This story was excerpted from Christina De Nicola’s Marlins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

MIAMI -- A year ago, Jake Burger was acclimating himself to a new ballclub in the middle of the stretch run.

With roster turnover due to injuries and trades, Burger has become one of the Marlins’ clubhouse leaders. As a result, manager Skip Schumaker has been able to lean on Burger to maintain the culture and expectations.

The most important tenants in developing that culture are playing the game hard and not taking plays off. According to Burger, Schumaker always says, “Don't be caught watching a play develop.”

“It's tough to keep building that when they haven't been here all year, and you have new face after new face, then you have to kind of repeat the message a lot,” Schumaker said. “So the good news is, you have guys like Burger and the coaching staff that have been here that understand what we're about.

“It's tough when guys are in and out all the time. But when you have a couple pillars like Burger that have been here, I think then they can really say, ‘This is the standard here. This is how you should go about it,’ so it doesn't go sideways too quick.”

This new dynamic hasn’t changed how Burger goes about his business. Burger considers himself more of a lead-by-example type rather than a vocal leader, but he points out what needs to be done in order to have success next year.

Barring setbacks and/or moves, Miami will return an enviable starting-pitching staff of Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez, Jesús Luzardo, Ryan Weathers, Braxton Garrett, Edward Cabrera and Max Meyer. The Marlins can see who else should be part of the equation over these remaining 23 games. The current lineup features position players with varying skill sets, plus prospects knocking on the door.

“For us, it's taking these last couple series, knowing that we can kind of build that chemistry now and not let any bad blood or bad things spill over into next season,” Burger said. “So for us, it's go out there and play our game. We'll get a lot of opportunities for a lot of young guys to play, go out there, prove themselves, and keep building that culture here.”

Though Burger is 28 years old, he has just 322 games and one full season at the MLB level because of injuries during the early part of his professional career. That adversity lends itself to being an effective leader.

“All rooted in gratitude to be able to play this sport every single day,” Burger said. “Don't take anything for granted. That's the biggest thing. You look at bona fide leaders around the league, and they just look like they’re having fun and going out there and playing the game hard. That's what I strive to be on a daily basis: not take a day for granted and know even if I’m 0-for-4, if I move a guy over for a sac fly situation, you’re helping the team. Just doing little things like that make the difference in the clubhouse.”

Burger’s effort hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Marlins No. 3 prospect Connor Norby, who came to the organization with Kyle Stowers in the Trevor Rogers deal, credited Burger, Xavier Edwards and Jonah Bride for easing the transition.

“Those are the guys I talk to a lot and every day, all day,” Norby said. “Burger's an outstanding leader, huge clubhouse guy, and I'm grateful that I'm right there next to his locker. He's the best. It's cool to be right next to him, especially in the lineup, too.”

Edwards, Norby and Burger’s consecutive two-out hits led to the game-tying rally in Wednesday’s eventual walk-off win.

“He's not going to tell you this, but you can tell that he's putting a little pressure on himself, but he's come through, which shows you that he's ready for that role as the leader,” Schumaker said.