Today’s Marlins news roundup also includes fascinating details about Jesús Sánchez’s upbringing and baseball roots.

Marlins Podcast Episodes

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• Thursday’s Marlins MiLB Notes: Both DSL teams got rained out. Coming out of the All-Star break, Marlins affiliates have combined for a winning percentage of precisely .500 (202-202).

• The 2024 Marlins schedule is already out. It begins with hosting the Pirates in Miami (March 28-31) and concludes with visiting the Blue Jays in Toronto (September 27-29). No neutral site matchups. The only three-city road trip is actually reasonable in terms of air travel (Milwaukee to Tampa Bay to Atlanta).

• We dusted off the old @fishstripes Twitter account and made it @MarlinsSpaces! That’s the new home of Grant Kiefer’s weekly State of the Fish program as well as breaking news/game reaction Twitter Spaces we’ll be doing whenever the situation calls for it. Check out the full replay of Thursday’s episode.

• No word of any 2023 Marlins draft picks officially signing as of yet, but the club scooped up University of Arizona infielder Tony Bullard as an undrafted free agent. The 23-year-old slashed .286/.374/.492 during his collegiate career and drastically improved his strikeout rate last spring, from 24.0% the previous season down to 12.6%.

• We’re back with a new episode of Fish On First LIVE, streaming at 6:00 p.m. ET on YouTube/Twitch/Twitter. Our special guests will be the masterminds behind Marlins Network. Super Subscribers, submit your series predictions before first pitch. With chiropractic care and functional health, La Pop takes a preventative approach that optimizes wellness and quality of life for all ages. Find out more here!

• The Marlins have a 48.1% chance to win their series opener against the Orioles, per FanGraphs. Triple-A Jacksonville (7:05 p.m. ET), High-A Beloit (7:35 p.m. ET), FCL Marlins (12:00 p.m. ET) and DSL Miami (11:00 a.m. ET) are at home, while Double-A Pensacola (8:05 p.m. ET), Low-A Jupiter (6:10 p.m. ET) and DSL Marlins (11:00 a.m. ET) are on the road.

• You’ve seen Marlins players do their “just keep swimming” celebration on the basepaths throughout this season, right? Our partners at BreakingT have designed a t-shirt for it! Buy yours here.

• Alex Carver highlights C Ronald Hernández, 1B Torin Montgomery and OF/INF Javier Sanoja among the lower-level Marlins prospects who are deserving of promotions.

• John Turlington’s newest Down the Dorsal breaks down last Wednesday’s stunning walk-off win against the Cardinals.

• Jesús Sánchez reflects on growing up with food insecurity and learning to bat left-handed to imitate Dominican legend David Ortiz (via Las Mayores). Also during the interview (recorded in 2022), Sánchez shows gratitude toward Starling Marte and Jesús Aguilar for being positive veteran presences in the Marlins clubhouse.

• On a related note, the Marlins organized another food distribution at LoanDepot Park on Thursday. At least 500 families received a week’s worth of meals.

• Household viewership of Marlins regular season games on Bally Sports Florida is up 14% from 2022. That aligns closely with the club’s home attendance increase (up 13% per game).

• Get the backstory about how the Pensacola Blue Wahoos hired team photographer Nino Mendez. He’s been making our MiLB coverage so much better the last few years with the volume and beauty of his player pics. Examples of Mendez’s work shown below.

• Happy 26th birthday to Marlins LHP Will Stewart. Acquired from the Phillies in the J.T. Realmuto trade, Stewart pitched in Triple-A each of the last two seasons, but hasn’t quite broken through to the highest level. His best offering is his changeup. Stewart is out for the rest of 2023 while recovering from elbow surgery.

Photo courtesy of Miami Marlins