fantastic thus far, as he has been consistent at the plate and behind it. With a batting average of .286, three home runs, and an OPS of .878, the sophomore slugger is starting to turn heads. Those three homers are already half of his season total in 2025.

According to Baseball Savant, his whiff rate of just 6.2% is in the 100th percentile of all of Major League Baseball. Hicks' incredible plate discipline has been coupled with that whiff rate, as he has a K% of 6.8, which is in the 99th percentile.

Behind the plate, Hicks has commanded some great outings by ace pitcher Sandy Alcantara and starting pitcher Max Meyer. The Marlins are tied with the San Diego Padres for the sixth-most strikeouts this season, with 129. The bats have been the main attraction for this team, but it really has been the pitching that has set them apart.

Hicks is finding his way with the Marlins after being drafted by the Texas Rangers in 2021. He had a great rookie outing in 2025 and used this offseason to better himself, and with that, helped this Marlins team already make great strides in 2026. The NL East just got a lot more interesting with the emergence of Hicks.

Can Hicks keep it up and etch some seriously high career-high marks this season?

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