Fish On First Prospects Report: Joe Mack heats up; Beloit throws combined no-hitter

For the 2026 season, Fish On First will provide weekly reports on the Miami Marlins farm system, covering all levels. Here's the third edition of our Fish On First Prospects Report, which includes several important injury updates near the bottom of the page.

This report covers the games played from April 14-19.

Triple-A Jacksonville

Although as a team the Jumbo Shrimp are struggling offensively, catcher Joe Mack has begun to heat up, slashing .235/.391/.451/.842 with three home runs and six RBI. He finishes the week as the Fish On First Prospect of the Week. In the series against Charlotte Knights, he hit two of his three jacks.

Defensively, Mack continues to impress, throwing out seven base-stealers (30% caught stealing rate) and the Jacksonville pitching staff has a team ERA of 3.17 following Sunday's series finale. Mack has not only established himself as the best catcher in the Marlins organization, but in Minor League Baseball. He is making the case to receive the call-up soon.

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58 likes, 1 comments - fofprospects on April 20, 2026: "Mack attack! 🔥 With a standout week at the plate, including two home runs in three games, catcher Joe Mack is our Prospect of the...

On the mound, Robby Snelling continues to show why he shouldn't throw another pitch in Jacksonville. In his most recent start, he worked six shutout innings, allowing just two hits and one walk. He struck out nine and lowered his season ERA to 1.89. He is up to 31 strikeouts against just nine walk in 19 innings this season. Snelling's fastball topped out at 96.8 mph and generated six whiffs.

Although it has been an inconsistent season for former top pitching prospect Dax Fulton, in his most recent start, he looked like his vintage self, striking out 10 in six shutout innings. He generated five whiffs each on both his curveball and four-seam fastball (12 total between all his pitches). He topped out at 96.6 mph and averaged 94.4 mph with his fastball. 

Thomas White made his Triple-A season debut. In four innings of work, he allowed two runs on two hits (one home run), no walks and eight strikeouts. His fastball topped out at 96.3 mph, averaged 95.9 mph and he generated two whiffs on the pitch. After some early concerns about his command/control, he put those to rest, at least in this start against a solid Chicago White Sox AAA lineup.

Bradley Blalock has impressed with a 2.25 ERA, but also a 4.99 FIP (3.73 xFIP). He has posted a 7.65 K/9 and 2.25 BB/9 in 20 innings pitched. Opposing hitters are elevating the ball quite a bit against the former Colorado Rockies pitcher and there is some clear luck involved. Maybe within time things balance out a bit, but Blalock has shown that he is some solid depth.

The one Jumbo Shrimp reliever to highlight from this past week of games is No. 27 prospect Josh Ekness, who through five appearances, has a 1.00 ERA, 1.38 FIP, 15.00 K/9 and 4.00 BB/9. In his most recent appearance, his fastball topped out at 99.1 mph and averaged 97.9 mph. His sweeper also continues to be a good pitch, which generated one whiff in his lone inning of work.

Double-A Pensacola

Pensacola started to fully find their offensive stride in their series against Knoxville. They won the first game of the series before dropping three straight, including a very close game on Thursday night, then exploded for 20 total runs in the final two games to split the series. They bested Knoxville in run differential, 34-32.

After a sluggish 3-for-35 start, Fenwick Trimble’s bat came alive in a big way against the Smokies. In five games, he went 7-for-20 with two doubles, three walks and three strikeouts. Trimble had been struggling with whiffs, his second at the Double-A level after spending 54 games there last season, but that has begun to improve. He’s more of a gap-to-gap type bat, but he owns plus speed that has already allotted him six stolen bases. Historically, he has also been a very patient hitter, having walked at a 16% rate in 2025. If Trimble is starting to get back to those good habits, he profiles as a speedy outfielder capable of playing all three spots and being a catalytic table-setter, or at the very least, a fourth outfielder with value off the bench. A more extended look in the upper minors will tell us more.

It’s hard for Dillon Lewis not to make his presence felt when he enters a game, both figuratively and literally. The 6’3”, 205 pound specimen had another impressive series against the Smokies, going 4-for-17 with three extra base hits, including two home runs. He’s currently riding a nine-game on-base streak.

As with many power hitters, Lewis has been a bit susceptible to the strikeout, but the whiff rate isn’t egregious, currently sitting at 27%. What’s more is that Lewis has also shown a pretty good eye at the plate, having walked at a 12% clip. His approach entails working counts, forcing pitchers into the zone, and letting natural tools do the rest. When Lewis makes contact, the ball travels very far. Monitoring the consistency of those contact rates as he continues in the upper minors will be our M.O. as we determine how close to his very high ceiling he can get. My opinion? Bet the over.

High-A Beloit

After a tough start to their series against South Bend, the Sky Carp ended their series in exciting fashion, throwing a combined no-hitter, the team’s first since being affiliated with Miami and their first overall since 2017. They still lost the series four games to two, though, and head to Lake County still looking for their first series victory of the season. Pitching has struggled mightily as a whole for Beloit. Even after their no-no, the club owns a 5.81 ERA, third-highest in the Midwest League. Their 82 walks are second most on the circuit.

Aiden May started the Sky Carp’s no-no on Sunday and worked six complete frames on two walks, a hit batter and five strikeouts. This outing came after he worked into the sixth in his last start and came within one out of posting a quality start. This outing, the best of his career, had to feel good for May, who missed the entire first half last season due to an elbow procedure. He also did not throw after being drafted in 2024.

Behind schedule due to that missed time, May is starting to show what he is capable of when he has everything working. He isn’t going to light up scoresheets with strikeouts, but he pitches to contact well with a 93-95 mph sinker. His best pitch is a sweeper, which has divebombing action. His changeup, which is his work-in-progress pitch, also looked good in this start, flashing good fade in to same-side hitters. There’s reliever risk with May because he throws with effort and hasn't demonstrated that he can handle a substantial workload, but if he can build off his last two outings and continue to throw well, he still has the ceiling of a back-end rotational piece.

Another pitcher that stood out for Beloit in this series due to a plus raw stuff profile and due to starting to show better control was lefty reliever Justin Storm. He pitched a total of five scoreless innings in the series, including the final three of Sunday’s no-hitter. He put control woes in his first two outings of the season behind him and recorded five strikeouts to just one walk while allowing just one hit. At 6’7”, 232, Storm has a lot of moving parts and a large frame to control, but when he is doing so, these are the exports. His best pitch is a wipeout slider which he combines with a fastball that sits 94 and can touch 96. He experienced a velo bump last year, helping his cause en route to saving nine games in 12 chances for the Sky Carp.

No hitter?! That’s a no-brainer 🔥 For the first time since 2017, @atm_24_ and @justinrstorm secured a no-hitter against the South Bend Cubs 🔥 pic.twitter.com/NlOZiU5xZH

— Beloit Sky Carp (@beloitskycarp) April 19, 2026

If Storm can stay repeatable, he has the ceiling of a high-leverage reliever. He’s also proving that he’s capable of tossing multiple innings effectively. 

Low-A Jupiter

Carter Johnson hit his second home run of the season this weekend, improving his season slash line to .224/.361/.429/.790 with two home runs and eight RBI. The biggest concern remains his 35.1% strikeout rate that he had going into Sunday. Johnson may not amount to much, but his start to the season is encouraging given his struggles last season.

Jake McCutcheon, a 10th-round pick from Missouri State in the 2025 MLB Draft, wrapped up the week with a two-homer performance and is now slashing .231/.404/.436/.840. With High-A Beloit lacking outfield depth right now due to injuries, McCutcheon could be promoted soon if this hot streak continues.

On the mound, Keyner Benitez made his second start of the season against the Palm Beach Cardinals, going five innings, allowing two runs on one hit (home run) and struck out eight. His fastball topped out at 97.1 mph and averaged 94.8 mph. He generated six whiffs on his changeup and three of his eight K's came on that pitch.

Walin Castillo tossed five innings of shutout baseball, allowing three hits, no walks and struck out four. Castillo's fastball topped out at 96.4 mph, averaged 94.5 mph and generated four whiffs. Castillo's performance is worth taking with a grain of salt because he had 135 ⅔ innings of Low-A experience prior to this season.

Nate Payne, who the Marlins selected in the 18th round of the 2024 draft, is off to a great start. Through three appearances (two starts), Payne has a 1.50 ERA, 1.76 FIP, 18.75 K/9 and 5.25 BB/9 in 12 innings pitched. Most recently, Payne went four innings, allowing one run (unearned) on two hits, walked four and struck out a career-high 11 hitters. Payne's fastball continues to be a dominant pitch, generating 14 whiffs and accounting for 10 of his 11 strikeouts (all swinging).

Injuries/Rehab

Maximo Acosta (oblique strain) was reinstated from the injured list and optioned to Jacksonville on Monday after a three-game rehab assignment. Esteury Ruiz (oblique strain) will continue his own assignment for at least two more games, while Christopher Morel (yet another oblique strain) plays his first game with the Jumbo Shrimp on Tuesday.

Will Schomberg (Pensacola) was removed from his last start after just two innings. He will undergo Tommy John surgery, sources tell FOF, sidelining him for the rest of 2026 and part of 2027.

Dillon Head remains active for Beloit, but has not played since April 11 due to an unspecified issue.

For complete Marlins MiLB injury updates, bookmark this page.

This week's MiLB schedule

• Triple-A Jacksonville at Gwinnett
• Double-A Pensacola at Montgomery
• High-A Beloit vs. Great Lakes 
• Low-A Jupiter vs. Daytona

Interested in learning more about the Miami Marlins' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!