Ely Sussman

For much of the 2026 season, the bullpen has been a strength of the Miami Marlins. The unit has leveraged its ample depth and variety of skill sets. Miami's relievers were particularly vital during a record-setting month of June, when the Fish were patching things together with only two conventional starting pitchers at times. Heading into the All-Star break, however, the 'pen is now a source of anxiety. The July 5 implosion in relief of a perfect Eury Pérez was a turning point. A series of significant injuries has compounded the issue—the Marlins are still without a timeline for Anthony Bender's return, while John King, William Kempner and Michael Petersen each got hurt themselves last week. Meanwhile, right-hander Jack Ralston continues to quietly throw up zeroes with Triple-A Jacksonville. If common sense prevails, his next outing will come at the major league level. Ralston is not being "rushed" to the majors in any sense. The St. Louis Cardinals drafted him out of UCLA way back in 2019 and he's been pitching in the upper minors since 2023. A month from now, he'll be turning 29. The Marlins signed Ralston as a minor league free agent this past offseason and he turned heads immediately with six scoreless appearances in spring training. It's been more of the same through 31 games with the Jumbo Shrimp, as his 1.07 ERA leads all Triple-A pitchers with a comparable number of innings. No opponent has plated a run against him since June 18 and he hasn't allowed multiple earned runs at any point this year. His 9.7% walk rate is the best of his professional career. Ralston's arsenal consists of a splitter, four-seam fastball and slider, with the split being his go-to offering. Its overall usage is nearly 50%, accounting for 48 of his 63 total strikeouts (76.1%). It's largely why he has been even more effective against left-handed batters (.432 OPS allowed) than righties (.516 OPS). The only active Marlins arms who use a splitter regularly are Tyler Phillips and Lake Bachar, and neither of them have an over-the-top release like Ralston. Even putting pitch quality aside, the contrast in style between him and his teammates would be valuable. Ralston's fastball velocity is merely average for a righty reliever and he doesn't induce ground balls at a particularly high rate. He's still allowing home runs as often as he did in previous years, hence his nice-but-not-noteworthy 3.52 FIP. Success against MLB competition is far from guaranteed, but under the present circumstances, he deserves an audition with the Marlins. The trade deadline is only three weeks away and the Marlins need to seek reinforcements. In order for them to confidently remove "bullpen help" from their shopping list, they either need rapid recoveries from the aforementioned injured guys or glimpses of excellence from other internal options. There's nothing more that Ralston can do at Triple-A to prove himself—it's time to test him against the top talent on the planet. The only "obstacle" standing in Ralston's way, if you want to call it that, is securing a 40-man roster spot. But the Marlins could go in multiple directions, even without transferring anybody to the 60-day IL. The most straightforward move would be designating fellow reliever Zach Brzykcy for assignment in a corresponding move. Third-string catcher Brian Navarreto and strikeout-prone outfielder Rece Hinds are also DFA candidates, with the Marlins recalling a 40-man bat like Connor Norby or Agustín Ramírez to fill their shoes on the active roster in those scenarios. A theme of the Peter Bendix era has been turning cheap acquisitions into legitimate contributors. Jack Ralston could be the latest example of that. He ought to be promoted once the Marlins resume play on Friday. View full article

Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal readers. These notes apply to the third and final game of Miami's home series against the Cleveland Guardians. It's also the club's 97th and final game before the All-Star break. Pregame roster moves: Dax Fulton recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville; William Kempner (right elbow sprain) placed on the 15-day injured list Starting Lineup DH Liam Hicks (L) SS Otto Lopez LF Heriberto Hernández 1B Liam Hicks (L) 2B Xavier Edwards (S) RF Javier Sanoja 3B Leo Jiménez CF Esteury Ruiz DH Rece Hinds C Brian Navarreto P Tyler Phillips Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below)

Fish On First LIVE discusses why selecting Jacob Lombard is well worth the risk for the Marlins and how his projected overslot bonus will impact the rest of their 2026 draft class. View full video

The 14th overall pick in the MLB Draft, shortstop Jacob Lombard discusses joining the Marlins organization and the critical support he has received from his family. View full video

Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal readers. These notes apply to the second game of Miami's home series against the Cleveland Guardians. Starting Lineup DH Liam Hicks (L) SS Otto Lopez 1B Kyle Stowers (L) 2B Xavier Edwards (S) LF Heriberto Hernández RF Griffin Conine (L) CF Jakob Marsee (L) C Joe Mack (L) 3B Javier Sanoja P Eury Pérez Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below)

On Foul Territory, Marlins right-hander Tyler Phillips raves about Joe Mack's work ethic and explains how Mack's unbelievable throwing ability helps him execute on the mound. View full video

Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal readers. These notes apply to the first game of Miami's home series against the Cleveland Guardians. Starting Lineup SS Otto Lopez LF Heriberto Hernández 2B Xavier Edwards (S) 3B Javier Sanoja 1B Kyle Stowers (L) DH Leo Jimenez RF Esteury Ruiz CF Jakob Marsee (L) C Joe Mack (L) P Sandy Alcantara Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below)

As usual, the Miami Marlins are keeping their MLB Draft plans close to the vest. Being in the middle of the pack in terms of both draft order and overall bonus pool size, there are many factors beyond their control, anyway. In other words, predicting who they'll get with the 14th overall pick and beyond is difficult. Don't let that spoil the fun! Updated early Saturday morning, here is a roundup of the latest mock drafts from Fish On First's in-house analysts and leading national baseball publications. Hector Rodriguez of Fish On First No. 14 pick: Ace Reese, 1B/3B, Mississippi State No. 52 pick: Andrew Williamson, OF, UCF No. 71 pick: Will Gasparino, OF, UCLA No. 87 pick: Jack Slightom, RHP, Lyons HS (IL) No. 115 pick: Peyton Bonds, OF, Rutgers No. 147 pick: Deven Sheerin, RHP, LSU Sean McCormack of Fish On First No. 14 pick: Liam Peterson, RHP, Florida No. 52 pick: Ethan Bass, SS, Glenbrook North HS (IL) No. 71 pick: Ryan Peterson, RHP, Sam Houston State No. 87 pick: Alex Conover, OF, Oklahoma State No. 115 pick: Jake Carbaugh, RHP, Plant City HS (FL) FOF Mock Draft Consensus Board (courtesy of Jamie Cameron) No. 14 pick: AJ Gracia, OF, Virginia No. 52 pick: Chris Rembert, 2B, Auburn No. 71 pick: Owen Hull, OF, North Carolina No. 87 pick: Ruger Riojas, RHP, Texas No. 115 pick: Daniel Cuvet, 1B/3B, Miami Carlos Collazo of Baseball America No. 14 pick: Chris Hacopian, 2B, Texas A&M "I’ve continued to hear that Derek Curiel might be the preferred target here for the Marlins. If he gets this far on the board, I would expect him to be the pick. There are plenty of scenarios where that doesn’t happen, including this one. I’ll stick with Hacopian, though other bats like Ace Reese, AJ Gracia or Sawyer Strosnider could make some sense. Zion Rose is a bat I’ll speculate on some here as well. He could wind up surprising people with where he goes on draft day, even if I don’t have a no-doubt obvious landing spot for him in this mock." Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline No. 14 pick: Derek Curiel, OF, LSU "The Marlins might not think the LSU standout will still be on the board, but if he is, he could get the nod over Hacopian or one of the college arms who come up at this point in the Draft, like Peterson or Tennessee right-hander Tegan Kuhns." Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline No. 14 pick: Jacob Lombard, SS, Gulliver Prep (FL) "This would be a coup for the Marlins, who couldn’t have expected to get Lombard even a few days ago. If this doesn’t come true, Reese, Grindlinger and Georgia prep outfielder Trevor Condon make sense here." Keith Law of The Athletic No. 14 pick: Taylor Rabe, RHP, Ole Miss "Rabe is the hottest name in the draft in terms of how much he seems to go up every time I do this exercise, having finished very strongly and scoring very well in teams’ draft models. I have heard them a little with some upside players (Justin Lebron, Gio Rojas), but more with somewhat safer college players, hitters or pitchers. The Marlins’ model tends to favor defense, so Lebron might fit but several of the other college bats wouldn’t." Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs No. 14 pick: Gio Rojas, LHP, Stoneman Douglas HS (FL) "The Marlins have targeted big upside in recent drafts, usually with power-hitting position players who have struggled to hit. A continuation of that strategy could lead them to Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron in this scenario. If they want to change course, well, most of the high-contact college hitters are off the board here. High school outfielder Trevor Condon is the prep version of that profile. This is late for the first prep arm to go and would be great value, with a cherry of positive optics on top because Rojas is local." Adrian White of Just Baseball No. 14 pick: Ace Reese, 1B/3B, Mississippi State "Reese makes sense for Miami as one of the best college bats still available. The defensive home is not completely settled, but the left-handed power plays in this part of the round. He produced in the SEC, with enough contact ability to avoid the power-only label. Miami could let him continue proving himself at third base, though first base may be the cleaner long-term fit. Either way, the Marlins are betting on a bat with a chance to anchor the middle of a lineup." View full article