Belief not wavering for Stowers with signs of a breakout coming

MIAMI – Expectations are a funny thing.

Live up to them, and you’ve done what you were supposed to. Don’t live up to the hype, and be prepared to hear the questions.

After overachieving in 2025, the Marlins (22-29) have regressed nearly one-third of the way through the ‘26 campaign. Nobody embodies this more than Kyle Stowers.

A year ago, Stowers was on his way to becoming a first-time All-Star and one of the Majors’ breakout stars. He would go on to pace the club in homers (25) and RBIs (73) at the time of his season-ending left oblique injury in August. So often when Stowers thrived, so did Miami.

Stowers, whose 2026 season began on April 19 due to a right hamstring strain, has been slow out of the gate. He didn’t have a proper Spring Training, with just 17 plate appearances in Grapefruit League play due to the injury. He then tallied 19 plate appearances during a five-game rehab assignment with Triple-A Jacksonville before rejoining the Marlins.

It showed over Stowers’ first 27 games, as he posted a slash line of .216/.321/.299 with five doubles, one homer, six RBIs and a -0.3 bWAR.

“I have a high belief in myself as a person and player and a teammate, and so I feel like with how I've been playing, it hasn't been up to what I believe I can do, and sometimes when you put the expectations too high, or put too much pressure on yourself, or whatever it is, it can be trying harder and not letting the game come to you a little bit more,” Stowers told MLB.com.

“I think there's a lot of things I was doing well for some time, and it wasn't kind of going my way. We play so many games. Baseball is a sport where you have the luxury of -- [there’s an] urgency to win every game – but you want to let what you're working on play out.”

What Stowers has primarily been working on is having more barrel depth, being in the zone a bit longer so he has a better shot at more pitches. He also has been inconsistent with his timing, probably in part due to his delayed start.

If the Marlins want to get out of this hole they’ve dug themselves in through the season’s first 51 games, they will need Stowers to lead the way and become a feared presence in the lineup again.

The 28-year-old Stowers took that first step in Thursday night’s 9-3 loss to the Braves at loanDepot park by going deep twice for his sixth career multihomer game, and first since July 18, 2025.

Stowers has a modest five-game hitting streak, going 6-for-18 (.333) with three extra-base hits during this span. Included in this stretch are consecutive multi-RBI performances, and at least one RBI in three of the past four contests.

“It was nice to see him kind of be able to stay through some secondary pitches and elevate them to the pull side,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “It's a matter of time with Kyle, and for him to get a couple tonight, certainly, while a tough outcome for our team, certainly getting him going and doing that and producing is really important for us as we move along.”

During Stowers’ slow start, what encouraged him to keep trusting the process was learning some of it was a matter of bad luck. At the 100 plate appearance mark, the organization identified his expected OPS from PAs 70-100 being a lot higher than his actual OPS.

In a smaller sample, Stowers’ walk rate entering Thursday had slightly increased (10.5 to 11.6%) and his strikeout rate had decreased (27.4 to 25%). The predictive stats also favored Stowers, with an xBA (.253) and an xSLG (.382) higher than his actual ones. His hard-hit percentage (50.7%) ranked in the 91st percentile.

“Obviously, when performance isn't good, when the team's not winning, it's frustrating,” Stowers said. “We're here to win baseball games. We think we're a lot better than we've been showing, and I think I'm a lot better than I've been playing, and so it can be frustrating. Funny thing about this game is you can't try harder and just have it all magically turn. Sometimes you go through these ruts, and all you can do is just stick with it, keep preparing as best you can.”