Baseball’s top middle-infield duo this season probably isn’t one that would have come to mind at the start of 2026.
It’s not the D-backs’ Ketel Marte and Geraldo Perdomo. Or the Cubs’ Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson. Or the Mets’ Francisco Lindor and Marcus Semien.
Nor is it the Reds’ Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain. Or the Astros’ Jose Altuve and Jeremy Peña. Or the Phillies’ Trea Turner and Bryson Stott.
It’s the Marlins’ Xavier Edwards and Otto Lopez, and it’s not particularly close.
All stats below are through Sunday.
Most combined WAR for two middle-infield teammates, 2026
Per FanGraphs
1. Xavier Edwards (2.1) and Otto Lopez (2.0), Marlins: 4.1
2. Bobby Witt Jr. (3.3) and Michael Massey (0.1), Royals: 3.4
3. Brandon Lowe (2.2) and Konnor Griffin (1.0), Pirates: 3.2
4. Colson Montgomery (2.0) and Chase Meidroth (1.0), White Sox: 3.0
5-T. Elly De La Cruz (2.6) and Matt McLain (0.3), Reds: 2.9
5-T. Nico Hoerner (1.9) and Dansby Swanson (1.0), Cubs: 2.9
To put it another way, only 10 middle infielders across the Majors have produced at least 2 fWAR this season. The Marlins have two of them.
What makes the whole thing even more amazing is just how similar Edwards and Lopez are -- and how this pairing came to be.
The two are cut from the same cloth, both relatively undersized players with solid speed, compact swings and strong bat-to-ball skills. Yet neither was acquired with any grand plan in mind. In fact, each joined the Marlins under different regimes -- Edwards under former GM Kim Ng and Lopez under current president of baseball operations Peter Bendix -- both as castoffs from other organizations.
Edwards was taken 38th overall in the 2018 Draft by the Padres before being traded to the Rays in the '19 deal that sent Tommy Pham and Jake Cronenworth to San Diego. After he posted a .678 OPS at Triple-A in 2022, Tampa Bay decided he wasn't worth a 40-man roster spot and shipped him to Miami alongside veteran reliever JT Chargois for two low-level Minor Leaguers that November.
Lopez arrived in Miami in much the same way -- as an afterthought. The Marlins claimed him off waivers from the Giants in April 2024, less than two months after San Francisco had acquired him from Toronto for cash.
The two first played together in 2024, but the pairing was usually reversed, with Edwards at shortstop and Lopez at second. That continued into 2025, but the Marlins used Lopez at shortstop when Edwards went on the injured list with a back injury last May and shifted Edwards to second base full time after he returned.
Playing Edwards at the keystone has been a stronger defensive fit for Miami, as he has recorded +11 Outs Above Average at second base compared to -17 OAA at shortstop during his career. While Lopez has been much better at second base, too, he’s at least a serviceable defensive shortstop, posting +2 OAA at the position since last year.
Of course, the defensive reshuffling is only part of the equation. Both also have taken significant steps forward at the plate in 2026.
Largest increase in wOBA, 2025 to ’26
Among 187 qualifying hitters
1. Jordan Walker, Cardinals: +.158
2. Nathaniel Lowe, Reds: +.084
3. Casey Schmitt, Giants: +.080
4. Ryan Jeffers, Twins: +.079
5-T. Xavier Edwards, Marlins: +.078 (.308 to .386)
5-T. Otto Lopez, Marlins: +.078 (.295 to .373)
Edwards in particular has made serious strides to become a more well-rounded offensive force. Already an excellent contact hitter who batted .298 across 2023-25, Edwards has improved his plate discipline this season, dropping his chase rate by 4.7 points and increasing his walk rate by 3.9 points.
On top of that, he’s continued to hit for a high average (.313) while lowering his strikeout rate to a career-best 11.8%. He’s reaching base at a .395 clip, up from .358 previously.
He’s also added more pop. At 5-foot-9, 175 pounds, Edwards is never going to be an elite power bat, but he already has 11 barrels and six homers this season after producing just eight barrels and four home runs across 2024-25 combined.
Much of that power surge has come from the right side of the plate. A switch-hitter who batted just .255 with no home runs in 310 plate appearances against left-handed pitching from 2023-25, Edwards is hitting .340 with four home runs against lefties this season. It hasn't happened by accident.
"I had a toe tap last year that I still do left-handed, because it works for my left-handed swing," Edwards explained. "Right-handed, I talked to the hitting guys and we kind of came up with treating both sides as two different hitters. I got rid of my toe tap on the right-hand side and it kind of freed me up a little bit."
Manager Clayton McCullough has noticed the difference, too.
"His direction is much better," McCullough said this past weekend. "He's letting his path work through the middle of the field. It's a lot snappier now. The ability to hit a couple balls to the pull side like he has done the last few days is a stark difference from how he approached his at-bats from the right side in the past. He's just incredibly confident either side right now in the box."
Lopez, meanwhile, leads the Majors in hits (70) and batting average (.337). An unsustainably high .388 BABIP deserves some of the credit, but not all. The 5-foot-10, 185-pounder has made some noticeable improvements as well, increasing his average exit velocity (+2.1 mph), hard-hit rate (+6.5 points) and expected BA (+.020).
In Bendix's view, this is more than just a hot streak for Edwards and Lopez.
“Just everything that they've set out to do, they keep doing, keep getting better," Bendix said earlier this month. "It's a testament to them. I think it's a great example of our environment, of getting players better at the Major League level, of [hitting coach] Pedro Guerrero and our hitting coaches working with these guys to build on their strengths, to get them even better, even if they were coming from a high place.”
Coming into the season, it seemed like Miami's biggest strength would be its rotation, followed by its promising young outfield of Kyle Stowers, Jakob Marsee and the newly acquired Owen Caissie. Edwards and Lopez, as usual, were an afterthought.
But more than 50 games in, the club's starting staff ranks 25th in the Majors with a 4.75 ERA, and Stowers, Marsee and Caissie have combined for 10 homers, a .629 OPS and -0.1 WAR.
Yet the Marlins remain very much in the hunt in late May, sitting 4 1/2 games out of the third NL Wild Card spot entering Monday. It's largely because of what their middle infield has given them.
MLB.com's Christina De Nicola contributed to the reporting of this article.