In Jacksonville debut, Robby Snelling becomes youngest Triple-A pitcher in Marlins history

[Ely Sussman]

The 20-year-old Snelling went six strong innings on Friday night, facing a Gwinnett lineup that included five players with MLB experience.

The industry consensus was that the San Diego Padres paid a steep price on trade deadline day to acquire Tanner Scott and Bryan Hoeing from the Miami Marlins. They parted with four prospects in exchange for a pending free agent and a replacement-level pitcher without a well-defined role.

The risk has absolutely paid off. Scott and Hoeing have both been terrific additions to the San Diego bullpen, contributing to a club that's won about two-thirds of its games since the deadline and could clinch a postseason berth as soon as this weekend.

We'll soon find out how much the Marlins benefit from their side of the deal. Three of those prospects are already at the Triple-A level. RHP Adam Mazur spent August and September in the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp starting rotation, pitching for the final time on Wednesday. INF  Graham Pauley was promoted from Double-A Pensacola at the beginning of the week. Fish On First's eighth-ranked prospect, LHP Robby Snelling, joined them on Friday, and made some history in the process.

Snelling's final line against the Gwinnett Stripers: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 7 K, 94 pitches/61 strikes. Both runs scored in his sixth inning of work.

At the age of 20 years and 276 days, Snelling became the youngest player ever to pitch for a Marlins Triple-A affiliate. It's difficult to pin down the exact date, but in 1993, RHP Kurt Miller (likewise a midseason trade acquisition) was about two months older than Snelling when he debuted for the Edmonton Trappers. As far as I can tell, those are the only minor leaguers in Marlins history to pitch at Triple-A prior to their 21st birthday.

This comes with an important caveat: a few exceptionally talented arms have skipped the Triple-A level entirely. Eury Pérez and José Fernández were thriving in the majors for Miami when they were even younger than Snelling is now. Snelling's Jacksonville debut is unprecedented and highly encouraging, but I'm not suggesting he's comparable to them.

With the Jumbo Shrimp schedule concluding on Sunday, this represents the end of Snelling's 2024 season. He logged 115 ⅓ innings pitched, 42 of those coming after joining the Marlins organization. The change of scenery worked wonders on him. In his first 16 starts of the season with the Padres' Double-A San Antonio affiliate, Snelling posted a 6.01 ERA and 5.50 FIP; in eight post-trade starts, he had a 3.64 ERA and 2.93 FIP with his strikeout, walk and home run rates all significantly improving. He has demonstrated plus command of his four-pitch mix that portends a future as a major league starter.

Snelling is a virtual lock to be a non-roster invitee at 2025 Marlins spring training. He will most likely headline Jacksonville's starting rotation coming out of camp, but barring severe injury, a midseason call-up to Miami looks increasingly realistic.

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