Marlins MiLB Recap: Tristan Gray with five homers in five days and Opening Day part two

[Kevin Barral]

Minor League Baseball is fully back and we take you through the most notable Marlins prospect performances from April 1-7.

Throughout the course of the Minor League Baseball season, Alex Carver and I will release detailed recaps each Monday taking you through the previous week's developments at all levels of the Miami Marlins organization.

 

Low-A Jupiter

Although the Jupiter Hammerheads lost their opening series to the Palm Beach Cardinals, both Thomas White and Noble Meyer made their season debuts, one looking sharper than the other. White, drafted in the comp round of the 2023 MLB Draft went 3 ⅔ innings of shutout baseball, giving up three hits, four walks, but struck out six.

White is showing that he may be ahead Meyer in his development. White's fastball topped out at 97.6 mph and averaged 95.2 mph. He used it heavily on Friday with just 10 sliders thrown and seven changeups thrown. Towards the latter portion of his start, White's control began shaking up, which was a big cause for the four walks, but the beginning of his start was as advertised, where half his strikeouts were swinging strikeouts, two of those with his secondary stuff.

In game two of the three-game set, 2023 first round pick Noble Meyer took the mound going 3 ⅔ innings, but giving up two runs off of three hits and three walks. The 19-year-old pitcher struck out five in his start. Similar to White, Meyer went sinker-heavy, topping out at 95.1 mph and averaging 92.9 mph. He was a bit more mindful of his slider, throwing it 18% of the time and using it to record a swinging strikeout. White may have had control/command issues towards the end of his start, but Meyer had them throughout the entirety of his start. When he wanted to go to his elevated fastball, it just wouldn't get him out of situations, not generating any swing-and-miss action and resulting in one hit-by-pitch.

By far the best start came on Sunday from 2023 11th-round pick Jake Brooks who threw five shutout innings, giving up one hit and one walk. The right-handed pitcher struck out four. Brooks, not much of a velocity-oriented pitcher, used that to his advantage, going back and forth between his slider and changeup, which were used in three out of his four strikeouts. Although our Fish On First staff wasn't too familiar with Brooks, this performance has caught our attention.

Offensively, there weren't too many standouts, but Victor Mesa Jr. began a rehab assignment where he went 2-for-12 with two walks and four strikeouts. Mesa should be back in Triple-A Jacksonville soon given the amount of at-bats already.

Jordan McCants, who is repeating the level, hit a solo home run in the first game of the season, leaving the bat at 100.3 mph and going 380 feet. McCants ended up having a two-hit game that night. He would go hitless through the rest of the series, unfortunately.

One of the more built prospects in the organization is Mark Coley II. On Opening Day, Coley II hit an RBI double, with a 94.9 mph exit velo and going 312 feet. The 6'2", 194-pound prospect ended up going two for seven with two RBIs and four strikeouts.

 

High-A Beloit

Right on Opening Day, FOF #10 prospect Karson Milbrandt went five innings of shutout ball, only giving up two hits and one walk. Milbrandt struck out five, three with his sinker, but also three swinging strikes, generating plenty of swing-and-miss action. It was by far the best overall pitching performance on Friday.

Ike Buxton, who was surprisingly demoted back to High-A, ended up giving the Sky Carp 5 ⅓ innings of work, giving up one run (unearned) off of four hits and two walks. Buxton, who is not a strikeout-dominant pitcher, struck out eight, all but two of them with the slider. The most impressive part of his start was the high amount of swing and miss he generated. Seven of his eight strikeouts were swinging strikeouts, showing advance secondary stuff.

On the position player side, Joe Mack hit a solo home run in a 0-0 ballgame to give the Sky Carp a 1-0 lead. Mack would end up going three for seven with the home run, one walk and three strikeouts. Where Mack struggled in 2023 was with his 118 strikeouts in 449 at-bats. Although three strikeouts through seven at-bats is a bit concerning, Mack is still 21 years old, so he has some time to show something. Mack is currently unranked on our FOF Top 30.

By far the biggest step back in 2023 was the offensive production of Yiddi Cappe. Cappe had himself a multi-hit game to begin the 2024 season. The organization has shown a commitment to play Cappe at third base to see if he can find a home there and throughout the spring, the organization liked what they saw. Maybe finally finding a home defensively is what Cappe needed to step it up offensively.

Other notables include first baseman Torin Montgomery who hit a two-run homer on Friday and ended up going 1-for-6 with three strikeouts, and catcher Cameron Barstad (4-for-8, 2 RBI, 3 K).

 

Double-A Pensacola

By far the most eventful team this weekend was in Pensacola. On Opening Day, Evan Fitterer (FOF #26) took the mound and struggled despite going 4 ⅓ innings of work. The right-hander gave up four earned runs off of 10 hits and two walks. He was able to strike out two. A lot of Fitterer's struggles lies with his flat pitches—little to no movement and they weren't fooling opposing hitters.

M.D. Johnson showed up and showed out for the Wahoos on Saturday, tossing five innings, giving up two earned runs off of seven hits and one walk. Johnson struck out three in the process and thanks to the potent Wahoos offense, he was able to earn the win.

The last time Paul Campbell stepped a pro mound was in April of 2022. On Sunday, Campbell made his first start in nearly two years and went 5 ⅓ innings of one-run ball, giving up five hits and one walk, but struck out five, highlighted by striking out the side in the top of the second inning. Seeing Campbell find success for the Wahoos is certainly a feel good moment after being suspended in 2021 and then undergoing Tommy John surgery. The Wahoos bullpen comprised of Jeff Lindgren, Zach McCambley and Austin Roberts backed up Campbell to shutout the Braves AA lineup.

The Marlins' first-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, Jacob Berry (FOF #13) did not disappoint this weekend going 4-for-14 with a home run, two RBIs and four hits. Berry's approach was a lot better through the first series, showing less aggressiveness and taking the right pitches. Defensively, he didn't record a single error, playing the first two games at third base and the Sunday finale at first.

A feel-good story on the position player side was Cody Morissette who hit a solo home run to dead center on Opening Day. Overall, he went 4-for-8 with the home run and three RBIs. Morissette suffered a severe ankle injury that contributed to his 2023 struggles. The power potential of Morissette stands out and this weekend, he showed it off.

A new member of the organization, Shane Sasaki made his AA debut and went 2-13 with one walk and two strikeouts. His speed made an impact as he stole one base and played played center field in the first two games, then playing right field on Sunday. Along with Sasaki, Javier Sanoja, who spent almost all spring training on the Major League side, made his AA debut. The aggressive assignment is already paying off as he went 4-for-12 with three RBIs, one stolen base and didn't strike out.

 

Triple-A Jacksonville

Tristan Gray went back to Durham this weekend and hit five home runs in five days. One of the spring training standouts for the Marlins is already slashing .306/.359/.778/1.137 with five homers and eight RBIs. Gray's good looks at the plate haven't seen his strikeout problems go away, with 14 in 36 at-bats. Despite the high K%, Gray continues to force his way up to the Major Leagues.

 

Up Next

• Low-A Jupiter takes on the Port St. Lucie Mets in Jupiter
• High-A Beloit heads to Peoria to take on the Peoria Chiefs
• AA-Pensacola hits the road for the first time to take on the Montgomery Biscuits
• AAA-Jacksonville is back home to take on the Charlotte Knights

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