Stowers' surge continues with 4-RBI day

The Miami Marlins instantly added Kyle Stowers to their big league club after acquiring him at the trade deadline. The 26-year-old ex-top prospect who never got a true, sustained look as a member of the Baltimore Orioles slid into the middle of manager Skip Schumaker's lineup. Understandably, everybody was intrigued to see what he'd do with the opportunity.

The El Cajon, CA, native responded by putting together one of the most disappointing stretches in recent memory. In his first game as a Marlin, Stowers wore the golden sombrero, striking out in each of his four at-bats. Through his first 16 games, he had a .096/.175/.096 slash line, with 23 strikeouts, three walks and just five hits.

Although there was reason to be concerned about the considerable amount of swing-and-miss in Stowers' game, the most prevalent issue plaguing him was his chase rate. Through the same 16-game stretch, Stowers was chasing pitches outside the zone at an alarming 40.3% clip, leading to a painful increase in strikeout numbers.

It all seemed to click for Stowers starting last Monday, when his good friend Connor Norby got the call to join him in the majors.

Norby relayed to the media that he went up to Stowers when he saw him in the clubhouse and said, "You're gonna start raking again now that I'm here, right?"

In 10 games with Norby on the roster, Stowers has certainly held up his end of the bargain, hitting 12-for-31 (.387), with his most notable performance coming Thursday afternoon at Coors Field in the finale against the Colorado Rockies. Stowers led the way with three hits, including a double, and four RBI's as the Marlins picked up a 12-8 win and series split.

"He's a good overall hitter," said Schumaker postgame. "It's just when he's in the strike zone. I could say that about 100 different guys in the major leagues—still a young guy in this league, still trying to figure out the league as well. The league adjusted. He adjusted. So that means that he's a really good athlete, because he adjusted to the league.

"It's going to be one of those chess matches every single day. That's how you survive in this league. I'm really proud of him, of how he's adjusted,"

As his manager mentioned, a big catalyst of Stowers' success has been healthier swing decisions.

Since last Monday, Stowers' chase rate has dropped to 30.4%, still fourth-highest on the team in that time frame. However, the near-10% improvement has helped Stowers to find his stroke, and strike out significantly less.

"I mean, new manager, new to coaching staff, new hitting staff, new team, meeting new people every single day. I think that definitely changes things. Now, he settled in. I think this is more the version you're going to see than the first couple weeks version."

Of Note

- Stowers wasn't all alone on offense, as Derek Hill capitalized on the "fun" atmosphere at Coors with his second multi-homer game of his career. The entirety of Miami's offense combined for 18 hits, a season high.

- Connor Norby continued to impress, reaching base five times on two hits, two walks and a fielder's choice. Additionally, he extended his hit streak to 10 games. Norby is creeping up on Gary Sheffield and Juan Pierre, who share the record for longest hitting streak to start a Marlins career at 12 games.

- Declan Cronin exited the game in the sixth with left knee discomfort.

- Valente Bellozo, perhaps the most fly out-reliant pitcher in all of MLB, did not have a fun day at the office. Rockies hitters sent out three homers, two of which came off the bat of Brendan Rodgers.

Up Next

Miami wraps up their 2024 west coast slate in the Bay Area with a weekend set against the San Francisco Giants. Friday night's game one is a classic "Late Night With The Fish" with first pitch slated for 10:15 ET. Adam Oller makes his third start for Miami opposite of 2023 NL Cy Young winner and bonafide ace Blake Snell.