2026 Miami Marlins All-Star break summary

PHILADELPHIA, PA — It's always a hectic period every July from the MLB Draft through the MLB All-Star Game. Fish On First was in Philly to cover it all from a Miami Marlins perspective.

Before the 2026 regular season resumes, below are the main Marlins takeaways from the festivities.

Marlins get a steal with Lombard at 14

Gulliver Prep product Jacob Lombard entered the MLB Draft as the fifth-ranked draft prospect per MLB Pipeline and Baseball America. At the very least, he expected to go within the first 10 picks of the draft.

Instead, Lombard was still on the board for the Marlins with the 14th overall pick and they took him. His signing was made official on Thursday morning.

"It's an outcome that we really did not expect," said Marlins Vice President, Amateur Forecasting & Player Evaluation Initiatives Frankie Piliere. "Jacob Lombard is somebody that we've probably known about as one of the most, if not the most talented high school player in the class. As much upside as anybody could have expected on our team overall. Thrilled that the person we're welcoming into the organization is top notch and the player is top notch. I think we've got a room full of player development people that are so excited to work with him. It's just very rare to be able to acquire this type of talent."

Peter Bendix, Jacob Lombard and Frankie Piliere speak to the media#Marlins pic.twitter.com/JGL2Y0m8a5

— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) July 16, 2026

In his senior season, Lombard slashed .477/.607/.864/1.471 with 10 home runs and 25 RBI. He is most likely going to stick at shortstop and should be making his pro debut soon.

Then in the eighth round, the Marlins made the stunning decision to select Stanford's Rintaro Sasaki. The famous Japanese slugger had already been a first-round pick in Nippon Professional Baseball and also could've gone back to Stanford with two more years of college eligibility. Reports are floating around that he'll sign with the Marlins, though that hasn't been finalized yet.

In 2026, Sasaki slashed .262/.403/.549/.952 with 16 home runs, 47 RBI and a 106 wRC+.

Milbrandt's short-lived Futures Game appearance

Fish On First number six prospect Karson Milbrandt was the lone Marlins representative in the 2026 Futures Game. Milbrandt entered the game in the top of the sixth inning, throwing four pitches, inducing two quick fly balls. He was taken out right after that. Wen-Hui Pan entered the game for Milbrandt.

"Looking around this locker room and there's a lot of guys that are really good that I'll also be facing for a while, so super cool to see and meet the guys and I'm excited," Milbrandt told Fish On First.

Milbrandt started the 2026 season in Double-A Pensacola, where in nine starts, he posted a 1.34 ERA, 2.89 FIP, 13.40 K/9 and 3.29 BB/9. In six appearances (five starts) since being promoted to Triple-A Jacksonville, he's struggled a bit, with a 5.48 ERA, 4.80 FIP, 7.83 K/9 and 8.61 BB/9.

"Not pitching as well as I'd like to, but lots of learning," Milbrandt said. "I feel like I am going to look back at this in a couple of years, or couple of months and going to be happy that I failed because I know how to adjust and how to attack these hitters. Lots of learning and I just need to keep on learning."

Sheffield provides his thoughts on 2026 Marlins

During batting practice before the All-Star Game itself, former Marlins great Gary Sheffield was in attendance. Sheffield was acquired during the inaugural 1993 season and represented Florida as an All-Star in '93 and '96. He was part of their 1997 World Series team and still holds franchise records for career on-base percentage (.426) and OPS. (.970).

"I watch from time to time," Sheffield said of the 2026 Fish. "Lots of young great players over there that are turning the corner to get back to their winning ways. We set the tone when we were there and then the '98 team came in and did the same thing. Now, this is a new generation and it's their time. Once you start having success, you then start getting more confidence as a team and you'll see the difference in results."

Regarding this year's Marlins All-Star rep Otto Lopez, Sheffield complimented him on his resilience.

"When you can forget things that happen that don't go your way, you can process it, you gotta slow everything down and then you come back. He's probably sitting on top of the world mentally and that's the most important thing."

Lopez finishes festivities on a high note

Otto Lopez entered the All-Star Game as a defensive replacement in the top of the sixth inning.

In the bottom of the seventh, Lopez faced Tampa Bay Rays starter Drew Rasmussen who struck him out swinging on six pitches. Lopez then bounced back in the bottom of the ninth, facing Rays closer Bryan Baker, with an opposite-field hit on the second pitch of the at-bat.

"Coming off the bench, I was just trying to have a good at-bat, but struck out," Lopez told Fish On First following the game. "Something about me is that I never give up and I was hoping to have another at-bat to make up for it. I finally got a hit and I felt pretty good after that."

The American League beat the NL by a final score of 4-0.

The Marlins shortstop enters the second half of the season slashing .334/.368/.505/.874 with nine home runs, 45 RBI, 17 stolen bases and a 137 wRC+. Lopez leads MLB in batting average, hits and doubles. He is also tied for ninth in the NL in OPS, tied for third in triples, tied for eighth in extra-base hits and fourth in total bases.