Baseball in Florida has a long history, although its major league history began only in 1993 with the expansion Florida Marlins. In 1998, the Marlins were joined by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, bringing two Major League Baseball teams to the state which had long had Spring Training and Minor League Baseball throughout. Over the years, a rivalry has been attempted by the league and by the broadcasting TV and radio stations. Not much has come of it though, as both teams have had general attendance issues and poor seasons mar successful individual years. Still, the (now) Miami Marlins and the Tampa Bay (now) Rays play a series of interleague games every season called the Citrus Series. In the spirit of a rivalry that barely exists, here’s a look at how the two Sunshine State teams stack up at the beginning of 2016.

Catcher

The Marlins have sophomore catcher J.T. Realmuto behind the plate, a promising young bat who is already a good defensive player. He had some ups and downs in his rookie year, but overall made strides in his game and showed a good hit tool. He’s likely to improve on all of his offensive numbers from 2015 and has the speed to steal a base when needed. Meanwhile, the Rays start Hank Conger, a .225 career batter who will likely hit ninth. He’s among the best at pitch framing, which certainly adds value, but he has no arm and has always struggled with throwing out runners.

Edge: J.T. Realmuto, Marlins

First Base

The Rays released James Loney and will go with former Marlin Logan Morrison at first base for most games. LoMo has always had nice upside and was once a top prospect, but has hit only .246 for his career with a high of 23 homers in 2011. His defense has always been atrocious, so he’ll need to hit in order to retain value. The Marlins have another sophomore at this position, big lefty batter Justin Bour. Bour burst onto the scene in 2015, mashing 23 home runs and posting a respectable .262 batting average. The Marlins brought in Chris Johnson in the offseason, and everyone assumed he would take the weak side of the first base platoon. Manager Don Mattingly has since said that he wants to give Bour a chance against lefties, despite his poor numbers against them in 2015. Like Morrison, Bour’s defense is a liability so he’ll have to accumulate all of his value with his bat. This battle comes down to potential, and while Morrison may have had more in the past, he’s proven incapable of putting it together for long stretches of time. Bour has only had one remotely full season, but he’s a legitimate power threat who can still get on base when not rounding them.

Edge: Justin Bour, Marlins

Second Base

The Marlins have returning Silver Slugger and Gold Glove winner Dee Gordon. Gordon hit .333 with 58 steals and 88 runs scored in 2015. With a healthy lineup around him, he could score 100 and steal 60 in 2016. The Rays also have a great second baseman who will bat leadoff in Logan Forsythe. Forsythe had a career year in 2015, hitting .281 with 17 home runs and 68 RBI. Forsythe put up 4.1 fWAR to Gordon’s 4.6, so while this competition may be closer than it seems by name recognition alone, Forsythe seems due for a bit more regression than Gordon.

Edge: Dee Gordon, Marlins

Shortstop

What can we make of Marlins shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria? The team has always said he was an excellent defensive shortstop, and the “eye test” certainly confirmed that. Diving, jumping, spinning plays became the norm for “Hech” up the middle and in the hole. However, for the first two years of his career, defensive metrics disagreed strongly with the eye test, rating Hechavarria as a defensive liability. In 2016, however, those metrics finally agreed with what Marlins fans have been watching at Marlins Park or (more likely) on their TVs and computer screens: Hech put up excellent defensive numbers and despite not having much of a bat at all, he had a 3.0 fWAR season. The Rays shortstop, Brad Miller, is still only 26 despite seemingly having his name on every list of breakout candidates for years now. Will this finally be the year that Miller reaches his potential? Miller is a career .246 hitter who has been an average defender at best. He has the potential to be a much better overall player than Hechavarria, but has not shown the glove or even the bat so far. If we were going on upside, Miller would win this one, but we’re not, so:

Edge: Adeiny Hechavarria, Marlins

Third Base

All baseball fans have heard announcers call hitters “professional hitters.” Marlins third baseman Martin Prado may be the perfect example of that moniker. Never amazing (except maybe 2012) but never terrible, Prado is one of the most consistent bats in the Marlins lineup. He’s a career .291 hitter who always puts the bat on the ball and plays great defense. However, Prado’s best season would be an average year in the career of Rays third baseman Evan Longoria. It wasn’t too long ago that Longoria was thought of as one of the better players in the league. His numbers have slipped a bit in the last two seasons, but he’s still great, playing excellent defense and consistently serving as a high impact bat in the middle of the lineup. Martin Prado is good, Evan Longoria is great.

Edge: Evan Longoria, Rays

With a huge edge at catcher, a slight edge at second, and a potentially huge edge at shortstop, the Marlins have the better infield in 2016. The best player in both infields is probably Evan Longoria, but he isn’t the player he used to be and Dee Gordon may end up taking that title. Outfield comes next, but you can spoil that for yourself by taking a quick look at the depth charts and a quick look at this guy: