The Venezuelan mentor who put Javier Sanoja on fast track to the majors

[Kevin Barral]

One of the few homegrown players on the current Marlins roster, Sanoja credits Nelson Prada for building up his confidence early in his career and opening the door for him to play winter ball in his native Venezuela.

MIAMI, FL—The Miami Marlins signed utility man Javier Sanoja out of Venezuela for only $90,000. That small investment is already paying off. Sanoja became the youngest player in more than a decade to make the Marlins Opening Day roster. Through 24 career games in the major leagues, he has already contributed at six different positions.

Fellow Venezuelan Nelson Prada has been by Sanoja's side for the majority of his professional career.

"That's always really good when you see those guys make it to the big leagues," said Prada. "That is what we're here for. We want those guys to make it. We put our best effort to try to give our our thoughts, our experience, our knowledge to this group. For me, when I talk to these guys and they made it, we don't really need to wait for nothing else than to be thankful because we put our lives on the field just to try to help guys reach their dreams."

Prada and Sanoja have a "really close" relationship, which goes back to when Sanoja was an 18-year-old in the Dominican Summer League. Prada also managed him at Low-A Jupiter and coached him with Cardenales de Lara of the Venezuelan Winter League.

"Nelson (Prada) is someone who has been very helpful in my career," said Sanoja in Spanish. "Especially when I began my professional career, he was my manager and gave me so much confidence and I really think that loosened me up. He helped me develop and allowed me to feel more comfortable. We have great communication and chemistry and I really appreciate him for that."

When Sanoja debuted with Lara in 2022, he was one of the youngest players in the league. He noted to Fish On First that his time in Venezuela really accelerated his development and "has played a fundamental part" in his career.

"After my first professional season, he asked me if I was interested in playing for the Cardenales," said Sanoja. "After talking to my family, they agreed that I should go play and I was able to sign with them. They were someone else who gave me that confidence to develop more."

"It's a lot of good competition," said Prada. "It's like a Triple-A/big league type of league. The environment of 10k-15k people on the stands, big stadiums. It's a really a good experience."

Prada just spent his 32nd season with Lara. He served as their bench coach on the way to a 2024-25 LVBP championship and Caribbean Series berth. At the Marlins' request, Sanoja did not participate this winter, but Prada had Luis Palacios on the roster, who he now manages with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos.

Going into Saturday, Sanoja finds himself on a three-game hit streak. Overall, he is slashing .273/.333/.273/.606. The Marlins are holding their annual Venezuelan heritage celebration as Sandy Alcantara takes the mound in game two of their series against the Washington Nationals.

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