Offishial News: Celebrating one year of the Otto Lopez era

On this day in 2024, the Miami Marlins claimed Otto Lopez off of waivers from the San Francisco Giants. That date could prove very significant in franchise history if Lopez continues what he's been doing through his first 124 games with the Fish.

Initially viewed as a utility player, the Dominican right-handed hitter has settled in as the club's everyday second baseman. Since the start of last season, Lopez leads all Marlins players with 3.0 fWAR, slashing .275/.320/.389 with eight home runs, 21 stolen bases and great defense. In the estimation of Baseball Trade Values, he has gone from having zero trade value to roughly the same as Marlins top prospects Noble Meyer and Dillon Head (even that feels like a conservative estimate, in my opinion).

Nearly a year and a half into the Peter Bendix era, claiming Lopez and acquiring Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers for Trevor Rogers stand out as the most lopsided transactions in the Marlins' favor.

Down on the farm on Thursday, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 5-1. Every Jumbo Shrimp position player recorded at least one hit. Meanwhile, Janson Junk, Austin Roberts and Christian Roa combined to allow only three total hits to Worcester.

More Marlins news and content below:

🔷 Double-A Pensacola, High-A Beloit and Low-A Jupiter announced their Opening Day rosters on Thursday. The Fish On First injury/rehab tracker now includes players from those affiliates who are beginning the season on the IL, including PJ Morlando, Karson Milbrandt and Aiden May.

🔷 The Prediction Time leaderboard has been updated through the first two series. Become a SuperSub and we'll keep track of your predictions all season long!

🔷 More than three years since the Marlins last signed one of their players to a contract extension, I pondered who could be next.

🔷 University of Arizona outfielder Brendan Summerhill is next up in Hector Rodriguez's series of MLB Draft prospect profiles. Jamie Cameron is once again maintaining a mock draft consensus board for us leading up to the draft, taking rankings from major industry outlets to form a consensus board.

🔷 MLB.com's Christina De Nicola writes about the Coastal Carolina connection between Marlins reliever Anthony Veneziano and catching coach Joe Singley.

🔷 Sandy Alcantara (44th) is the lone Marlin who made the cut in ESPN's ranking of the top 100 MLB players.

🔷 For cord-cutters in South Florida, FanDuel Sports Network is offering a free 30-day trial to stream live Marlins game broadcasts and replays. Apply code MARLINS30 at checkout.

🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Aaron Judge has picked up right where he left off in 2024, leading the majors with a 364 wRC+ and 15 RBI through six games. He is tied for the league lead with five home runs. The Cincinnati Reds became the first MLB team since 1960 to lose three straight games by the score of 1-0. The Atlanta Braves, the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angels, New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants are scheduled to host their home openers tonight.

🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter RHP Max Meyer) begin their first road trip of the regular season against the Braves (RHP Spencer Schwellenbach). The Braves are MLB's last remaining winless team, yet the Marlins only have a 30.8% chance to beat them, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 7:15 p.m. ET.

 🔷 Prior to the game, Fish On First LIVE will preview the series beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET. FOF LIVE is presented by About The Fans. Check out our new merchandise collection (coupon code fof10 for 10% off).

🔷 Today's MiLB schedule:

• Triple-A Jacksonville vs. Worcester, 7:05 p.m. ET
• Double-A Pensacola vs. Biloxi, 7:05 p.m. ET
• High-A Beloit vs. South Bend, 7:05 p.m. ET
• Low-A Jupiter at St. Lucie, 6:10 p.m. ET

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