What to expect from new Marlins call-ups Connor Norby, Adam Oller

[Ely Sussman]

Offishial News for 8/19/24

On Sunday, I was in attendance at Citi Field for a very entertaining game. Valente Bellozo allowed a bevy of deep fly balls, but kept getting away with it during his first two trips through the Mets lineup. Miami's defense turned one of the season's best double plays (of the unprecedented 8-9-4-2 variety, for those scoring at home). Bellozo's scoreless streak was finally snapped after 17 ⅓ innings. Offensively, the Marlins stalled in part because they had baserunners picked off three times—only five Marlins had been picked off all season prior to this game! In the top of the eighth inning, they reclaimed the lead for good on Derek Hill's RBI single. Calvin Faucher recorded his third save of 2024. The Marlins won, 3-2.

Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 10-9. It was a once-in-a-generation comeback considering the Jumbo Shrimp were down 9-2 entering the bottom of the eighth inning. Their rally included home runs by Troy Johnston, Deyvison De Los Santos and Tristan Gray. Double-A Pensacola won, 4-1. LHP Cade Gibson has a 1.47 ERA through his first 18 ⅓ innings pitched with the Blue Wahoos. High-A Beloit lost, 9-3. INF Gage Miller went 3-for-5 with 2 RBI. I have to imagine RHP Ike Buxton will be bumped from the Sky Carp rotation after his latest blow-up (3.2 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 65 pitches/37 strikes). Low-A Jupiter lost, 3-2.

Here's more Marlins news and content:

🔷 As initially reported by Fish On First's Isaac Azout, Connor Norby is being called up from Triple-A to make his Marlins debut. The 24-year-old infielder is FOF's top-ranked position player prospect and No. 2 overall in the Miami farm system. Acquired from the Orioles in last month's Trevor Rogers trade, Norby has posted a .711 OPS through 14 Jacksonville games while splitting time between second base and third base (he sees himself as a second baseman). A right-handed hitter, he offers above-average speed and average power. Overall, Norby's AAA strikeout rate has spiked from 21.6% in 2023 to 28.0% in 2024, in part because he's making less contact when chasing pitches outside the strike zone. Norby accrued 14 days of MLB service time with the O's prior to the trade, which means he's on track to graduate from prospect eligibility if he spends the rest of this season on the Marlins active roster. It's unclear what the corresponding roster move for Norby will be.

🔷 There will need to be roster turnover on the pitching side as well with right-hander Adam Oller taking the mound tonight for the Fish, his agency confirms. Oller flunked his 28 games (15 starts) of major league action with the Athletics in 2022-2023, issuing nearly as many walks as strikeouts. However, his control has been on point since signing a minor league deal with the Marlins last month. Leaning heavily on his four-seam fastball and slurve, Oller stretched out to 87 pitches on Wednesday. He is in his age-29 season. He'll become the 36th different pitcher used by Miami, one shy of the franchise single-season record set in 2020.

🔷 Listen back to Sunday's State of the Fish call-in show (recorded slightly before the Norby news broke).

🔷 Through 41 Marlins series, here's an updated look at the Prediction Time leaderboard. Make series predictions with us all season long when you become a Fish On First SuperSub.

🔷 Matthew Ritchie of MLB.com wrote about Xavier Edwards' bid to be Miami's shortstop of the future, including the work he's putting in defensively at the position.

🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the teams with the top six winning percentages in Major League Baseball (Phillies, Dodgers, Orioles, Yankees, Brewers and Guardians) are separated by only one game. Blake Snell recorded double-digit strikeouts for the fourth time in his last five starts. The Reds' postseason hopes are on life support after being swept at home by the Royals and losing ace Hunter Greene to injury (right elbow soreness). They were outscored 28-3 during the three-game series!

🔷 Join us for a new episode of Fish On First LIVE today from 5:30-6:30 p.m. ET on YouTube/Twitter/Facebook. FOF LIVE is presented by Berger & Hicks. If you’ve been injured as a result of somebody else’s negligence, give them a call at (305) 670-7050.

🔷 Today's MiLB schedule:

• DSL Marlins vs. DSL Mets Blue, 11:00 a.m. ET
• DSL Miami at DSL Phillies White, 11:00 a.m. ET

 

---

Marlins podcast episodes

View full article

[MarlinFaninGA]

I saw that game on MLB TV. That 8-9-4-2 play was fantastic! Our guys are really playing with a lot of heart! Trying to be spoilers for other teams! Love it!

[MRDHU75]

Definitely excited for Norby and Oller.

Hopefully they can show enough to be part of the new wave.

I feel De Los Santos, Norby, Max Meyer, J. Sanchez, Ramirez, X. Edwards, Mazur, Johnston and Berry should all be on the roster next year