JUPITER, Fla. -- No matter the situation, good or bad, Marlins center fielder Lewis Brinson has proven he can stay level-headed. The 24-year-old repeatedly showed that in 2018, shrugging off any outside criticism after his disappointing first season in Miami.

With so much social media, it’s not easy to drown out all the noise. But because of his even temperament and strong work ethic, the Marlins are confident Brinson can turn things around and develop into an impactful Major Leaguer.

"Everybody has got Twitter fingers," Brinson said. "Everybody has got Instagram. Everybody has their opinion, and they're entitled to their own opinion. But ultimately, the only thing that matters is what I think."

Brinson understands there are more doubters after he finished 2018 with a slash line of .199/.240/.338, 11 home runs and 42 RBIs.

He also knows the statistics didn’t reflect the complete picture of his season. He appeared in 109 games, and he spent about two months on the injured list due to right hip inflammation.

"All the outside noises, you've just got to block them out," Brinson said. "I've been pretty good at that my whole life, not just in baseball. I had a pretty good upbringing, and just blocking out all the outside noise. The only person I need to please is myself."

Brinson showed signs of improvement in September, slashing .239/.263/.337 during his final 25 games. More than just numbers, the quality of Brinson's at-bats improved, as did his hard-hit metrics.

According to Statcast, Brinson’s exit velocity in September was 90.6 mph, up from 88.6 mph from Opening Day to Aug. 31.

In the offseason, Brinson maintained a busy workout schedule. Along with training near his home in Coral Springs, Fla., as well as in Miami, he also worked out at the David Posnack Jewish Community Center in Davie.

"Obviously, I had my struggles last year," Brinson said. "I was trying to find my foundation. This offseason, I just kind of lived in the cage almost, just trying to be more consistent and find a good position for me to hit, to be more consistent and consistently make hard contact. Not really worry about results or hits, just worry about hitting the ball hard, multiple times a game."

Former Marlin Juan Pierre, who is now a Minor League outfield coordinator, spent a lot of time in the offseason talking with Brinson and watching his workouts.

"Mostly, I talked to him about the mentality," Pierre said. "I told him, 'You belong here, man. Don't give that guy too much credit. You're a good big league player. Now you've got to go prove it. But in your mind ... you've got to believe you're the guy who can do this.'"

It's tough to determine when things will click with young players. But there is a bit of urgency for Brinson this season.

Then there is the constant reminder that Brinson was a centerpiece prospect in the Christian Yelich trade with the Brewers. In January of 2018, Miami shipped Yelich to Milwaukee for Brinson, Monte Harrison, Isan Diaz and Jordan Yamamoto.

Yelich, of course, had a breakout 2018 season and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award.

"Being part of a big trade, and obviously a big piece in that trade, you want to perform," Brinson said. "You want to come to a new organization, especially my hometown organization, and you want to perform. Not to make any excuses of why I didn't. I don't really put any extra pressure on myself. I definitely have high expectations for myself, but I never put any extra needed pressure on myself. It's the big leagues. It's hard enough; you don't want to make it any harder than it is.

"Maybe I tried to do a little too much. It didn't really work out in my favor, but I definitely made my adjustments during the year. I'm definitely looking forward to this year, to make more adjustments and have a better year."